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Nikola Tesla Trivia Quiz

Here is a quiz on one of the most important men in scientific history. Most people probably haven't heard much about Tesla, but we would not live the lifestyle we live today without his extraordinary work. Please enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by thejazzkickazz. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
thejazzkickazz

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
23,241

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
3482

Awards
Editor's Choice

Last 3 plays: sw11 (10/10), stredman (9/10), Guest 138 (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in what is now which country? Hint

Yugoslavia

Slovenia

Albania

Croatia

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Question 2 of 10

2. Tesla emigrated to the United States in 1884. There he found work with what famous American individual?

Answer: (Last name is acceptable or full name.)

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Question 3 of 10

3. This individual paid Tesla 50,000 dollars for his work on sources of electricity. True or False?

True

False

4. Eventually Tesla, on his own, created a number of patents for various motors and other equipment related to electricity. What fellow inventor and entrepreneur agreed to pay Tesla a million dollars for his collective patents? Hint

Edison

Westinghouse

Morgan

Carnegie

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Question 5 of 10

5. What natural wonder did Tesla harness to power New York City?

Answer: (One or two words)

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Question 6 of 10

6. Tesla became a member of New York's high society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One particular actress took an extreme interest in Mr. Tesla. Who was she? Hint

Greta Garbo

Veronica Lake

Myrna Loy

Sarah Bernhardt

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Question 7 of 10

7. Tesla won a Nobel Prize for physics in 1915. True or False?

True

False

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Question 8 of 10

8. Later in Tesla's life, he became a hermit of sorts. He avoided people and found friendship with a certain creature which is abundant in New York City. Of which common New York creatures was Tesla quite fond? Hint

cockroaches

rats

pigeons

stray dogs and cats

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Question 9 of 10

9. With which of the following inventions was Tesla not intimately involved? Hint

incandescent light bulbs

alternating current

fluorescent lights

wireless communication

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Question 10 of 10

10. Tesla's final project in life was a weapon that he believed would end war as we know it. What was this weapon called? Hint

death ray

doomsday machine

atom bomb

ultimate nullifier

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in what is now which country?

Answer: Croatia

2. Tesla emigrated to the United States in 1884. There he found work with what famous American individual?

Answer: Edison

3. This individual paid Tesla 50,000 dollars for his work on sources of electricity. True or False?

Answer: False

Edison agreed to pay Tesla 50,000 dollars for his work, but when Tesla came to Edison to collect some of this money, Edison refused to pay him. Tesla left angrily and vowed to himself that he would continue his work on alternating current.

Answer: Westinghouse

5. What natural wonder did Tesla harness to power New York City?

Answer: Niagara

6. Tesla became a member of New York's high society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One particular actress took an extreme interest in Mr. Tesla. Who was she?

Answer: Sarah Bernhardt

The French actress Sarah Bernhardt was very interested in Mr. Tesla but he found her to be a mere distraction. He was obsessed by his work.

7. Tesla won a Nobel Prize for physics in 1915. True or False?

Answer: False

It was rumored that Tesla would win the prize for physics in that year along with Thomas Edison. But when the winner was announced, it was in fact William Henry Bragg who won. It has also been rumored that Tesla was removed from consideration because he refused to accept the prize alongside Edison. Tesla believed rightly that Edison had done all he could to ruin or sully Tesla's reputation due to Edison's resentment about Tesla's success with alternating current.

Answer: pigeons

Tesla could be found on the streets feeding the pigeons. He also took in wounded pigeons and nurtured them back to health.

9. With which of the following inventions was Tesla not intimately involved?

Answer: incandescent light bulbs

The development of the incandescent bulb culiminated in work by Edison, with Tesla completely uninvolved. Tesla created the first fluorescent lights and made alternating current available to the masses. His work on alternating current makes it possible for power to be delivered to people as it is today. Tesla also helped to create the radio (wireless communication), but Marconi was given the bulk of the credit, including a Nobel Prize in 1909.

After Tesla's death the international scientific community recognized Tesla's contributions to Marconi's work.

10. Tesla's final project in life was a weapon that he believed would end war as we know it. What was this weapon called?

Answer: death ray

He called it a death ray, how exciting! It was to be a concentrated beam of electricity that could obliterate enemy planes or missiles. This weapon was never created, although some steps were taken by the U.S. government to help institute its creation. Tesla died in 1943 before more work could be done to examine the utility of this weapon.

Some believe that Reagan's Star Wars project was based on Tesla's death ray plans.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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