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History -Then and Now Trivia Quiz

Remember all those history books you didn't want to read in high school? Well they could have helped you now.

A multiple-choice quiz by highst950. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
highst950

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
286,107

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
3631

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What does a cotton gin do?
Hint

weaves cotton into yarn

makes cotton into wool

removes seeds from cotton

makes yarn into cotton

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Was there a John Deere? Hint

Only a tractor

Company name only

Yes, there was

No, figment your imagination

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Question 3 of 10

3. When did the first telegraph lines run?
Hint

1831

1896

1844

1860

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which state boasts the first oil well and what year?
Hint

Pennsylvania,1859

Louisiana,1850

Texas,1870

Arkansas,1899

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Question 5 of 10

5. In what war was the Gatling gun first used?
Hint

Spanish-American War

Viet Nam

The Civil War

World War I

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Question 6 of 10

6. Who invented the Richter magnitude scale? Hint

Sandy E. Richter

Charles F. Richter

Charles W. Schwab

Charles Nelson Reilly

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Question 7 of 10

7. What year was the telephone first shown to the public and in what city? Hint

New York, 1852

St Louis,1900

Philadelphia,1876

Chicago,1869

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. What was the first game played by English colonists?
Hint

baseball

bowls

chairs

football

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. What does "goober peas" refer to, in addition to its meaning of "peanuts"?
Hint

nonsense

the Union (in the American Civil War)

a Civil War marching song

the Confederacy (in the American Civil War)

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. What did Americans use in their out houses/bathrooms before toilet paper was introduced?
Hint

they used whatever paper was available

leaves

they did not use anything

they showered every time they went to the bathroom

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What does a cotton gin do?

Answer: removes seeds from cotton

The 1793 invention by Eli Whitney mechanically removed seeds from a cotton bloom without harming its fiber. Previously, seeds had to be removed laboriously by hand. The invention led to an economic boom for the South by increasing the amount of cotton the southern states could provide to textile manufacturers. It also cemented Southern dependence on the slaves who picked the raw cotton.

2. Was there a John Deere?

Answer: Yes, there was

In 1839 he invented the steel plow, which, along with Cyrus McCormick's 1834 invention, the reaper, changed the face of American agriculture.

3. When did the first telegraph lines run?

Answer: 1844

Invented by Samuel F. B. Morse and completed in 1844, the first telegraph line ran from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland. The first message, telegraphed on May 24, 1844, was "What hath God Wrought!"

4. Which state boasts the first oil well and what year?

Answer: Pennsylvania,1859

The first petroleum well was dug by American railway conductor Edwin L. Drake on August 28, 1859, at Titusville in western Pennsylvania. Kerosene for lamps was the first product to be refined from oil; gasoline did not become important until the development of the internal combustion engine in the 1880s and '90s.

5. In what war was the Gatling gun first used?

Answer: The Civil War

The precursor of the modern machine gun, the rapid-firing weapon saw limited action during the Civil War, specifically in the Petersburg Campaign in 1864. The hand-crank-operated gun, capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute, was patented by Richard J. Gatling in 1862.

6. Who invented the Richter magnitude scale?

Answer: Charles F. Richter

Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology developed the scale in 1935 as a mathematical device to compare the sizes of earthquakes. Each whole number increase in the scale corresponds to a tenfold increase in the amplitude of waves measured by a seismograph -- or an increase of about 31 times the energy of a quake that is one number smaller.

7. What year was the telephone first shown to the public and in what city?

Answer: Philadelphia,1876

Alexander Graham Bell first displayed his electronic telephone in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

8. What was the first game played by English colonists?

Answer: bowls

The first game on record was a game of bowls played in the streets of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1611.

9. What does "goober peas" refer to, in addition to its meaning of "peanuts"?

Answer: a Civil War marching song

"Goober Peas" was the name and the subject of a southern Civil War marching song. At times, Confederate soldiers had to rely heavily on peanuts for food.

10. What did Americans use in their out houses/bathrooms before toilet paper was introduced?

Answer: they used whatever paper was available

Corncobs and pages torn from newspapers and magazines were commonly used in the early American West. Until the late 19th century, Americans used sales catalogues, newspapers, pamphlets, fliers, or whatever other paper they could find. The materials were kept in the bathroom or outhouse, where they provided reading matter as well as sanitation. Toilet paper in rolls, sold in plain brown rappers, were first marketed in the U.S. in the 1880s by Edward and Clarence Scott of Philadelphia.

Source: Author highst950

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