History of Lava Lamps Trivia Quiz

Answer: Accountant Edward Craven Walker

After inventing the Lava Lamp in the 1960s, Edward C. Walker filed a patent and started a company to make the lamps. He retained sole ownership of the factory until the late 1980s when he took on two partners. The partners eventually took over the company, but Edward Craven Walker remained a consultant until he passed away in 2000.

Answer: Soft drink bottles

The first Lava Lamps were made using orange squash bottles. The inventor determined that the bottles accommodated the light bulbs, and the soft drink bottles were plentiful in the region where he lived.

Answer: 1990s

Despite the association with the 1960s, more Lava Lamps were sold in the 1990s. In 1989 the company sold about 1000 lamps. Then, Austin Powers arrived on the silver screen and fueled a nostalgia-driven resurgence in sales. More lamps were sold in the 1990s than in the earlier decades of the 20th century. Sales also continued to be strong into the early 2000s thanks, in part, to the "shagging spy".

Answer: False

When the lamps were first invented, the two liquids used inside each were a water-based liquid, and a wax-based liquid. Carbon tetrachloride was added to the wax to make it more dense than water and allow it to sink in the water when cooled (wax would float without the chemical).

The lightbulb heated the wax mixture, causing it to rise upwards, where it cooled, sank, and the process started. Later other liquids were used, but they give the same effect as what we all remember with the globs rising and falling.

The makeup of the liquids remains a corporate secret.

Answer: Astro Lamp

The inventor called the device an Astro Lamp, with models for the Astro Mini and the Astro Coach lamps also marketed. When US developers bought the rights for the American market, they began using the Lava Lamp name and it stuck.

Answer: Replacement bulbs for 1960s lamps.

New Lava lamps themselves have shown a strong sales base for the company into the 2000s. However, many with 1960s lamps wish to continue with the tradition of using the lamps when the lightbulb burns out rather than purchase a new lamp. This has led to many ask the company for the special bulb to fit their lamps.

Answer: True

Philip Quinn from Washington, USA was killed when he placed a Lava Lamp on the kitchen stove. The additional heat buildup caused the lamp to explode, and a shard of glass pierced his heart. He was found dead in his home. This was re-enacted in 2006 on the show "Mythbusters" where it was found that heating a Lava Lamp by sources other than the lightbulb in the lamp can cause them to explode.

Answer: Poole, Dorset

The original factory of the Lava Lamp was in the home town of the inventor in the United Kingdom. Expansion and the sale of rights for the lamps meant factories in the United States and China were built later in the 20th century. The Lava Lamp was also still made at a factory in the original city of Poole in Dorset in the United Kingdom well into the 21st century.

Answer: Egg timer

The Lava Lamp was created when the inventor spotted a unique device in a pub one day. It was a cocktail shaker that seemed to have a mucus-like blob in some water. He asked about it and discovered that it was actually wax in the water. It was set in a pan of boiling water with an egg.

When the wax melted and floated to the top, the egg was cooked. This intrigued him sufficiently to induce him to design the Lava Lamp based on that basis.

Answer: 25-40 watts

The relatively low wattage is needed because if the lightbulb gave off too much heat, the liquid that floats around in the lamp would simply sit at the top and not move. If the wattage were much lower, there would not be enough heat (or light for that matter) to make it work properly.

A fine balance is needed to make the globs work properly, with just enough heat to melt the waxy substance and cause it to float, but not too much so that it cools and sinks to the bottom once it has risen.