Notable Historical First Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alexei Leonov

Soviet cosmonaut Leonov performed the first space walk during the Voskhad II mission on March 18, 1965. He made this historic space walk as he flew over Siberia.
The first American to perform a space walk was Edward White in June of 1965. He flew in the Gemini IV mission along with James McDivitt.
White began his space walk while his craft flew over the Indian Ocean and concluded his walk as he flew over the Pacific Ocean.

source: www.vibrationdata.com/space/eva.htm

Answer: Louis Washkansky

The transplant was performed at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Capetown, South Africa. Washkansky was a 55 year old wholesale grocer who suffered from progressive heart failure. The donor heart came from Denise Ann Darvall, a 25 year old automobile accident victim. The 30 member transplant surgical team was lead by heart specialist Dr. Christiaan Barnard. Washkansky survived the five hour surgery but died 18 days later after falling victim to pneumonia.

source: www.trivia-library.com/a/first-human-heart-transplant.htm

Answer: Matthew Webb

On August 25, 1875, Matthew Webb completing his historic swim in 21 hours and 45 minutes, swimming from Dover, England to Calais, France.

Webb had also attempted the crossing on August 12, 1875, but was forced to cancel the swim due to strong winds and rough seas.

For the record, the three persons listed as incorrect choices also set various records as they also swam the Channel. Ederle was the first woman to swim the channel, Tiraboschi was the first to swim the Channel from France to England, and Brunstad at age 70 was the oldest to swim the Channel.

Answer: 1975

Junko Tabei, of Japan, completed the climb of 29,035 feet on May 16, 1975, via the southeast ridge.

Answer: 1930

Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chips, and chocolate chip cookies in 1930. Wakefield ran the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. Wakefield called her now invention Toll House Cookies. Her original cookies used broken-up bars of semi-sweet chocolate.

Answer: 1913

The crossword puzzle was invented by Arthur Wynne in 1913. Wynne was a journalist born in Liverpool, England. Wynne's first puzzle was published in the Sunday edition of the New York World (newspaper) on December 21, 1913.

Answer: Gagnan and Cousteau

The aqualung is a breathing apparatus that supplies oxygen to underwater divers and allowed them to remain underwater for several hours at a time. It was invented in 1943 by oceanographer Jacque-Yves Cousteau and the French industrial gas control systems engineer Emile Gagnan.

Answer: Laszlo and Georg Biro

This pen was invented in 1935 by the two Hungarian brothers. Laszlo was a journalist and Georg was a chemist.

Answer: Green Bay Packers

The Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders by the score of 33 to 14 in Super Bowl II, and defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 35 to 10 in Super Bowl I -- January 15, 1967 and January 14, 1968. Green Bay Packer quarterback Bart Starr was voted the MVP (Most Valuable Player) in both games.

Answer: Chuck Yeager

The first official flight at faster than the speed of sound occurred in October 14, 1947. The aircraft was the Bell X-1, painted bright orange to increase its visibility from the ground. The aircraft was taken to 20,000 feet in the bomb bay of a Boeing B29 aircraft, and released above the Mojave desert in California.

This marked Yeager's 13th flight in the X-1, and he reached the top speed of mach 1.015.

Answer: 1927

Lindberg, also known as "Lucky Lindy" and "The Lone Eagle" flew from Roosevelt Airfield (in Nassau County, Long Island) New York to Paris, France on May 20-May 21, 1927 in his single-engine aircraft named "The Spirit of St. Louis". His trip took 33 hours and 30 minutes.
Lindberg's grandson Erik Lindberg, repeated this trip 75 years later in 2002 in 17 hours and 17 minutes.

Answer: Laika (a dog)

Laika was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow. Originally named Kudryavka, she was renamed Laika after her breed type. After undergoing training with two other dogs, she was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft "Sputnik 2" and launched into space on November 3, 1957. Laika died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating, likely due to a malfunction in the spacecraft's thermal control system.

Answer: Marion Donovan

The disposable diaper was invented in 1950. Donovan's first leak-proof diapers were fast selling "Bloaters", plastic lined cloth diapers, lined with pieces cut from a shower curtain, then later with surplus parachute nylon. Donovan then developed a completely disposable diaper. She was unsuccessful at selling her invention to established manufacturers, so she started her own company.

Answer: Charles Drew

Dr. Drew was the American doctor and surgeon who started the idea of a blood bank, and a system for the preservation of blood plasma which keeps longer than whole blood. This life saving procedure revolutionized the medical profession. Dr Drew set up and operated his blood plasma bank at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, New York. Drew's project was the model for the Red Cross system of blood banks.

Answer: Mary Anderson

The windshield wiper was invented and patented in 1903 to help streetcars operate safely in the rain, allowing the streetcar operator to control the exterior swinging arm wipers from within the car. Windshield wipers became standard equipment on cars a decade later.