Remember Those Huge Floppy Disks? Quiz

Answer: Thumb drives

The 8-inch - IBM 23FD (read only) floppy disk was introduced by IBM in 1971. It was a magnetic, information storage medium that was sealed in a square plastic carrier to protect it from dust. Thumb drives store the same information and were a major improvement in that they were faster, smaller and more durable.

They also have a memory capacity thousands of times larger than a floppy disk.

Answer: GPS

GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System. This system of interconnected satellites has the ability to provide directions to any location on the planet. The day of the paper map was on its way out, at least for drivers.

Answer: Helium

While the exact cause of ignition of the 1937 Hindenburg explosion will likely remain unknown, the hydrogen used for fuel on the airship was highly flammable as can be seen on newsreels of the time. Later airships used helium, an inert gas much less likely to cause such a disaster.

There were later dirigible-type airships using helium that crashed but none of them caught fire or exploded. There were also some dirigibles flying at the same time that did use helium but it was hard to obtain and thus hydrogen was used with fatal results.

Answer: Photograph

A tintype was a cheap early type of photograph often made at carnivals, fairs and on sea-fronts in the late 19th century. It was an image that was created on a sheet of iron metal instead of paper by creating a direct positive and using collodion photographic emulsion.

These early photographs were produced only a few minutes after the camera shot the image, needed no drying, and were very resilient. Many of the old images of the Wild West were taken on tintype.

Answer: Navigation

The astrolabe was used for navigation and astronomy. It was also used for locating and predicting the locations of the heavenly bodies and could determine the local time at a given latitude. It was also used in surveying, and even to cast horoscopes. They were replaced by astronomical clocks, telescopes, compasses, and global positioning satellites.

Answer: Iron lung

The iron lung was invented in the very early 20th century and was first used by doctors for cases of coal gas poisoning. They were used as a temporary measure until the patient recovered. In the middle part of the century a large outbreak of polio resulted in thousands of people being put into the apparatus when their diaphragm as well as their other muscles became paralyzed.

The iron lung was a large full body size ventilator into which a patient was put, with only their head outside of the apparatus. Most people recovered and were taken out of the machine but there were those who spent up to 60 years in an iron lung.

While use of the iron lung almost disappeared during the 1960's as new and better treatments were developed it was estimated that between 25-30 people in the US were being kept alive in an iron lung at the turn of the 21st century.

Answer: Time

All of things were used to measure time. A clepsydrae was an ancient device that measured time by marking the regulated flow of water through a very narrow opening, it was sometimes called a water glass. A vertical gnomon was a type of sundial and was used for centuries. These early inventions were replaced by hourglasses and then mechanical clocks.

Answer: Steering wheels

When the first automobiles were made it made sense to the average man to use a tiller for steering as that was what was used on most boats and ships. One of the first major improvements to the very first automobiles was to replace the tiller with a steering "wheel". On most larger boats and ships today a steering wheel is used to control the tiller.

As for use on automobiles, the tiller has become obsolete.

Answer: False

There were many versions of the washing machine that did make the washboard obsolete in many parts of the world. The Hubbard Electrometer was not one of them. This questionable device was claimed to have the ability to record the sound of a tomato screaming when it was sliced as well as the ability to diagnose and treat many types of physical and mental illnesses.

The first English patent for a washing machine was issued in 1691. It took centuries of improvements before washing machines became a common household appliance.

Answer: Vacuum cleaner

Naphtha or naphthalene was used to clean carpets for many years. Besides being carcinogenic and flammable it has a strong odor. While naphtha is still used in various other technologies the invention of the vacuum cleaner made the use of naphtha obsolete for cleaning carpets by a home owner.