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Charles Kettering, Inventor Trivia Quiz

Charles Kettering (August 29, 1876 - November 25, 1958) was one of the most prolific inventors in the history of the world. You know and use many of his inventions, but do you know anything of the inventor himself?

A multiple-choice quiz by NormanW5. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
NormanW5

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
322,614

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
214

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Thomas Edison is widely believed to hold the world's record for patented inventions at 1093. Charles Kettering is widely believed to be number two. Which statement is true about Kettering's patents? Hint

The inventor of the pop-top can and ethyl gasoline actually held 1096 patents, three more than Edison.

The inventor of freon refrigeration and quick-drying paint for automobiles held 140 patents.

Despite hundreds of inventions, the inventor of glass rectal thermometers and electric range elements didn't believe in patents and actually held only 14.

The inventor of the electric cash register and collapsable jacks for car trunks held 666 patents.

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Question 2 of 10

2. Although Kettering invented a wide range of items, so many were concentrated in similar areas that many know him for the company he co-founded and ran. Which one? Hint

His interests in clockworks and design resulted in National Cash Register.

His interests in engineering and acoustics resulted in Velodyne Epiphone and Acoustics.

His interests in medicine and mechanics resulted in the Normalair Respirator and Iron Lung Company.

His interests in electronics and automobiles resulted in Delco.

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Question 3 of 10

3. Any major inventor has to have a vision of the future, and Charles Kettering was no exception. One of Kettering's more futuristic inventions was the "Kettering Bug." What was that? Hint

a forerunner of the cruise missile, originally called an Aerial Torpedo.

a forerunner of the iPod, using Apple-like colors but wire recorder technology.

a forerunner of the subcompact sedan, looking like a half-size Model T with windows.

a forerunner of computer generated imagery, a machine that could rapidly redraw frames with slight changes.

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Question 4 of 10

4. Kettering was born and lived his entire life in Ohio. Where did he grow up? Hint

On the banks of the Miami River in Dayton, in a house later destroyed in the great flood of 1913.

In an orphanage in Van Buren.

Over a blacksmith shop on the outskirts of Cincinnati.

On a farm in Loudonville.

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Question 5 of 10

5. After graduating from high school, Charles Kettering made money for college by teaching in small schools, briefly starting college once but finally matriculating at the Ohio State University when he was 22. However, he dropped out during his sophomore year and worked in a crew, stringing telephone lines. Why? Hint

Because he had such poor eyesight.

Because he wanted to learn how telephones and telegraphs worked.

Because he spent foolishly and couldn't afford to continue.

Because his father died and his mother needed him at home.

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Question 6 of 10

6. "If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong," Kettering famously said. In fact, he said a lot of things that are still quoted, including three of the following four quotes. Which quote was said by someone else? Hint

The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.

We shall escape the uphill by never turning back.

You can be sincere and still be stupid.

A problem well stated is a problem half solved.

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Question 7 of 10

7. In 1905, Charles married Olive Williams. They had a son, Eugene, in 1908, and built a house they called "Ridgeleigh Terrace" in 1914. As one might imagine, Ridgeleigh Terrace was no ordinary house. It was the first house ever to have what? Hint

Television.

Electric air conditioning.

Fluorescent lights.

A push-button doorbell.

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Question 8 of 10

8. For most of his adult life, few people called Kettering "Charles." How was he generally known? Hint

as "Oz."

as "Gene."

as "Boss."

as "Chuck."

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Question 9 of 10

9. Kettering had many inventions still in use today, including all four below. Which one was most responsible for his wealth? Hint

The lightweight diesel engine, the research for which also helped develop the diesel railroad engine.

Fast-drying "Duco" paint, shortening automobile production time by days.

A portable lighting system, enabling rural people to generate their own electricity before the electric grid was established.

The electric starter for automobiles, first used commercially on the 1912 Cadillac.

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Question 10 of 10

10. Kettering made a lot of money with his inventions, and became quite a philanthropist. He and/or his family used his fortune to found or build all of the following... except which? Hint

The Charles F. Kettering Foundation for medical research, in Dayton, D.C., and New York.

The Kettering-Deeds Clinics in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Akron.

The Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, on New York City's Upper Eastside.

The Charles F. Kettering Hospital, on what had been the Ridgeleigh Terrace estate in Kettering, Ohio.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: The inventor of freon refrigeration and quick-drying paint for automobiles held 140 patents.

Among the other inventions used in the incorrect answers, Kettering only invented the printing cash register and leaded gasoline. (The pop-top beverage can was invented by fellow Dayton resident Ermal Fraze.)

However, according to "USA Today," in 2005 neither Edison nor Kettering was the top inventor. That honor went to Donald Weder of Highland, Illinois.

Quoting from the December 6, 2005 edition of "USA Today," Weder is "a man who, in contrast to the stupendous impact of Edison, has mostly used his inventive powers to give the world better floral arrangements.
"This is as deflating as finding out that Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak has been surpassed by a stadium peanut vendor.
"Weder, who is still alive and whose family runs floral packaging company Highland Supply, has his name on 1,321 patents. Almost all have to do with items you'd find at a florist."

2. Although Kettering invented a wide range of items, so many were concentrated in similar areas that many know him for the company he co-founded and ran. Which one?

Answer: His interests in electronics and automobiles resulted in Delco.

Charles Kettering and Edward Deeds were lifelong professional friends. While Deeds was working at National Cash Register (NCR), he hired Kettering to motorize the cash register. When General Motors wanted to hire Kettering to invent for them, he agreed to do so only if he could stay in Dayton.

He returned Deeds' earlier favor by inviting him to co-found the the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, or Delco.

3. Any major inventor has to have a vision of the future, and Charles Kettering was no exception. One of Kettering's more futuristic inventions was the "Kettering Bug." What was that?

Answer: a forerunner of the cruise missile, originally called an Aerial Torpedo.

During WWI, the US Army asked Kettering to develop an unmanned "flying bomb." Kettering designed the flying bomb, Orville Wright consulted, and the Wright Airplane Company built the "Kettering Aerial Torpedo." Unsurprisingly, it looked something like a Wright brothers' biplane (one can see a full-size replica at the US Air Force Museum).

It had a flying range of between 40 and 75 miles, and carried 180 pounds of explosive. Kettering produced and delivered 45 flying bombs, but the war ended before any could be used. I have no idea why the Kettering Aerial Torpedo came to be called the Kettering Bug.

4. Kettering was born and lived his entire life in Ohio. Where did he grow up?

Answer: On a farm in Loudonville.

Adam Kettering, Charles' brother, described young Charles trying "half the tools on the farm" in an attempt to find a better way to harvest potatoes.

Van Buren was a township near Dayton that changed its name to "Kettering" when it incorporated in 1955, three years before Kettering died. Ridgeleigh Terrace was/is in Van Buren/Kettering.

Answer: Because he had such poor eyesight.

I'm happy to report that Kettering went back to school after two years and graduated from the Ohio State with a degree in electrical engineering when he was 28. However, he remained plagued with poor eyesight his entire life.

Answer: We shall escape the uphill by never turning back.

Christina G. Rossetti said that. It comes from the poem, "Amor Mundi".

Other well known Kettering quotes include:
-- "People think of the inventor as a screwball, but no one ever asks the inventor what he thinks of other people;"
--"It doesn't matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again;" and
--"I am for the double-profit system, a reasonable profit for the manufacturer and a much greater profit for the customer."
--"No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm."
--"You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time."

Answer: Electric air conditioning.

The compressor for the air conditioner was a noisy behemoth of a machine, and was housed in an outbuilding 100 feet from the main house. Large underground pipes circulated the chilled air into the house.

Kettering worked on some of his inventions at Ridgeleigh Terrace. One local story tells of his developing anti-knock leaded gasoline by hiring a teenager to run beside his car, counting knocks while Kettering drove up the steep drive to Ridgeleigh Terrace over and over again.

Ridgeleigh Terrace now houses the corporate offices of the Kettering Health Network.

8. For most of his adult life, few people called Kettering "Charles." How was he generally known?

Answer: as "Boss."

One of the best public sources of information about Kettering was entitled simply "Boss Kettering." The book, by Stuart Leslie, was published in 1993 by Columbia University Press.

9. Kettering had many inventions still in use today, including all four below. Which one was most responsible for his wealth?

Answer: The electric starter for automobiles, first used commercially on the 1912 Cadillac.

Cars still use electric self-starters, and part of how hybrid cars work is that the starter also serves as a generator.

10. Kettering made a lot of money with his inventions, and became quite a philanthropist. He and/or his family used his fortune to found or build all of the following... except which?

Answer: The Kettering-Deeds Clinics in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Akron.

The Charles F. Kettering Hospital, originally a small community hospital built on what could be called Ridgeleigh Terrace's front yard, has grown into the Kettering Health Network.

Source: Author NormanW5

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