Nobody Does It Better Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wisdom Toothbrushes

William Addis was jailed in 1770 for causing a riot. Whilst in jail he decided that the then current method for cleaning teeth (rubbing a rag with soot and salt onto the teeth) wasn't terribly efficient and so spent time creating a 'bristle' brush. He took a small animal bone and then put some holes in it.

After that he obtained some bristles, tied them into tufts and threaded the tufts through the holes. When he left jail he set up a manufacturing factory and started mass production of his invention.

Answer: Teflon

Teflon, or PTFE, was in fact, accidentally invented. The story goes that Mr Plunkett worked for Kinetic Chemicals in New Jersey. He was actually conducting an experiment to try and make a CFC refrigerant. When the container he was using acted differently to his expectations, he sawed it open to see what had happened.

Inside, he was surprised to find a waxy, white material which seemed particularly slippery; and suddenly, a way to cook without things sticking was born. (Not that Teflon or anything else is going to help my cooking very much - but thank you anyway, Mr Plunkett!)

Answer: He was addicted to morphine

John Pemberton was wounded in the Battle of Columbia and, as a result of this, he became addicted to morphine. It was when he was searching for a cure for this addiction that he came up with French Wine Coca, which contained coca wines and the kola nut. Though this was successful, temperance legislation, which prohibited the use of alcohol, forced Pemberton to come up with a non-alcoholic version of his French Wine Coca.

This he did, blending a base syrup with carbonated water. Once it was made, he carried a jug down the street to the Jacobs pharmacy and asked them to taste it.

They did, pronounced it 'excellent' and promptly placed it on sale for 5 cents.

Answer: Two

Yep, believe it or not, the SPF factor was a mere 2! Maybe the sun wasn't as hot in 1938?

Answer: The revolving door

Theophilus Van Kannel, born in 1841, invented the revolving door in 1888. He was awarded the John Scott Medal by Philadelphia for the 'usefulness' of his invention. A very worthy award IMHO.

Answer: A zipper

It is generally accepted that Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American electrical engineer invented the modern day zipper. Interestingly, in the beginning, his zippers were only really used on boots and tobacco pouches - it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion industry and even then didn't achieve wide acceptance until WWII when they were used on trousers, skirts and dresses.

Answer: A dishwasher

She invented the dishwasher (and I get down on my knees and thank her for that!). The story goes that the lady in question held lots of dinner parties, and had plenty of servants, however, she was disturbed at how many chips her dishes were receiving and how long it took to wash up.

She started by making a dishwasher for her household and before long friends were asking for them too. Hotels and restaurants began hearing about the new device, and the rest, as they say, is history....

Answer: True

Whilst the can obviously revolutionised the preserving of foodstuffs, they certainly weren't easy to handle: the can itself often weighed more than the food within; some were made with lead seals which lead to lead poisoning, and the things required persistence and ingenuity to get open - in fact, the instructions on cans at one time read: 'Cut round the top near the outer edge with a chisel and hammer'! Frustrated soldiers even reportedly used their bayonettes to get cans open. Luckily, in the 1850's dedicated can openers hit the market and life all became a bit easier...

Answer: Hang things up

Albert Parkhouse invented coat hangers. The story goes that he went into work and couldn't find a spare peg to hang his coat on. As he worked at the Timberlake Wire and Novelty company, he simply picked up two pieces of wire, bent them and then twisted a hook in the top.

Then he hung his coat on the wire proceeded into work. The company loved the idea, and took out the patent. (In those days, you could apparently take your employee's ideas as your own). Luckily, the laws protect us these days ...

Answer: Thomas Edison

I love this quote because of Edison's attitude - he hadn't failed - he'd simply been successful in knowing what didn't work! Edison did crack the ideal battery formula in the end - after three years and nine thousand-odd experiments. Oh, and he held an astounding 1,093 patents. (Makes me feel I should get out there and invent something!)