Strange Magic Trivia Quiz

Answer: A petrol-powered ride-on lawnmower

Ride-on lawnmowers allow gardeners to cut large expanses of grass quickly and easily. The first lawnmower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830 and was designed to help people cut the grass in huge spaces like in parks and sports facilities. The first lawnmower had to be pushed by a person, but later in the 19th century, animal-drawn and steam-powered lawnmowers were developed.

By the beginning of the 20th century, there were electric and petrol-powered lawnmowers - now including ones you can sit on and ride. We've come a long way from the scythe!

Answer: An electromagnet pumping out sound waves

Gone are the days when you had to hire a musician to hear music being played. From the end of the 20th century, people were using earphones to listen to music. Whether it was a portable cassette player or the latest iPhone, the earphones that came with them often worked in the same way. Each tiny speaker was made of a magnet and a coil of wire.

When an electric current runs through the coil, it creates an electromagnet, which pushes out sound waves.

Answer: Electrons banging against a tungsten filament

Streetlights brighten our city nights in the 21st century. Incandescent bulbs had a filament made of tungsten inside them. When an electric current passed through, electrons banged against the metal filament. The filament heated up and produced light.

Answer: Horizontal threads passing under multiple vertical threads

Denim is a cotton textile often used for clothing. The first denim was made in France from a mixture of wool and silk. In 1873, Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss were granted a patent to make reinforced jeans. They were used by labourers due to their strength and durability. Threading horizontally through multiple vertical threads leaves a ribbed pattern in the fabric.

Answer: An internal combustion engine

Many vehicles on 21st century roads are powered by an internal combustion engine. They use fuel like petrol or diesel. The fuel is burned within the engine, which creates energy. When the fuel is burned, the combustion gases expand and push on a piston, which in turn rotates a crankshaft. The succession of moving parts drives the vehicle forward. There's no call for a horse at all!

Answer: A double three-legged gravity escapement

An escapement is a device within mechanical clocks that ensures they keep time. Double three-legged gravity escapements were developed during the 18th and 19th centuries and were used in turret clocks like the Great Clock in Elizabeth Tower in Westminster (where Big Ben is). The clock keeps time using weights that move in a pendulum motion.

Answer: A timer or a sensor controlling when the traffic light changes

Traffic light systems control traffic flow at busy junctions and pedestrian crossing points. In 21st century cities like London, traffic lights are a common occurrence. Some busy junctions have lights that are controlled by a timer to allow equal flow in all directions. Where a smaller road joins onto a larger road, the traffic might be controlled by a sensor instead. That way, more cars can move along the busier road and the lights will only change if there are vehicles waiting to turn onto the main road.

Answer: The shape of the plane's wings creating an upward force called lift

From the 20th century, aeroplanes had wings that were shaped in a particular way to enable the plane to fly. As the plane moved forward, the wing design allowed air to pass over the top at a faster rate than the air passing under the wing. The difference in pressure created a force called lift that enabled the vehicle to leave the ground.

Answer: A motion sensor triggering an electric motor

Lots of 21st century shops had automatic doors to allow customers easy access to anything they might want to buy. They were a bit more hi-tech than the medieval market vendor shouting in the street. Automatic doors usually had a motion or optical sensor attached to them.

The sensor watched for movement in front of the doors. If movement was detected, an electric motor pulled the doors aside, waited a while, then drew the door closed again.

Answer: Radio waves being transmitted between devices

If you wanted to speak to someone in medieval times, you had to be in the same geographical location as them. If you wanted to send them a message, you had to pay someone to walk or ride to their location, which could take months. If you wanted a reply, you had to wait twice as long. With the development of mobile phone technology in the 1980s, however, long distance conversations could be instantaneous, no matter where you happened to be. Like walkie-talkies, mobile phones converted sound into radio waves and transmitted them to another device, which then decoded the sound.

But what if the device you were calling was far away? Mobile phone masts picked up the weak signal coming from your phone and relayed it on to another, closer mast.