Okay y’all, inventors and inventions quiz time—seriously, I just spent the last forty minutes failing spectacularly at one of these match-the-genius-to-their-creation things and now I feel both dumber and weirdly motivated to share the pain.
Here I am in my little apartment somewhere in the mid-Atlantic-ish US, it’s January, the radiator is making this horrifying ticking noise like it’s about to achieve sentience, and I’m surrounded by three empty energy drink cans because apparently that’s who I am now. I thought “hey self, you love history, you’ve watched way too many documentaries, you can totally ace an inventors and inventions quiz.” Spoiler: I cannot.
Why I’m Obsessed with This Stupid Inventors and Inventions Quiz Right Now
Look, I’m not proud of it, but ever since I moved back stateside last year I’ve been low-key addicted to late-night quizzes. It started innocent—personality tests, which decade do you belong in, whatever—but now it’s escalated to these inventors and inventions quiz things. There’s something so satisfyingly masochistic about realizing you thought Alexander Graham Bell invented the refrigerator. (He didn’t. I know that now. I learned it the hard way.)
I figured if I’m gonna embarrass myself publicly, I might as well drag y’all down with me. So here’s a mini inventors and inventions quiz I threw together from the ones that personally hurt me the most. No judgment. Okay maybe a little judgment.
Quick & Painful Inventors and Inventions Quiz – 8 Questions
Try to match the inventor to the invention. I’ll give the answers after. No cheating (I definitely cheated).
- Thomas Edison
- Nikola Tesla
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Tim Berners-Lee
- Garrett Morgan
- Marie Curie
- Lewis Latimer
- Josephine Cochrane
A. World Wide Web B. Practical incandescent light bulb (the one that actually lasted) C. Alternating current (AC) electricity system D. Telephone (the first practical one, anyway) E. Three-position traffic signal F. First automatic dishwasher G. Discovery of radium/polonium H. Carbon filament for light bulbs that made them actually usable
Go ahead, take your shot. I’ll wait.
…You done?
Answers at the bottom if you’re brave.
The Moment I Realized I Knew Nothing About Inventors and Inventions
I got exactly four right. Four. Out of eight. And one of them was the dishwasher because I remembered the story about the rich lady who got mad that her servants were chipping her china. That’s not even a flex, that’s just sad trivia retention.
The worst part? I was sitting here smugly thinking “oh yeah, Edison invented everything” like some kind of brain-dead patriot. Then bam, nope, Tesla was the AC king, Latimer was the real MVP behind the long-lasting bulb, and I’m over here giving credit to the guy who was great at business and patents but… yeah. Messy.
It hit different because I grew up in the US being fed this narrative that Edison = electricity = America #1, and it turns out the story is way more complicated, way more international, and way more human. Which is honestly beautiful but also made me feel like a sucker for about twenty minutes.
Pro Tip From Someone Who Failed This Inventors and Inventions Quiz
If you wanna get better at these quizzes (or just sound smarter at parties), start with the underdogs. Look up Lewis Latimer, Garrett Morgan, even Josephine Cochrane. Their stories are wilder than the big names half the time. Also don’t trust the first Google result—it’s usually Edison propaganda.
Here’s a couple outbound links I actually used to lick my wounds last night:
- The real story behind the light bulb wars (Smithsonian)
- Lewis Latimer’s actual contribution to the bulb (MIT)
- Garrett Morgan – the forgotten traffic signal inventor (History.com)
Final Score & Wrap-Up
I scored 50%. That’s a generous D-. If you got higher, congrats, you’re better at inventors and inventions trivia than this mess of a human. If you got lower… welcome to the club, let’s cry together.
Drop your score in the comments (or just lie, I won’t judge… much). And if you know a really evil inventors and inventions quiz that’ll humble me even more, send it. I hate myself enough to click it.
