Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Quick Quirk Quiz: Science & Technology
Quick Quirk Quiz: Science & Technology
Quick Quirk Quiz: Science & Technology
Ebook31 pages36 minutes

Quick Quirk Quiz: Science & Technology

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

2/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Test your knowledge of the things that make our lives easier in these 28 true tales behind researchers and their discoveries. Can you match the inventors to their inventions after hearing the story behind their development?

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 12, 2009
ISBN9781311373823
Quick Quirk Quiz: Science & Technology
Author

Janet Spencer - Trivia Queen

Janet Spencer:Trivia Queen of the UniverseRoyal Ruler of Useless InformationMaster of Arcane Knowledge and Extraneous LoreKeeper of Forgotten Facts and Startling StatisticsFreelance Hysterics * Creative Profanities * Quantum PerplexitiesJanet Spencer was born in 1960 to a poor white sharecropper in Illinois. At 12, she slipped aboard a southbound freighter headed for Australia, where she was further raised by a pack of wild dingoes. Naturally curious and totally obsessed with the minor details of life, she traveled to London to join the Royal Astronomical Society to learn more of the world and the universe. However, the RAS had a long-standing ban against allowing in poor white sharecroppers half raised by wild dingoes, so she instead camped outside and counting the bricks making up the snobby institution. This was a pivotal experience for her. Finding there were exactly 17,431 bricks started her on her lifelong quest for small details, amazing truths, and petty coincidences. The Trivia Queen claimed her crown!Since then, she has been roaming the world from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, counting bricks, observing small insects, and measuring the average number of grains in a typical salt shaker. With such a vast storehouse of trivial knowledge, she now embarks on a new quest: to share this information with her fellow humans - stumping experts, amazing laymen, and bringing wide-eyed blank stares to all those around her. She is the author of several books including "Montana Trivia" and "Yellowstone Trivia" published by www.RiverbendPublishing.comJanet Spencer spends her spare time serving as chairwoman of the Associated Association of Associated Associations, playing with spatulas, and conversing with ducks.

Read more from Janet Spencer Trivia Queen

Related to Quick Quirk Quiz

Related ebooks

Games & Activities For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Quick Quirk Quiz

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
2/5

1 rating0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Quick Quirk Quiz - Janet Spencer - Trivia Queen

    SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

    The Quick Quirk Quiz

    The Surprising Stories, Hidden History,

    and Unusual Origins Behind Familiar Things

    By Janet Spencer, Trivia Queen of the Universe

    Royal Ruler of Useless Information

    Master of Arcane Knowledge & Extraneous Lore

    Keeper of Forgotten Facts & Startling Statistics

    Published by Janet Spencer at Smashwords.com

    Copyright 2009 Janet Spencer

    Discover other works by Janet Spencer at

    www.smashwords.com/profile/view/triviaqueen

    www.TriviaQueen.com

    www.RiverbendPublishing.com

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Thank you for your support!

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    A New Color

    A Synthetic Silk

    A Slippery Substance

    A New Raincoat

    A Clean Shoe

    A New Glue

    The Right Way to Make Rubber

    A New Rubber Company

    Better Tires

    A Reliable Source of Heat

    A Sterile Dish

    A Big Calculator

    A Camera for the Common People

    A More Affordable Camera

    A Car Radio

    A Transistor Radio

    A Better Sound System

    A New Computer

    Wireless United

    A Color TV Game Machine

    A Very Large Number

    A Sudden Fright

    A New Screw

    Experiments with Fish Oil

    Oil of a Thousand Uses

    A New, Improved Paint

    Nine Kittens and a Flashlight

    A Better Pen

    A New Color

    In the mid-1800s malaria caused many deaths. The only remedy was quinine, painstakingly derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. After hearing a lecture on the difficulties of extracting quinine, a chemistry student named William Perkin decided to try to synthesize quinine. He started with aniline, made from distilling the indigo plant, because he thought the chemical structure was similar enough to quinine that he could alter it. After mixing in carbons and hydrogens, the result was a black sludge. Perkin threw it away, then washed his flasks out with water and alcohol but was interested to see that the sludge residue turned the water and alcohol purple. Experimenting further, Perkin extracted the substance that caused the color, and sent samples to a friend in the dye business. The purple substance was

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1