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Materials From History #2

Can you name these materials that played an important part in world history?
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: February 22, 2020
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First submittedFebruary 21, 2020
Times taken31,417
Average score65.0%
Rating4.59
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Hint
Answer
The cities of Venice and Waterford were once famous for making this
Glass
What stave churches are constructed from
Wood
The first watch made using this crystal was released by Seiko in 1969
Quartz
Gas that the Hindenburg zeppelin was filled with when it caught fire in 1937
Hydrogen
Material made by tanners, who traditionally used urine and dung in the process
Leather
Hat makers may have gone "mad" due to exposure to this toxic metal
Mercury
This bouncy substance made from tree drippings caused the Amazonian city of
Manaus to be fabulously wealthy in the late 19th century
Rubber
What the Statue of Liberty is made from. It took a couple decades for the statue
to turn from orange to green.
Copper
Light bulbs were improved in 1904 when filaments were first made using
this durable metal with the chemical symbol W
Tungsten
In the Roman Republic, freeborn men wore rings of this utilitarian material. Over time,
the practice died out and people (who could afford it) wore gold rings instead.
Iron
The most abundant metal in the earth's crust, it used to be worth more than gold
because it was difficult to refine
Aluminum
Known as "inheritance powder", poisonings using this substance were difficult to detect
until the Marsh Test was invented in 1836
Arsenic Trioxide
Substance found in the heads of certain whales that was used to make candles
Spermaceti
Traditionally, college professors wore jackets made of this rough woolen material,
named for a British river
Tweed
The Aztecs made many decorative objects from this blue-green stone
Turquoise
Type of ceramic invented in China and not produced in Europe until 1708
Porcelain
These bird and bat poop deposits were highly valuable as fertilizer until the early 20th century
Guano
Forged documents claimed that Saddam Hussein was trying to import the
yellow cake variety of this element, leading to the Iraq War
Uranium
The world's first synthetic fiber, created by DuPont in 1935. During WWII, women stopped
wearing stockings made from it due to wartime shortages.
Nylon
Drug lord Pablo Escobar gave people a choice between two metals.
The first was silver (a bribe). The second was this (a bullet).
Lead
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17 Comments
Marvel072506
+1
Level 45
Feb 22, 2020
Great quiz!!
MaxStickies
+1
Level 80
Feb 22, 2020
Interesting quiz. I tried arsenic and lead but completely forgot about mercury.
ander217
+1
Level 73
Feb 22, 2020
Very interesting quiz.
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 91
Feb 28, 2020
Good quiz. FYI, there's a typo in the question about Manaus: "fabously". I guess that's either famously or fabulously.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 31, 2020
Okay, fixed.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Mar 3, 2020
Didn't rayon predate nylon? And is silicon not considered a metal? It's more abundant than aluminum.
kogatora
+4
Level 96
Apr 20, 2021
Yes by about 80 years and it's man-made but derived from cellulose in plant fibres. Seems to be a fairly grey distinction between being man-made and synthetic here; I would have said Rayon is the better answer.
partdavid
+2
Level 74
Apr 4, 2024
On the second point--correct, silicon is a metalloid, not a metal.
MassLumpBlockClod
+5
Level 87
Jan 24, 2022
Plata o plomo
Instrumental
+1
Level 70
Oct 27, 2025
The quiz should accept "Plomo." :(
Nachtschicht
+5
Level 59
Feb 11, 2022
I didn't get Tweed because I read "wooden" instead of "woolen" - it didn't come to my mind, that wooden jackets may be kind of stiff...
orange3472
+1
Level 72
Apr 5, 2024
Did you try baaaaalsa? ;)
bostjan
+2
Level 71
Feb 11, 2022
I way overthought the tanner one - trying tannins, polyphenol, tannic acid, etc. I was totally barking up the wrong tree once my brain was set that direction.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
Feb 15, 2022
Just missed Tweed and Guano
McKenzieFam
+1
Level 68
Jan 5, 2024
Somehow read 'material made by tanners' as ' material used by tanners'. couldn't think what else they used to make leather with..
Stoggler
+1
Level 56
Oct 26, 2025
The IUPAC (The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), the international organization which covers chemistry, has agreed on aluminium rather than aluminum: aluminium is the name agreed on by the scientific community (just as sulfur was agreed on rather than sulphur).
Ampersandwich
+1
Level 61
Oct 27, 2025
Counterpoint: Semantics and since this isn’t scientific, it doesn’t matter as long as both type-ins work

Also the original name was Alumium! (Later changed)

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