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American Inventions #2

Based on the clues, name these things that were invented in the United States.
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: May 10, 2014
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First submittedMay 9, 2014
Times taken15,724
Average score72.7%
Rating3.91
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Clue
Answer
Popular variety of denim pants
Blue Jeans
Method of closing your fly
Zipper
First way to record and play back music
Phonograph
Deepfried hot dog coated in batter
Corn Dog
Uniquely American method of execution
Electric Chair
Secures your waste paper from snoopers
Paper Shredder
Uses satellites to find your location
GPS
Speech-making politician's best friend
Teleprompter
Toy spring that can descend stairs
and not much else
Slinky
Prophetic dessert, usually
thought to be Chinese
Fortune Cookie
Pharmaceutical way to keep the
population in check
Birth Control Pill
Clue
Answer
Convenient morning food
Breakfast Cereal
Alternative to raking
Leaf Blower
Faster way to shoot lots of people
Machine Gun
Gambling device called a
one-armed bandit
Slot Machine
Makes your cursor move
Mouse
Styling product in an aerosol can
Hair Spray
Tube for storing lots of grain
Silo
What checkout scanners read
Barcode
Separates cotton from seeds
Cotton Gin
What the British call "crisps"
Potato Chips
Originally used a peach basket -
the net came later
Basketball
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77 Comments
kitshef
+1
Level 87
May 9, 2014
Could you accept 'potato chip'. The 's' seems superfluous. Also gin for cotton gin? Cotton is in the clue.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
May 10, 2014
Okay
noodles
+3
Level 68
May 11, 2014
I actually just read an article this week on potato chips. Actually invented in the UK.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
May 12, 2014
Here's the Wikipedia article. Not that this is the definitive word, but the U.S. at least has a plausible claim to invention.
cloversgammy64
+4
Level 73
May 14, 2014
Sorry, but both the zipper and basketball are generally considered as Canadian inventions. And, contrary to popular thought, there was a light bulb (by a Canadian) before Edison's.
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
May 15, 2014
According to Wikipedia:

"Born in Canada, Naismith studied physical education in Montreal before moving to the United States, where he developed basketball in late 1891 while teaching at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts."

WanderingWalrus
+4
Level 82
Jun 16, 2018
As Wikipedia was created by Americans,maybe its not the most independent source for this quiz
martay
+1
Level 70
Nov 17, 2023
Please feel free to cite more authoritative sources. While quite possibly true, some guy claiming popular thought somewhere and accusations of national bias aren't exactly summary refutations.
MattLocke
+2
Level 86
Aug 9, 2014
Zippers seem to be thoroughly American: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipper
roncon82
+2
Level 57
Jun 6, 2014
Could you accept UPC codes for barcodes?
Baltimorean
+1
Level 66
Jul 3, 2014
Or universal product code for those of us who assumed you would credit the correct answer.
PantsLobbyist
+1
Level 98
Jun 25, 2018
Not sure if UPC was invented in the US, but barcodes certainly were; perhaps the distinction is necessary because of this?
fuanacdc
+1
Level 89
Jun 27, 2014
How about granola bar for breakfast food.
emwcee
+1
Level 47
Jul 3, 2014
You should accept Levis for blue jeans. That is what they were first called because they were invented by Levi Strauss. I guessed that first because of the historical context, but then quickly put jeans.
ander217
+1
Level 74
Jul 5, 2014
I think Levi Strauss himself first called them "waist overalls" and his very first pants were made of brown tent canvas. One story is that they later became called jeans because he switched to indigo-dyed denim which was similar to fabric worn by Genoa workers, but the Levi Strauss website says the company called them "waist overalls" until 1960 when babyboomers started calling them jeans. Jacob Davis came up with the idea of adding rivets to stress points, and his partnership with Strauss led to blue jeans as we know them today.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 80
Jul 3, 2014
"Pharmaceutical way to keep the

population in check" - I tried Prozac, Zoloft, anti-depressants... might have gone on to guess anti-psychotics, television, the "American Dream" and Fox News... but then I figured out you meant the size of the population not the existing population.

ginjam
+2
Level 54
Jul 3, 2014
I think Prozac and Zoloft should definitely work. Those answers are brilliant!
CorkSpork
+1
Level 71
Aug 12, 2015
I tried Ritalin and Adderall. Never did figure it out
Deathsunglasses
+2
Level 45
Aug 26, 2017
I tried spermicide.
Kahikatea
+1
Level 74
Mar 24, 2019
You should accept contraceptive pill as an answer
uckuzu
+2
Level 66
Jul 3, 2014
I think "Prompter" should be accepted in "Teleprompter"
Sublime1983
+3
Level 21
Jul 3, 2014
Can you not accept zip for zipper. bit silly that it won't
brandybuck96
+4
Level 83
Jun 19, 2016
Seeing as it was an American invention, it seems fair for the quiz to use the American name.
Berney
+3
Level 84
Nov 6, 2023
I think zip needs to be accepted, it's certainly known as that in the UK and elsewhere. It's also a shortened version of 'zip fastener'.
HighFidelity
+1
Level 59
Jul 3, 2014
Gah, wonder how many other Aussies and Brits struggled with "corn dog". I tried "Pluto Pup", "Dagwood Dog" and "Battered Sav" to no avail!
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Jul 29, 2019
We dont have it here and didnt know it was a thing... but I have heard of the weirdest things getting deep fried so I was not surprised. Though I had heard of the term corndog before ( in movies) I Never really knew what they were
WelshWizard
+2
Level 88
Jul 3, 2014
We just call it a zip in the UK. Not a zipper.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Jul 29, 2019
we call it rits
cranbeckh
+1
Level 69
Jul 3, 2014
Deep fried hot dogs are called Rippers in NJ and the east coast. Not that I've ever eaten one...
mpbrown2011
+1
Level 48
Jul 3, 2014
I kept on putting in styles of blue jeans e.g. hip huggers, bell bottoms, etc. and didn't go with the obvious answer, just flat out blue jeans. *facepalm
Symmetrik
+2
Level 56
Jul 3, 2014
Basketball should be removed from the quiz. It was invented by Dr James Naismith, a Canadian. Despite being popular in the US, it is in fact a Canadian invention.
Dontneedone
+4
Level 80
Jul 3, 2014
The quiz asks about inventions made within the United States, not about inventions made by Americans. The sport was made in Massachusetts.
ginjam
+2
Level 54
Jul 3, 2014
There are a whole bunch of convenient breakfast foods made in the US; doughnuts, bagels (although I believe those were invented in Poland), Pop Tarts, Egg McMuffin - the clue is rather random to try and figure out cereal. Maybe suggest something from Kellogg's.
HighFidelity
+1
Level 59
Jul 3, 2014
Doughnuts are a breakfast food?
cornflakesfu
+3
Level 89
Oct 20, 2018
In the U.S. they are.
Frankthetriviaman
+2
Level 37
Jul 3, 2014
Great Quiz! Though I should point out that the first machine gun was the Maxim gun, invented in 1884 by Sir Hiram Maxim... in the United Kingdom.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 80
Jul 8, 2014
The Gatling Gun predates the Maxim Gun by 23 years. The fact that it was hand-cranked means that sometimes it is not considered a true machine gun, but the technology of a continuously firing reliable gun definitely originated in the US and was first used in battle during the American Civil War.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 92
Dec 23, 2019
Maxim was from Maine, a U.S. citizen who filed patents for his machine gun in the U.S. While in England he first tried selling his gun he assembled. He eventually became a U.K. citizen. Not exactly a British invention.
postwaste
+1
Level 88
Jul 3, 2014
Breakfast cereal convient? I must be a lazy lazy man.
FractalDoom
+1
Level 43
Jul 3, 2014
The zipper is a Canadian invention.
bdhowell
+3
Level 62
Dec 7, 2015
That is a common misconception. The American inventor of the zipper left his first company, where he had invented the zipper, and started a company in Canada, since he had retained international rights to the invention.
MattB2884
+1
Level 32
Jul 7, 2014
UPC for barcode? Isn't that what most people in retail call it?
BlendedCow
+1
Level 43
Jul 7, 2014
Would electrocution be acceptable for electric chair? Or are there other ways to electrocute criminals?
caseylawless
+1
Level 27
Oct 1, 2014
Maybe accept "teleprompt" as well?
lunastorm13
+1
Level 55
Oct 8, 2014
Basketball is a Canadan invention. Not American It was invented by Canadian James Naismith. Here is a link to a source, a youtube video of a Heritage Minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxWpkqI6P3w

Jerry928
+1
Level 76
Feb 4, 2015
Accept "blowing"? The clue is a verb, so I'd think the answer would be as well.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Jul 29, 2019
I am not sure americans invented blowing.. who knows though.
Lemonly
+1
Level 34
Jun 16, 2015
Basketball was actually invented in Canada.....sigh......Americans.......
bdhowell
+7
Level 62
Dec 7, 2015
No, it was invented by a Canadian, Dr. Naismith, while he was working at a college in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
IsleAuHaulte
+5
Level 92
Dec 23, 2019
Sigh....Canadians who don't check the whole story before getting xenophobic.
celebeth
+1
Level 72
Aug 29, 2015
100%.
brandybuck96
+2
Level 83
Nov 3, 2015
Argh, I mistyped "machine gun" as "machine fun"... possibly the most tragic typo I've ever managed to produce.
samiamco
+1
Level 68
Jun 6, 2016
Could you accept "electrocution" for "electric chair"? Technically, electrocution is the method; the electric chair is just the equipment.
duckwantbread
+1
Level 66
Sep 23, 2016
The quiz is about inventions not methods, you can't invent electrocution.
cornflakesfu
+1
Level 89
Oct 20, 2018
"An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition or process."
EcceHomo
+1
Level 85
Mar 5, 2024
You can if it is a purposeful method of execution. I tried electrocution then gave up without considering the right answer.
Findlay
+2
Level 80
Sep 26, 2016
Completely blanked on slot machine. All I could conjure up were the Australian terms - poker machine or pokie.
McLerristarr
+1
Level 62
Jul 5, 2019
They should accept poker machine and pokie.
MindWax
+1
Level 87
Oct 26, 2023
They should also accept "misini ke", the Tongan term for it.
Deathsunglasses
+2
Level 45
Aug 26, 2017
Basketball was not American. It was Canadian.

Because somebody MOVES to America and invents something doesn't mean they're American except on paper.

I guess you can argue that Michael J. Fox, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Tommy Chong, etc. are American because Hollywood is a pretty big circuit and countries love to claim the positive culture from elsewhere as its own, but do you ever think "Oh Einstein ? TOTALLY American.Tesla too!" Probably not, but you should by the same logic as famous entertainers.

I guess I'm just rambling.

I don't know.

There should almost be a rule like if you have lived in a country for the first 15 years of your life (give or take), then you are (considered) from that country,

Deathsunglasses
+1
Level 45
Aug 26, 2017
Haha, also it's weird that I posted only Canadian-born comedians as my examples (aside from Tesla and Einstein, obviously).

One of Canada's biggest exports is comedians for sure.

cornflakesfu
+4
Level 89
Oct 20, 2018
Whether or not Naismith was Canadian is not the point; the point is whether or not basketball is an American invention. Basketball was invented in the U.S. by a Canadian. I personally wouldn't have a problem with saying that basketball is a Canadian invention, but I also don't think you can definitively say that it's not an American invention.
frognbuff
+1
Level 86
Mar 7, 2021
This quiz is concerned with where the invention happened, not the nationality of who invented it. Naismith lived in Massachusetts when he invented basketball, so based on how the quiz defined an American invention it fits.
POOCH
+1
Level 71
Aug 27, 2018
This is just a question, but I've never seen a phonograph that records music. Was that possible at some time? I always thought that they were separate processes with one device to make the record and a second one to play it back. The first thing that I remember that you could use at home to record and play on was reel-to-reel tape, but I'm no electronics expert, I am probably wrong.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Jul 29, 2019
I think you are mixing up phonograph and gramophone

edit: and I am pretty sure you are not the only one, I think a lot of people probably thought of gramophone and tried that one, not knowing about phonograph, since it is only at about 40%. If it was a question where the answer was gramophone I would have expected it to be at about 80%

HTownBoyz
+2
Level 51
Dec 25, 2018
Could “electrocution” be acceptable for the electric chair?
CanadaMonarchist
+1
Level 86
Mar 21, 2019
Pogo should work for the corn dog. It is the most well-known brand and its what I call them
eppek
+2
Level 68
Dec 17, 2020
Allow zip for zipper.
KA
+1
Level 77
Jul 8, 2021
Basketball was invented by James Naismith, who was a Canadian. Please correct.
cledun2
+1
Level 95
Aug 9, 2025
But he invented it in Kansas.
britinaus
+1
Level 88
Sep 5, 2021
Could you please accept oral contraceptive pill, contraceptive pill, OCP or some version of the above? I tried many versions of these before giving up and just trying "the pill" which finally worked. And it's what they're called in the medical field.
vomitingdiamonds
+1
Level 87
Apr 20, 2022
To add to what others have said - please consider gramophone for phonograph, electrocution, pokie machine for gaming machine, and blower for leaf blower. that's what they are known in australia at least.
PitifulExcuse
+1
Level 65
Mar 10, 2024
I've never seen, much less eaten, a corn dog. but i think that the description is wrong. It makes more sense to coat the hot dog in batter before deep frying it rather than after.
AbiA
+1
Level 87
Sep 16, 2024
I only know those gaming machines as fruit machines. Maybe that’s a UK thing, and/or outdated term.
TurkeyCookTime
+1
Level 85
Nov 15, 2024
Can you accept "leaf blowing"? It says alternative to rakING, therefore the answer should be leaf blowING. Either that or change the clue to "Alternative to a rake".
Pares321
+1
Level 85
Feb 24, 2025
"fruit machine" is the usual UK term for a slot machine. Maybe accept it?
SimWithDaniel
+1
Level 64
Sep 16, 2025
Anticonception pill should be accepted
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