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Chinese Inventions

Based on the clues, try to name these things that were invented in China.
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: February 24, 2020
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First submittedMay 9, 2014
Times taken33,708
Average score65.0%
Rating4.30
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Clue
Invention
Writing material
Paper
Centuries before Gutenberg ...
Printing
Saltpeter-based explosive substance
Gunpowder
The Chinese version pointed south
Compass
What Marco Polo supposedly
brought back to Italy
Noodles
Domesticated carp
Goldfish
Luxury fabric
Silk
Varieties include Oolong and Longjing
Tea
Eating utensils
Chopsticks
Popular game with 144 tiles
Mahjong
Clue
Invention
Pyrotechnics
Fireworks
Explosive bomb for throwing
Hand grenade
Fragrant burning material
Incense
Ceramic material named
after the country
China (porcelain)
Cooking vessel used for stir-fry
Wok
Foot straps for horse-riders
Stirrup
Pressed soybean curd
Tofu
Bidet alternative
Toilet paper
Flying toy
Kite
Poker necessity
Playing cards
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88 Comments
kitshef
+7
Level 88
May 9, 2014
Tea: not an invention
alberici
+25
Level 74
May 9, 2014
Because goldfish is?
kitshef
+2
Level 88
May 9, 2014
that, too.
Cedo
+4
Level 38
Jan 25, 2017
And yet, it is, just like dogs were created from wolves by humans.
idontkn1
+2
Level 94
Apr 12, 2017
Actually there are now doubts that man domesticated the wolf. Evidence is at least suggesting to the possibility of wolves domesticating themselves and that is happened simultaneously in multiple places stretching from western Europe to the Americas.
noodles
+41
Level 68
May 11, 2014
Tea did not clip itself, dry itself and then jump into a cup of hot water though.
burntfrost
+8
Level 47
May 15, 2014
Snap.
kitshef
+4
Level 88
May 20, 2014
True, but the the clipping of leaves and adding hot water is an independent invention of many cultures,including Neanderthals, who would slightly predate the Chinese invention. What originated in China is the plant, Camellia sinensis, which is not an invention.
Cedo
+3
Level 38
Jan 25, 2017
Oh boy..
Cleverer
+6
Level 62
Apr 20, 2017
I agree. The first country to brew coffee would get credit for it too. We're not accrediting them for having the plant in their borders, but for being the first to use a practice that is now international.
Jaysus
+2
Level 63
Apr 12, 2017
Agreed, tea is no more an invention than the apple.
stg
+6
Level 47
Apr 12, 2017
So I guess apple sauce also not an invention?
Quizmaster
+23
Level ∞
Feb 24, 2020
@Jaysus you are right. The apples that we eat today are very much a human invention. Before humans came along, there were only crabapples.
burntfrost
+3
Level 47
May 15, 2014
"Pasta" should be accepted.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 79
May 20, 2014
even though that one is totally not true.
kalbahamut
+9
Level 79
May 20, 2014
I mean it's not true that Marco Polo brought noodles to Europe. Europeans were eating noodles and pasta for centuries before Marco Polo.
sillie
+2
Level 75
May 20, 2014
Or possibly "macaroni" ?
tschutzer
+12
Level 93
Jul 24, 2014
No, that was simply the name that he gave his cap after feather insertion.
ander217
+5
Level 74
Apr 12, 2017
He didn't name his cap. It was a specific type of fashion in that day, similar to hipster or dandy of other eras.
huaiwei
+3
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
All noodles are not pasta, and all pasta are not noodles. Go figure out why.
scobykat
+1
Level 63
May 20, 2014
should not pasta be acceptable for noodles?????
Sifhraven
+4
Level 76
Sep 6, 2019
Why do people think pasta is the same as noodles, it is not.
wkrpnyc
+2
Level 80
Apr 21, 2020
Pasta is Italian for paste. All noodles are made from a paste of flour and water, including spaghetti.
Regtheledge1000
+1
Level 28
Apr 22, 2020
Spaghetti Noodles
obmeb
+1
Level 58
Apr 21, 2020
my grandmothers noodles wouldn't really come under the category pasta. I tried spaghetti as the iconic Italian staple that clearly mimics chinese noodles.
FractalDoom
+3
Level 43
May 20, 2014
Mongolia invented the stirrup, because they were the Mongols.
Sunkist22
+4
Level 42
Apr 21, 2020
But what if they were invented when China owned Mongolia? Bc then technically China did invent them...
TimesKnewRoman
+1
Level 38
Jul 27, 2025
When mongols lived together in one unseparated country
TokyaCro
+7
Level 13
May 23, 2014
They invented ice cream too!
punkybrewster
+1
Level 85
Jul 8, 2015
Bidets are used instead of toilet paper? I always assumed you used the toilet paper, then the bidet. And then a towel.
roadrage
+4
Level 67
Apr 21, 2020
your assumptions are correct
roawa
+5
Level 33
Oct 1, 2015
The Chinese compass points south, not north.
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Dec 12, 2016
Interesting! Changed the clue.
redsplat
+6
Level 72
Apr 18, 2016
Please accept koi for carp.
AllenY
+3
Level 68
Aug 12, 2016
Never realised utensil referred to containers, hm
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Dec 12, 2016
Changed to cooking vessel.
fk2044
+1
Level 22
Apr 12, 2017
paper was invented by the Egyptians not chinese
Froststar101
+8
Level 73
Apr 16, 2017
That's papyrus.
mckinpo
+5
Level 65
Apr 12, 2017
Paper money fits the description you have for noodles. It was invented in China, and brought to Venice by Marco Polo. There are several websites that will attest to this if you google paper money and Marco Polo
Froststar101
+2
Level 73
Apr 16, 2017
I agree with this one.
sussexval
+3
Level 57
Apr 12, 2017
Who in the world thinks that toilet paper is an ALTERNATIVE to a bidet?
roadrage
+1
Level 67
Apr 21, 2020
Absolutely no one.
huaiwei
+1
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
It is in some parts of the world, such as mine. ;)
AlexThirkell
+5
Level 74
Nov 5, 2022
In the same way that walking is an alternative to dragging yourself along the floor using your teeth.
naughtynick
+1
Level 33
Apr 12, 2017
got the lot. I put toilet paper out of frustration at not coming up with an alternative to a bidet !
AllenY
+3
Level 68
Apr 12, 2017
The Marco Polo clue strikes me as not very good; not only is it "supposedly" but it doesn't even relate to China at all
bexjen9387
+5
Level 47
Apr 12, 2017
toilet roll should be accepted for toilet paper as thats what english people call it!
stone222
+1
Level 47
Oct 28, 2018
i wanted wet sponge to be acceptable
Protokletos
+1
Level 65
Jul 18, 2025
Took me a while to get because I tried loo roll and then moved on
Josefs
+2
Level 77
Apr 13, 2017
But wasn't toilet paper invented by the American Joseph Gayetty?!
snix
+3
Level 53
Apr 13, 2017
Don't question it. Just be thankful we have it.
martinz
+1
Level 51
Apr 13, 2017
Pasta is not chinese
huaiwei
+5
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
The answer is not pasta.
Dollyfroggy
+2
Level 63
Nov 2, 2022
They probably meant to reply to people asking for pasta to be accepted.
RabidPony
+3
Level 37
Apr 16, 2017
Had to Google translate "stirrups" because I knew it in French but not in English... This website really is pushing the limits of my vocabulary, I love it haha
Tomasmental
+1
Level 95
Dec 21, 2017
How on Earth are goldfish and tea Chinese inventions??
stone222
+5
Level 47
Oct 28, 2018
maybe they took silver fish, fed them a diet of mandarins and turned them orange ?????
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Sep 6, 2019
Alchemy..
Gassu
+4
Level 69
Sep 9, 2018
How on Earth is China only at 63% although the clue is so easy?
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Sep 6, 2019
People get suspucious and don't trust it and think it is a set up. And think they are smart "Hahah!! I won't fall for that !"
AntiMatter8192
+2
Level 78
Apr 21, 2020
China invents China!
huaiwei
+3
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
Of course the Chinese don't call China China in China. :D
BizarroTommy
+3
Level 70
Jan 14, 2019
koi should be accepted for the carp question
bkemp2001
+1
Level 60
Apr 18, 2019
...all the tea in China. How did I not even think to try that?
KanzazKyote
+2
Level 92
Sep 2, 2019
Again, please accept the actual Chinese words? Majiang is the actual Chinese spelling. It took me a long time to get "Mahjong." Same goes for Jiang Jie Shi for "Chiang Kai-Shek" on other answers.
huaiwei
+4
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
Pinyin is not "actual Chinese spelling". This is obviously asking for English words, and "Majiang" is not an English word, while Mahjong is.
overtired
+1
Level 88
Jan 31, 2020
Oh yeah, the kite. I guessed the paper plane given that they had the material to make it :)
AJsaba
+13
Level 48
Apr 21, 2020
Don't forget Coronavirus
Elegia85
+4
Level 46
Apr 21, 2020
Was waiting to see this, my day is complete now
TimesKnewRoman
+1
Level 38
Jul 27, 2025
North Carolina, that's a comeback.
AntiMatter8192
+2
Level 78
Apr 21, 2020
Good quiz. Make a quiz about inventions from India.
11level360
+2
Level 51
Apr 21, 2020
Im chinese and I missed Chopsticks -_-

I missed 2 questions

wkrpnyc
+1
Level 80
Apr 21, 2020
Pasta is a type of noodle. Pasta means paste. Noodles, including spaghetti and other Italian noodles are made of water mixed with flour, ie a paste.

Some people get really butthurt about China being more innovative or innovating earlier than Europe, don't they?

KevinDuBrow
+3
Level 53
Apr 22, 2020
The problem is that it’s true that noodles were invented in China, but pasta wasn’t. I don’t see how “pasta” is an acceptable answer. The U.S. invented chocolate chip cookies, but no one says that they invented baked goods.
huaiwei
+3
Level 37
Apr 24, 2020
Indeed. Trouble is some Westerners think noodles are all made from wheat, when those in Asia can be made of various other ingredients such as rice, buckwheat (Soba), egg, etc.
clivey
+3
Level 69
Apr 21, 2020
I just came here for the "they also created Coronavirus" comments.
Phil
+1
Level 57
Apr 21, 2020
Where's sickness that causes a country shutdown?
clivey
+2
Level 69
Apr 22, 2020
Everywhere!
Prot
+2
Level 55
Apr 21, 2020
Wrong. Noodles were invented by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which wasn't Chinese, AFAIK.
roleybob
+2
Level 73
Apr 21, 2020
2nd generation Italian of Chinese ancestry I believe
howard38
+1
Level 62
Apr 21, 2020
I should get credit for index finger for the toilet paper question.
zimny
+3
Level 71
Apr 22, 2020
Maybe the question about the "Flying toy" should also accept the "Bamboo-copter" as the answer? This is a type of propeller toy, also invented in ancient China.
DukeOfLorraine
+1
Level 67
Nov 1, 2022
The one about Marco Polo is a legend, pasta were known in Italy since much, much longer. The Romans already knew lasagna.
AntiMatter8192
+2
Level 78
Nov 1, 2022
China inventing incense seems to be a bit debatable. Both Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley had some form of incense at a similar time, if not earlier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incense#History

Atzuul
+2
Level 45
Nov 1, 2022
Quiz:Name an invention that was made in Chi-

Me:Everything

EconomicSnake
+1
Level 73
Mar 14, 2023
It seems like there is some debate as to where the origin of domesticated koi is (China vs Japan), I think it should probably be accepted.
Nevson64
+1
Level 67
Jan 2, 2026
How is “toilet paper” only at 25%?? Wtf!
tizzlizz
+1
Level 66
Feb 25, 2026
This is one of the funniest comment threads I've ever read....pasta & noodles! Bidets & toilet paper! Is tea an invention? Some of you folks take these quizzes way too literally, have fun! What cracked me up was 'Bidet Alternative' so I googled and I found the 'TOTO' Washlet a Japanese invention in the 80s that is an electronic bidet that fits on an elongated toilet. I love traveling to countries that have bidets! I'm going to check it out! About $400 & can be self-installed. TMI!!!

Also, I'll bet toilet paper was just used for failed experients with making writing paper

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