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Inventions by Country #1

For each selected invention or discovery, name the modern-day country in whose territory it originated.
Guess the modern day country. Answer must correspond to highlighted box
Dates are approximate, don't get too attached to them
Some answers used more than once
Quiz idea: Milanthro
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 9, 2019
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First submittedMay 22, 2013
Times taken54,881
Average score58.3%
Rating4.46
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Invention
Year
Country
Gunpowder
c. 700
China
Airplane
1903
United States
Automobile
1885
Germany
Bikini
1946
France
Chess
c. 500
India
Coffee
c. 1400
Ethiopia / Yemen
Espresso
1884
Italy
Compass
c. 1000
China
Democracy
508 BC
Greece
Dynamite
1867
Sweden
Eyeglasses
1286
Italy
Golf
c. 1400
United Kingdom
Invention
Year
Country
Hot air balloon
1783
France
Locomotive
1804
United Kingdom
Basketball
1891
United States
Monosodium Glutamate
1908
Japan
Carrots that are orange
c. 1500
Netherlands
Pizza
1738
Italy
Psychoanalysis
1890s
Austria
Rubik's cube
1974
Hungary
Satellite
1957
Russia
Silk
c. 3500 BC
China
Stock market
1602
Netherlands
Seven-day week
c. 700 BC
Iraq
Save Your Stats
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112 Recent Comments
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Jul 13, 2013
Some nits that could be picked but I'll pass. Got almost everything almost right away except for MSG (guessed China- I was close), carrots (had no idea), the Rubik's Cube (was guessing a lot of European countries but didn't get the answer), and the stock market (should have known.. duh)
JenkinsEar
+15
Level 91
Jul 13, 2013
Carrots were originally a whitish-yellow color. The Dutch bred them to be orange in honor of the House of Orange, which was leading the fight for independence against Spain!
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Jul 13, 2013
cool. Never knew that. thanks for sharing. :) I thought they were orange because of beta keratin.
KatM
+2
Level 22
Jul 13, 2013
How about purple carrots? :D
Zefyrinus
+5
Level 74
Oct 15, 2014
Huh, you learn something new every day.

@kalbahamut: Beta carotene. Keratin would be in your hair and nails.

wageslave
+4
Level 38
Apr 3, 2015
Some claim it is a myth that the Dutch bred carrots to be orange for nationalist purposes, and also that the orange carrot existed before the Dutch bred them http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history3.html
pike01
+1
Level 66
Nov 7, 2025
The ones claiming that are completely right!
YantheMan
+2
Level 66
Oct 29, 2019
I believe there were many different colours of carrots around, and the Dutch just isolated the one they liked, though I may be wrong.
RJF
+5
Level 67
Dec 20, 2022
Given that this was all before the age of GMOs, carrots that turned orange through some natural genetic mutation must have existed already, but it was the Dutch who selectively bred them to isolate the orange variety.
partdavid
+1
Level 74
Jul 10, 2023
A huge number of our produce fruits and vegetables only existed the way we know them after Dutch horticulturalists made them that way.
luxint
+1
Level 67
Dec 10, 2015
how was guessing China close re MSG?
englishsystem
+3
Level 67
Dec 10, 2015
...because China is geographically near Japan, the correct answer. ':|
kalbahamut
+3
Level 79
Jun 27, 2016
also, Chinese food, similar to some Japanese cuisine, is loaded with MSG.
PSTSCCH
+1
Level 46
Dec 10, 2015
MSG was first sold in my country by Japanese-based company, and it is now advertised related with the term umami which is the fifth taste discovered by Japanese scientist.
tom88
+3
Level 77
Oct 28, 2019
I always thought the Rubik's cube was a Russian invention for some reason.
lsofhereward
+8
Level 71
Dec 17, 2022
Maybe you were thinking of Tetris? Which was invented in Russia. Obviously they're very different, but they both involve colorful blocks
pantera69
+14
Level 14
Jul 13, 2013
Kind of frusterating that America invented basketball since it was Dr James Naismith (a Canadian) who developed the game. I know he was in the states when he did invent it, but still gotta give my Canada a little love in this quiz!
panscedar
+12
Level 67
Jul 26, 2015
Yup. I guessed Canada first and only begrudgingly yielded to putting in USA.
Deathsunglasses
+11
Level 45
Sep 12, 2017
Canadian invented it, therefore it is a Canadian invention
roleybob
+12
Level 73
Oct 28, 2019
The quiz is called "Inventions by Country #1"

The instructions say "For each selected invention or discovery, name the country where it originated."

Nowhere does it say "Name the nationality of the inventor / discoverer"

IsleAuHaulte
+4
Level 92
Oct 28, 2019
Hi own choice was the U.S.A. He ditched Canada.
14Falke
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
Deathsunglasses do you then accept the responsibility of the Canadian man that invented what we now know as “American cheese”
DoktorApplejuce
+3
Level 76
Aug 2, 2023
Yes, we will happily take responsibility for American Cheese. After all, we also invented Baseball, Apple Pie, and Superman, we will take any chance to slowly conquer the American national identity.
KatM
+1
Level 22
Jul 13, 2013
Technically, pizza first originated from China - yes, it is slightly different and it was not called 'pizza' in China, but Marco Polo helped Italy produce Pizza.
kalbahamut
+16
Level 79
Jul 15, 2013
you've got your urban legends confused. The popular (false) story is that Marco Polo brought pasta (noodles) back from China. Not pizza. The origin of pizza really depends on how you define pizza. Food that has been called pizza or something similar, and born some resemblance to pizza, has been around longer than anyone knows for sure. It probably originated in Greece (pita), Turkey or Syria. It's some of the oldest food in the world. Neopolitan flat bread was invented in Naples, Italy, and was much more similar to what most people think of as pizza than the stuff that came before which typically did not include cheese or tomato sauce. However, the pizza that is popular around the globe today was first made in Little Italy in New York City by Italian immigrants. Other popular variations sprouted up in Chicago and elsewhere, but usually when you order pizza almost anywhere in the world what you are getting is New York style pizza.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Jul 15, 2013
In the Middle East today they eat something that is probably much closer to the original pizza precursor. Warm flat bread with some simple toppings spread over it, usually olive oil and zatar (a kind of seasoning), or sometimes spinach or cheese or olives. Often folded over on itself. I have this stuff for breakfast most days.
Milanthro
+12
Level 54
Jul 17, 2013
Ecstatic that you used my idea for a quiz!!! Also I think you should accept Brazil as the inventor of the plane as well. The States and Brazil both have claims on that.
Kahikatea
+1
Level 74
Oct 28, 2019
so does New Zealand. and maybe other countries too.
svitapeneela
+1
Level 64
Oct 28, 2019
UK has a fairly good claim too, with Sir George Cayley, although his aeroplane was really just a glider...
TheCrusher
+5
Level 70
Oct 28, 2019
Soooo... He has a claim to inventing the airplane with his invention that's not an airplane? Sure, it adds up.
Boimeirelles
+4
Level 35
Jun 10, 2022
The north americans invented a catapult airplane... Santos dumont took off the ground...
14Falke
+1
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
This is discounted when we know that the Wright’s were making non-catapult flights before DuMont, as well as the use of a catapult does not make something not a plane
giosp
+1
Level 66
Oct 24, 2013
nice!
MagentaDog790
+2
Level 37
Dec 10, 2015
Would've loved an Aussie invention. *sighs* But that's impossible, because there are too many stuck-up Americans on here who hate Aussies.
kalbahamut
+6
Level 79
Dec 10, 2015
Where?
ander217
+16
Level 74
Dec 10, 2015
I haven't seen any abuse from Americans toward the Aussies - my daughter did a study abroad there and loved your country - but apparently there is at least one Aussie who hates Americans.
rawe
+1
Level 70
Dec 10, 2015
Well it depends on who you ask.
lucd13
+3
Level 70
Mar 30, 2016
So many more than one... So many
JWC1202
+4
Level 76
Apr 2, 2020
Yeah, if anything, I would suggest there is an enormous amount of Australophilia among Americans. There may, in fact, be only two types of Americans: those who have visited Australia and loved it and those who want to. Don't take good-natured ribbing for antipathy.
Findlay
+11
Level 80
Aug 4, 2016
Re: stuck-up Americans, I suspect the reverse is true. Americans in my experience are extremely positive about Australia and Australians, but Australians love to bash America.
manchesterutd10
+8
Level 59
Mar 28, 2017
ive never met an american that had something bad to say about Australia, most think its pretty awesome over there
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Aug 9, 2019
It's weird. Of all the countries in the world, Australia is (except Canada) the most culturally similar to the U.S.. And yet in Australia it is acceptable to call Americans "seppos". You can look up where this comes from. It isn't flattering. I honestly think Australians see themselves in the mirror when they look at America and they don't like what they see. It's a shame.
blizzrd33
+5
Level 81
Sep 5, 2019
Have never heard an American called a seppo by an Australian, had to look that up. The historical basis of anti-American sentiment in Australian dates back to WW2 and the relationships between US troops based here and the wives/girlfriends of Australian troops who for the first several years of the war were stationed in Europe. The media at the time set up a cartoon stereotype of Americans as brash/arrogant and some of it has stuck many decades later.
jmellor13
+5
Level 68
Oct 28, 2019
I had the same thought. Americans can be pretty obnoxious about almost any other country, but I really don't think I have ever heard an American make an earnest negative comment about Australia as a country, and certainly not Australian people. Americans love them, probably more than they love any other nationality now that I think about it. I have no idea where that commenter was getting his idea from.
HinesBrothers
+1
Level 78
Oct 29, 2019
@manchesterutd10 I once heard an American say "I don't believe in Australia"
reverendmeat
+3
Level 86
Dec 18, 2022
HinesBrothers, "not believing in australia" is an internet joke meme.
TheQuizzler
+5
Level 63
Oct 28, 2019
I have never heard of a single American hating Australians. Not one. And I am American.
sillie
+2
Level 75
Dec 10, 2015
Just happened to see a documentary where the Dutch East India company was explained. So knew the answer to stock market!
WhittleMario
+1
Level 23
Dec 10, 2015
ummm... chess was invented in mongolia. not india.
Shiloh376
+8
Level 76
Dec 15, 2015
I googled it and found tons of references to India. Some to arabian countries. One or two to China. None to Mongolia. Not sure where you came up with that.
Kahikatea
+1
Level 74
Oct 28, 2019
I had also heard Iran
SuperPotato2000
+5
Level 55
Oct 28, 2019
If chess would've been invented in Mongolia then there would be a LOT more knighs.
XYU
+3
Level 62
Dec 20, 2022
And the bishop would be a goat instead.
Skamps
+2
Level 40
Dec 10, 2015
I believe that basketball was derived from an ancient sport played by one of the Mesoamerican civilizations.
lunastorm13
+1
Level 55
Dec 10, 2015
Basketball was invented by a Canadian. So shouldn't the answer be Canada?

Here's a link to a Heritage Minute about the invention of basketball, produced by the Canadian government about the Canadian invention of basketball.

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

kalbahamut
+6
Level 79
Dec 10, 2015
The instructions clearly say to name the country of origin, not the nationality of the inventor.
Shiloh376
+1
Level 76
Dec 15, 2015
McIntosh Apples, Instant Replay, the Foghorn, the egg carton.....lots of Canadian inventions out there. But not Basketball. Hockey maybe. But not B-ball.
tom88
+1
Level 77
Oct 28, 2019
There's some debate about where hockey was actually invented, there's some evidence that it was played in the UK as early as the 1790s which seems to put them before Canada, but I don't think it's really known for sure
Android1639
+1
Level 38
Jan 26, 2016
Coffee is from Mexico (Aztecs and Mayan drank it for milleniums)

Basketball is from Canada, USA just claims to have invented it.

ExpertEyeroller
+13
Level 32
Mar 10, 2016
You got confused between coffee and cocoa. Ethiopians and Yemeni has been drinking coffees since the Roman times
14Falke
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
Basketball was invented in the US. It was just a Canadian man that invented it.
ExpertEyeroller
+1
Level 32
Mar 10, 2016
I know the story of Bikini's invention, but I forgot the inventor. Should've guessed it though

Very surprised that not many get Ethiopia. Ethiopians coffees are very famous and more diverse than Brazilian coffee.

Fun fact: Yemeni and Ethiopians has been trading coffees for Millennias and the name 'mocha' came from a port in Yemen where a lot of trading took place

Findlay
+1
Level 80
Aug 4, 2016
It took me all of 3 seconds to get carrots even though as far as I'm aware that is not something I've ever heard before. I can only guess it was to do with the association of orange with the Netherlands and it just happened to work.
Carry
+4
Level 63
Jan 24, 2017
Of course orange carrots had to be a Dutch invention. :D
vinibr
+8
Level 16
Feb 5, 2018
Brazil is the inventor of the airplane....
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 92
Oct 28, 2019
Hahahaha
14Falke
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
Brazil really needs to let this idea go
Matz13
+4
Level 35
Dec 18, 2022
The creator of the plane was clearly Santos Dumont, he didn't need a catapult for the plane to go up, just fix it and the quiz is great
poopy7663
+1
Level 23
May 9, 2018
The inventor of Basketball was Canadian. Did he invent it in the USA?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Aug 9, 2019
Yes
FuegoStage
+1
Level 51
Aug 16, 2018
I'm so proud to see my lovely country Hungary on the list ♡
stone222
+1
Level 47
Oct 8, 2018
the seven day week got me...watched too many programmes on how the Brits in some industries gained a half day holiday during the working week... (Sunday was a day of prayer)
bigbird54
+1
Level 49
Oct 25, 2018
the 7 day week was actually made by the aztecs
overtired
+13
Level 88
Jun 10, 2019
Really? Just searched it and read that they had 13 day weeks. Regardless, the Babylonians predate the Aztecs by thousands of years!
jvsalgado97
+3
Level 75
Oct 28, 2019
The invention of the airplane (a proper airplane, not a catapult-propelled glider) should really be atributted to Santos Dumont, not the Wright Brothers...
14Falke
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
The Wright Flyer was not a glider. Using a catapult to takeoff does not remove the status of “plane” from an aircraft, otherwise any seaborne catapult launched aircraft would no longer be considered a plane. Not only that, but it was making self powered takeoffs before Dumonts as well.
wtstoudt
+1
Level 82
Oct 28, 2019
Why is basketball the only one out of alphabetical order?
Canuckquizzer1981
+1
Level 66
Oct 28, 2019
Basketball was invented IN the states, but BY a Canadian (James Naismith from Almonte, Ontario. Depending on the criteria of your quiz, this should be altered, or at least add mention.
Canuckquizzer1981
+1
Level 66
Oct 28, 2019
Or maybe change the write up to "Choose the country it was invented in" instead of "where it originated" as that is a bit open to interpretation.
Jacktheguy
+7
Level 93
Oct 28, 2019
Doesn’t that mean the same thing?
gargoyle
+1
Level 27
Oct 28, 2019
I know it says "modern day" country in the rules, but could you at least accept "Babylon" as an alternate answer for the 7 day week?
PatoPotato
+1
Level 55
Oct 28, 2019
24/24. One of my favourite quizzes on this site.
stylus
+6
Level 79
Oct 30, 2019
Not Burkini Faso for bikini?
Cezar
+4
Level 55
Nov 9, 2019
That's where the burkini is from ;)
explorer
+4
Level 49
Nov 14, 2019
The first known stock exchange opened in Bruges (modern day Belgium) in 1309, 300 years earlier than Dutch East India Company.
JonOfKent
+2
Level 61
Dec 24, 2020
Yes I thought it was a Belgian thing too
XYU
+2
Level 62
Dec 20, 2022
I looked this up on a few sites. This web page has some useful info on it:

https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/history-of-the-stock-market/

In Belgium, "It’s thought that some merchants would buy goods at a specific price anticipating the price would rise so they could make a profit...for people who needed to borrow funds, wealthy merchants would lend money at high rates. These merchants would then sell the bonds backed by these loans and pay interest to the other people who purchased them."

I'm no expert but that doesn't qualify as a stock exchange to me; seems like Amsterdam was the first to actually trade shares in companies although I'm sure someone out there knows more than me.

Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Dec 7, 2024
Typical Belgians trying to claim credit for something they don't deserve.
CoolBones10
+1
Level 58
Jan 12, 2020
Pizza invented in 1889
aislinmo
+1
Level 38
Apr 17, 2020
I'm pretty sure Canada invented basketball not USA.

https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/basketball-the-invention-of-a-canadian

Rafaab
+4
Level 59
Sep 27, 2021
Santos Dumont (Brazil) invented the airplane
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Dec 17, 2022
nobody brought that up before
14Falke
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2022
No stop spreading this notion
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Dec 7, 2024
Seriously, it's bad.
baptistegorce
+1
Level 57
Oct 1, 2025
Yeah, seriously. Everyone with a minimum of common sense and basic knowledge knows that's Clement Ader's invention.
Hockputer
+1
Level 56
Dec 20, 2022
He invented it 3 years after the Wright brothers.
luxint
+1
Level 67
Dec 17, 2022
Kin ell. "Orange Carrot"....you are giving to us on a plate (so to speak) and still I fluffed it! Doh!
Ysildur
+1
Level 62
Dec 17, 2022
Stock exchange should at least be changed to Belgium/Neth.
gavinsmart
+1
Level 56
Dec 19, 2022
it's times like this I curse the Chinese for inventing gunpowder
InterAlia
+1
Level 83
Dec 28, 2024
You seem to be suggesting that by inventing gunpowder, they invented war/killing by extension and that it would somehow not exist now, if not for that invention. This is a fallacy. The invention would have occurred somewhere at some point.

Very few (if any) useful inventions are the result of a such incomparable genius, inimitable determination, or a singular stroke of impossible luck that they would not have turned up eventually in some form.

wyocowgirl
+1
Level 80
Dec 28, 2024
You missed the humor.
InterAlia
+1
Level 83
Dec 28, 2024
Wouldn't be the first time. Care to enlighten me?
rabble
+5
Level 68
Dec 19, 2022
Geez, thank God for Western countries- otherwise we'd still be living in mud huts
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
Dec 4, 2024
Just missed carrot
mOctave
+1
Level 66
Dec 28, 2024
Awesome quiz, typing Canada and having the United States show up was hilarious.

(And good job avoiding the massive yawning chasm of nits that is the movable type printing press).

CheetoManiac
+3
Level 30
Dec 28, 2024
Oh boy I love commenting about barely even controversial answers that 60 other comments are already discussing without reading any of them🤓
giommaso
+2
Level 77
Dec 28, 2024
I find amazing that you found the exact year for invention of pizza.

I guess you could also be interested in buying Trevi Fountain, I have the deed with me, it's a very lucrative business, trust me...

Nevson64
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2024
Managed 20/24. Fairly happy to get Iraq
HyddenRizz
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2024
Eyeglasses is such a funny looking word. Good test of history this quiz though, I like how it makes your brain work.
sfurnessbarr
+1
Level 67
Dec 30, 2024
Canadian here. Canada and the USA are not the same country. I entered Canada for the basketball question and it was accepted but filled in as the USA. If you insist that basketball was invented in the USA, only that answer should be accepted.
JugglingWithEggs
+1
Level 47
Dec 30, 2024
23/24…just beaten on the clock regarding the stock exchange.
Zvakanaka
+1
Level 58
Dec 31, 2024
The Israelites had a 7 day week as early as 1400 b.c.
Inventions by Country
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