Everyday Household Inventions

About Everyday Household Inventions

Trace the surprising origins of the can opener, microwave, zipper, and other clever gadgets that forever changed life at home. Everyday Household Inventions packs 15 multiple-choice questions with a mix of 7 easy, 5 medium, 3 hard questions into a relaxed session of roughly 7 minutes — no sign-up, no timer pressure. An explanation appears after every answer, and finishing once a day keeps your streak alive.

A few sample questions

1. 1. The microwave oven was invented by accident. What was Percy Spencer doing when he noticed microwaves had cooked something in his pocket?

   Answer: Testing radar equipment

   In 1945, engineer Percy Spencer was testing a magnetron for radar use at Raytheon when he noticed a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. His accidental discovery led to the first commercial microwave oven in 1947.

2. 2. Canned food was invented in the early 1800s, but the can opener didn't come along until about 50 years later. How did people open cans before the can opener was invented?

   Answer: With a hammer and chisel

   Early cans had very thick iron walls and came with instructions to use a hammer and chisel to open them. The first practical can opener wasn't patented until 1858, roughly 45 years after canning was widely used.

3. 3. The zipper was invented in the late 1800s, but it took decades to catch on for clothing. What was it originally designed to fasten?

   Answer: Shoes and boots

   Whitcomb Judson patented his 'clasp locker' in 1893 primarily as a fastener for boots and shoes, to save people from the chore of doing up many small buttons. Clothing zippers didn't become fashionable until the 1930s.

4. 4. Before mechanical refrigerators reached homes, what insulated kitchen cabinet kept food cool using a block of natural ice?

   Answer: The ice box

   The icebox, a well-insulated wooden cabinet cooled by a block of natural ice, kept food fresh in 19th-century households. American inventor Thomas Moore patented an early version in 1802. Mechanical refrigerators gradually replaced iceboxes in homes during the 1920s and 1930s.

5. 5. Post-it Notes were invented at 3M in the 1970s using a glue that was considered a failure. Why was the adhesive originally thought to be useless?

   Answer: It wasn't sticky enough to hold permanently

   Dr. Spencer Silver developed the repositionable adhesive in 1968 but it was initially dismissed because it wouldn't bond permanently. Years later, colleague Art Fry realized it was perfect for a removable bookmark, leading to the Post-it Note in 1980.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓Before vacuum cleaners, the standard method was to hang rugs over a fence or clothesline and beat the dust out with a carpet beater — a paddle or wicker tool. This was a regular and quite strenuous household chore.
• ✓Richard Drew first invented masking tape in 1925 after noticing auto body painters struggling to create neat two-tone paint borders. He then developed transparent cellophane tape in 1930, which quickly became popular for home and office use.
• ✓After a walk in the Alps, de Mestral examined the cocklebur seeds stuck to his dog and his trousers under a microscope and saw tiny hooks gripping loops of fabric. It took him nearly a decade to recreate the effect artificially, patenting Velcro in 1955.