1 / 10 |
Earlier this year, the company Intuitive Machines’s vehicle named ‘Odysseus’ became the first commercial vehicle to land here. It carried a library, art, the internet archive and portions of Project Gutenberg. Where did it land to provide info for millions of years?

Answer : On the moon (Lunar Library)

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2 / 10 |
This year, a new species of animal was found in the Caribbean islands. Named E.akayima, its DNA proved to be completely different from the other species we are familiar with. Easily one of the largest in the world, what animal is this, that proves there is still so much to discover on our planet?

3 / 10 |
In February, astronomers from Carnegie Institution added three new items to a list of 290 already known. What is this a list of, which Saturn has the most and Earth the least?

Answer : New moons of the Solar system (2 for Neptune, 1 for Uranus)

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4 / 10 |
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labelled them the ‘World’s deadliest animal’. They have killed 52 billion people, nearly half of all humans who have lived on Earth. To counter this, billions of genetically engineered versions of the same animals were released in Brazil in March, which will limit the effect of its fatal nature. What animal is this?

5 / 10 |
In April this year, the University of Maine showcased their ‘Factory of the Future 1.0’. It has the ability to produce items as big as 96 ft. long and 32 ft. wide, made of thermoplastic polymers. This is the world’s largest example of what device?

6 / 10 |
A study done for more than 20 years at the University of Nevada has now proved that ‘Retrowalking’ is highly beneficial and strengthens the spine. Usually practised by football referees to have a good view of the game, it is also a sport by itself. What do researchers say one has to do 20 minutes every day?

7 / 10 |
A study that has been going on since 1986 among elephants at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve has concluded. They identified 469 distinct calls, and how certain members of the family responded to each call. What interesting (and almost human) inference did they make?

Answer : Elephants call each other by specific names

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8 / 10 |
Since 2003, when the Concorde aircraft was retired, commercial supersonic flight has not been active. The ability to cut down travel time by half is there, but one of the main issues was a physical phenomenon that disturbed those on the ground. This year, the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) is ready to fly. What iconic factor will be missing from this aircraft’s supersonic flight?

9 / 10 |
A devastating fungal disease wiped out entire species of a certain animal in 2023 and researchers were looking at ways to combat its spread. This year they finally found a low-tech immune boost, which helps them fight the fungi. A hot bath or sauna stops the Chytrid disease. What animals are these, which ironically also feature in a story about not perceiving slowly approaching danger?

Answer : Frogs (frog in hot water story)

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10 / 10 |
Artemis 2 will be the first mission to carry humans to the moon since 1972 and this year the rocket stacking operations began for the operation scheduled to take off in April 2026. In Greek mythology, Artemis the goddess of the hunt and nature is the twin sister of which god?

Answer : Apollo (after whom the first moon mission was named)

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1 / 10 |
On this day in 1891, Almon Strowger obtained a patent for the Strowger switch, which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. He invented it after realising that he had lost a lot of business to a competitor because that person’s wife was a telephone operator who was routing calls away from Strowger. His invention dug the grave for manual telephone operators, effectively burying that profession. Fittingly, what was Strowger’s profession in his town?

2 / 10 |
Canadian physical education teacher James Naismith realised that his athletes lost their fitness during the winter months as all the grounds were frozen. To keep them fit, he invented an indoor sport using a ball and wicker buckets that the janitor used to gather peaches. After every point, they had to use a ladder to retrieve the ball. This was the birth of which global sport?

3 / 10 |
In 1902, Mary Anderson was in New York City on a snowy evening in a taxi. The ride was getting constantly delayed because the driver had to stop every few metres to manually do something in order to drive safely. She went back home, designed a simple device, applied for a patent and then offered it to companies, who all said it had ‘no commercial value’. What was this invention, which is now mandatory for all cars?

4 / 10 |
Emperor Napoleon realised that large armies required regular supplies of quality food, so he offered a huge cash award to anyone who could help with this. Nicolas Appert, a confectioner, realised that food cooked inside a jar and sealed well did not spoil. His invention won him the prize, and was the start of what is now a billion-dollar industry. What did he invent, which was scientifically proven by Louis Pasteur 50 years later?

5 / 10 |
Margaret E. Knight was working at the Columbia Paper Bag company when she realised that the bags they produced were weak and could not withstand pressure on the base, making them unsuitable to carry bulky items. She had an idea, and built a prototype to make a better bag. What did she invent, that is now used by every food delivery company?

6 / 10 |
New Zealander Harold Gillies joined the Royal Army Medical Corps following the outbreak of World War I, where he helped a French dentist repair broken jaws. Seeing him experiment with skin graft techniques, Gillies convinced the English army’s chief surgeon to establish a facial injury ward. While there, Gillies performed more than 11,000 operations, effectively establishing what branch of modern medicine that Sushruta was doing in ancient India?

7 / 10 |
In 1940, Candido _____ invented a hydrotherapy pump as a method of offering relief to his toddler son, who was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Seeing that regular immersion in a bath of hot, aerated water helped him, Candido invented a pump that could be used in a normal tub. This invention soon became a popular addition to bathrooms and hotels worldwide. What was Candido’s family name, which became associated with the invention?

8 / 10 |
Fritz Haber was a German chemist who, along with his assistant, invented the Haber-Bosch process, which is the catalytic formation of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen. Along with BASF (a German company), he was able to scale this reaction to produce commercial quantities of ammonia. This was for a particular use, which brought about a revolution that now helps more than half the world. What was Haber’s invention used for?

9 / 10 |
Lyle Goodhue is credited with an invention that saved the lives of millions of soldiers from malaria during World War II. He developed an apparatus that allowed a fine spray of mosquito repellent to escape through a nozzle mounted on a container. What had he invented, that is now a billion-dollar industry by itself?

10 / 10 |
George Beauchamp was a guitarist who performed in bars and hotels. Hawaiian music became popular in the 1930s, and Beauchamp realised that listeners were not able to hear his slide guitar sound. He used a pair of horseshoe magnets to produce an electrical signal that could be amplified by a speaker. Known as the ‘Frying Pan’ because of its shape, what was this the very first example of?