Quiz of the Day
Technology & Innovation
Monday, 11 May 2026
India National Technology Day — tech inventions that changed the world
1. What year was the World Wide Web invented?
- 1993
- 1989
- 1995
- 1983
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989. He could have patented it and become one of the richest people alive, but he made it free for everyone. He was knighted for this contribution to humanity.
2. Which company released the first commercially successful smartphone?
- BlackBerry
- Samsung
- Nokia
- Apple
The iPhone launched in 2007 and sold 1 million units in 74 days. While not the first smartphone, it revolutionised the concept. Steve Jobs introduced it saying 'an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator' — then revealed they were all one device.
3. What does AI stand for?
- Autonomous Innovation
- Advanced Integration
- Artificial Intelligence
- Automated Intelligence
The term 'Artificial Intelligence' was coined by John McCarthy in 1956 at a Dartmouth conference. He predicted machines would match human intelligence within a generation — it took considerably longer, but AI is now transforming virtually every industry.
4. Who is known as the 'father of the computer'?
- Bill Gates
- Charles Babbage
- Alan Turing
- Steve Jobs
Babbage designed the Analytical Engine in the 1830s — a general-purpose computer concept. Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm for it, making her the world's first computer programmer. The machine was never built in Babbage's lifetime.
5. What technology does GPS use to determine your location?
- Cellular networks
- Satellites
- Wi-Fi signals
- Radio towers
GPS uses at least 4 of the 31 satellites orbiting Earth to triangulate your position. Originally built for the US military in 1973, it was made fully available to civilians in 2000 when selective availability was turned off.
6. What was India's major technological achievement on May 11, 1998?
- First satellite launch
- First supercomputer
- Nuclear tests at Pokhran
- Launch of India's internet
India successfully conducted five nuclear tests at Pokhran on May 11, 1998 (Operation Shakti), which is why India celebrates National Technology Day on this date. India's space programme, ISRO, has since achieved remarkable feats including a Mars orbiter on its first attempt.
7. What does '5G' refer to?
- Five gigabytes
- Five-band WiFi
- Fifth-generation mobile network
- Five gigahertz
5G can theoretically reach speeds 100 times faster than 4G. Each mobile generation has taken about 10 years to develop. 1G (1980s) gave us analogue voice; 2G brought texting; 3G gave us mobile internet; 4G brought video streaming.
8. Who co-founded Microsoft?
- Bill Gates and Paul Allen
- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
- Larry Page and Sergey Brin
- Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin
Gates and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975 when Gates was just 19. Their first product was a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. Gates famously dropped out of Harvard, saying 'I'm not going to waste any more time on this.'
9. What technology allows you to make payments by tapping your card or phone?
- NFC (Near Field Communication)
- Bluetooth
- RFID
- Wi-Fi
NFC works at distances under 4 cm, making it very secure. Contactless payments surged during COVID-19 — in the UK, contactless now accounts for over 80% of all card transactions. The technology was actually invented in 1983.
10. What is cloud computing?
- A type of weather simulation
- Computing done at high altitudes
- A floating data centre
- Storing and accessing data over the internet instead of local hardware
The 'cloud' metaphor dates to the 1990s when engineers drew cloud shapes on network diagrams to represent the internet. Today, over 60% of corporate data is stored in the cloud. If the cloud were a country, it would be the sixth-largest consumer of electricity.
11. What was the first message sent over the internet (ARPANET) in 1969?
- Hello World
- LO (the system crashed before completing LOGIN)
- Testing 1 2 3
- Connected
On October 29, 1969, UCLA student Charley Kline tried to type 'LOGIN' to a computer at Stanford. The system crashed after just two letters — 'LO'. Accidentally, the first internet message was 'Lo' — as in 'Lo and behold!'
12. What does the term 'open source' mean in software?
- Software for open offices
- Software that tracks open doors
- Software that opens automatically
- Software whose source code is freely available for anyone to use and modify
Open source powers most of the internet — Linux runs 96% of the world's top million servers, and Android (based on Linux) is on over 3 billion phones. Wikipedia, Firefox, and WordPress are all open source projects.
13. Which technology allows 3D objects to be created layer by layer from digital designs?
- CNC machining
- Laser cutting
- 3D printing
- Injection moulding
3D printing was actually invented in 1983 by Chuck Hull. It's now used to print everything from prosthetic limbs (costing $50 vs $50,000 traditional) to houses (printed in 24 hours). NASA has even 3D-printed tools in space.
14. What does IoT stand for?
- Interconnected Operating Technology
- Internet of Things
- Internet of Technology
- Integrated Online Tools
There are now over 15 billion IoT devices worldwide — from smart fridges to connected toothbrushes. By 2030, there could be 30 billion. The term was coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton while working at Procter & Gamble to track supply chains.
15. What was Moore's Law?
- A law about internet speed
- A theorem about algorithms
- The observation that computing power doubles roughly every two years
- A law about data privacy
Gordon Moore made this prediction in 1965, and it held remarkably true for over 50 years. A modern smartphone has more computing power than all of NASA had when it sent humans to the Moon in 1969.