Quiz of the Day
Thomas Edison & the Age of Invention
Sunday, 18 October 2026
Marking Thomas Edison's death on October 18, 1931 — a journey through electricity, light, sound recording, and the famous inventions that lit up the modern world
1. Thomas Edison is most famous for developing a practical, long-lasting version of which everyday device?
- The incandescent light bulb
- The steam engine
- The radio
- The telephone
Edison did not invent the very first electric light, but in 1879 he produced a practical incandescent bulb that could burn for a useful length of time and be manufactured cheaply. His real breakthrough was building an entire electrical system — generators, wiring, and meters — to make lighting commercially viable. In 1882 his Pearl Street Station began lighting part of Lower Manhattan.
2. Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, a machine designed to do what?
- Record and reproduce sound
- Print newspapers automatically
- Measure electric current
- Transmit images over wires
The phonograph recorded sound as grooves etched into tinfoil wrapped around a rotating cylinder. It was so unexpected that many people initially suspected trickery when they heard a machine talk back. Edison himself often called the phonograph his favorite invention.
3. By what nickname was Edison widely known, thanks to his New Jersey research lab?
- The Electric Sage
- The Sage of Concord
- The Lightning Man
- The Wizard of Menlo Park
Edison earned the nickname 'The Wizard of Menlo Park' after a stream of astonishing inventions poured out of his New Jersey laboratory in the late 1870s. Menlo Park is often called the first modern industrial research lab, where Edison assembled teams of engineers and machinists to invent on a schedule. He reportedly aimed for 'a minor invention every ten days and a big thing every six months.'
4. In which US state was Edison's famous Menlo Park laboratory located?
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- Ohio
Edison built his Menlo Park lab in New Jersey in 1876, and later moved to a larger complex in West Orange. The Menlo Park site should not be confused with the California city of the same name. Much of the original New Jersey complex is preserved today as part of a national historical park.
5. In which US state was Thomas Edison born in 1847?
- Illinois
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Indiana
Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in the small town of Milan, Ohio. His family later moved to Port Huron, Michigan, where as a boy he sold newspapers and candy on trains. He had only a few months of formal schooling and was largely taught at home by his mother.
6. What were reportedly the first words Edison recorded and played back on his phonograph?
- "Mr. Watson, come here"
- "Let there be light"
- "Mary had a little lamb"
- "Hello, can you hear me?"
Edison recited the nursery rhyme 'Mary had a little lamb' into the phonograph and was startled when the machine repeated it back to him. The line 'Mr. Watson, come here' belongs to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. Edison's simple test recording became one of the most famous moments in the history of sound.
7. In the so-called 'War of the Currents,' which electrical system did Edison promote?
- Three-phase power
- Direct current (DC)
- Wireless power
- Alternating current (AC)
Edison championed direct current, while George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla backed alternating current, which could be transmitted efficiently over long distances. AC eventually won out as the standard for power distribution. The rivalry grew bitter, with Edison publicizing the dangers of high-voltage AC to sway public opinion.
8. Edison's electrical businesses merged in 1892 to help form which company that still exists today?
- General Electric
- Westinghouse Electric
- AT&T
- Con Edison
In 1892, Edison General Electric merged with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to create General Electric. Edison's name was actually dropped from the new company's title during the merger. General Electric went on to become one of the largest corporations in the world.
9. Roughly how many US patents did Edison hold in his name over his lifetime?
- 2,332
- 1,093
- 512
- 847
Edison held 1,093 US patents, a record that stood for decades. He also held well over a thousand more patents in other countries, bringing his worldwide total to roughly 2,300. His relentless output reflected his belief that invention was less about flashes of genius and more about tireless, systematic experimentation.
10. Edison is famously credited with saying that genius is one percent inspiration and what?
- Ninety-nine percent imagination
- Ninety-nine percent luck
- Ninety-nine percent determination
- Ninety-nine percent perspiration
Edison's famous line — 'Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration' — captured his hard-working philosophy. He was known for grueling laboratory sessions and for trying thousands of materials before finding one that worked. He reportedly said of his many failed experiments that he had simply found ways that would not work.
11. Which early motion-picture device, a peep-hole viewer for a single person, came out of Edison's lab?
- The Praxinoscope
- The Cinematograph
- The Kinetoscope
- The Zoetrope
The Kinetoscope let one viewer at a time watch a short film loop through a peep-hole, and it launched a craze in the early 1890s. Much of the actual engineering was done by Edison's assistant W. K. L. Dickson. The Cinematograph, by contrast, was the French Lumiere brothers' device that projected films onto a screen for audiences.
12. Before his fame as an inventor, Edison worked for years in which trade, sending messages by wire?
- Telephony
- Telegraphy
- Printing
- Photography
Edison began as a traveling telegraph operator, tapping out Morse code across the United States. His deep understanding of telegraph equipment led to his first commercial successes, including an improved stock ticker and a system for sending multiple messages over a single wire. Partial deafness, which he had from a young age, may have helped him focus amid the noise of the telegraph office.
13. Edison's long-burning light bulbs famously used a filament made of carbonized what?
- Tungsten
- Bamboo
- Copper wire
- Iron
After testing thousands of materials, Edison's team found that a carbonized bamboo filament could glow for well over a thousand hours. Earlier experiments used carbonized cotton thread, which lasted only about half a day. Tungsten filaments, which are standard in later incandescent bulbs, came into use after Edison's early designs.
14. Edison died on October 18, 1931. How old was he at his death?
- 68
- 84
- 90
- 76
Edison died at age 84 at his home in West Orange, New Jersey, having been born in February 1847. His death was mourned nationwide, and some communities briefly dimmed their electric lights in his honor. Fittingly, the man who did so much to electrify the world was remembered through the very lights he helped make possible.
15. In which city did Edison keep a winter estate and botanical laboratory next door to his friend Henry Ford?
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Savannah, Georgia
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Mobile, Alabama
Edison built a winter home and research garden in Fort Myers, Florida, where he experimented with plants as possible sources of rubber. His close friend and admirer Henry Ford bought the neighboring property so the two could spend winters near each other. The adjoining Edison and Ford estates are now a popular museum open to the public.