Who wants to remain impoverished?
September 2000
This article is part of the Noteworthy News archives.
Copyright 2016 Vicki Young
Time for a quiz. Today's puzzler won't make you as
rich as Bill Gates or even Regin Philbin--in fact, it won't earn you a penny. What's more,
some of the questions are cunningly devious or even downright misleading.
Are you ready to begin?
(Answers at end)
Second banana
Who was the
second man to articulate the principle
of the phonograph?
a. Alexander Graham Bell
b. Thomas Edison
c. Charles Cros
Guys and dolls
Following the talking doll disaster of 1890, how did Edison
dispose of the unsold dolls?
a. buried them on the factory grounds
b. donated them to needy children in New Jersey
c. presented them as a Christmas gift to his employees
Call Blue Cross
Who founded the Society for the Prevention of Sickness, and
why?
a. Emile Berliner, to pasteurize milk
b. Thomas Edison, to reduce employee absenteeism
c. Wynant Bradley, father of the Talk-o-Phone, as a mail order scam
Talent scouts
What famous person discovered singer Ada Jones, and where?
a. Sir Harry Lauder, at a music hall in her native England
b. Billy Murray, at a street show in New York
c. Edison himself, on a trip to London, following a tip by his agent Colonel Gouraud
Final accounting
Crippled by the depression and the magnetic milling debacle,
Edison was able to leave how much to his heirs upon his death in 1931?
a. Around $450,000
b. Around $2 million
c. Around $12 million
Just his deserts
A steak and potatoes man, Edison's favorite after-dinner
treat was what?
a. apple pie
b. cherry cobbler
c. buttered radishes
The year the music died
During what year were no musical recording made, except for a
few harmonica recordings?
a. 1885
b. 1917
c. 1943
Hoist the Jolly Rodger
"A bunch of pirates...I'll show them they can't get away
with it" was Edison's response to what provocation?
a. a rousing performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's
The Pirates of Penzance
b. his lawyers' bill following litigation with the telephone trust
c. the invention of the Graphophone
So you thought you knew opera
In 1906 a series of historic recordings was made involving
Craig-y-Nos. Who or what was Craig-y-Nos?
a. an ancient French system of musical notation
b. Adelina Patti's castle
c. The second husband of Dame Nellie Melba
Dogging it
Francis Baraud first painted Nipper listening to an
Edison-Bell phonograph. He then repainted his work with a brass bell horn. Why?
a. He sold the rights to the painting to the Gramophone company.
b. Critics suggested the original black horn wasn't brilliant enough.
c. Nipper was sitting on a casket, and a casket company was interested in purchasing the
painting.
Those fabulous French
Where did Gustave Eiffel install an Edison phonograph?
a. his office in the Eiffel tower
b. the palace at Versailles
c. Nowhere--Eiffel despised the phonograph because it was not a French invention and
petitioned the government to ban it.
Postcard depicting the Old Couple.
How were they indentured to Edison?
Signora citizen
Edison's Old Couple advertising portrait, painted by Italian
artist Pompeo Massani, originated under what circumstances?
a. It was originally painted showing an Edison-Bell phonograph.
b. It was originally painted showing a Puck phonograph.
c. It was an original commission by Edison.
Small wonders
What was the relationship of the Little Wonder Phonograph to
the Little Wonder record company?
a. the Little Wonder phonograph company sold the machine at cost, in order to
sell the records.
b. no relationship
c. The stock of both was held by a businessman 4'9" tall.
No more roamin'
As a struggling young artist, Harry Lauder almost returned to
his original occupation. What was it?
a. coal miner
b. tailor
c. school teacher
Shoot, the piano player
The piano did not record wll acoustically. How was it
recorded?
a. A grand piano was tipped on its side, and a special linkage removed.
b. An upright piano was elevated, and its back removed.
c. An oversize zylophone, known as a Stroh Zylophone, was substituted for it.
Who is buried in Grant's tomb?
Edison and Bell-Tainter machines were stellar attractions at
the 1892 Chicago World's Fair. During what year did the 1892 fair occur?
a. 1892
b. 1893
c. 1895
Oh la la!
Following the introduction of the Victrola, it seemed
obligatory to end the name of every product with the suffix "ola." Which of the
following was not an honest-to-god product?
a. Robinola (a talking machine)
b. Grape-ola (a drink)
c. Puffm-upola (a yeast)
Undercolor of title
Which of the following colors, or combination of colors, was
not used by
Victor records prior to 1912?
a. orange labels, green labels
b. red and green labels, purple labels
c. purple labels, black labels
Bryan, the campaign of 1900
This is your final answer
William Jennings Bryan recorded his Speech to Labor in 1900.
Assume that the Silver Throated Orator of the Plains was nibbling on his favorite munchie
in the studio. What was his treat?
a. apple pie
b. cherry cobbler
c. buttered radishes
The answers:
Second banana: b (Cros' sealed deposition preceded Edison)
Guys and dolls: a
Call Blue Cross: a
Talent scouts: b
Final accounting: c
Just his deserts: a
The year the music died: c (musicians' strike)
Hoist the Jolly Rodger: c
So you thought you knew opera: b
Dogging it: b (Repainted with a gramophone. The legend of the painting being rejected by
Edison may be apocryphal.)
Those fabulous French: a
Signora citizen: b
Small wonders: b
No more roamin': a
Shoot, the piano player: b
Who is buried in Grant's tomb?: b (postponed for a year due to extensive preparations)
Oh la la! c
Undercolor of title: a (a few records bore Scotch plaid titles)
This is your final answer: c