African Americans have invented lots of things that are part of our everyday lives, like the golf tee, gas burner, pencil sharpener, folding bed, lawn mower, umbrella stand, horseshoe, ironing board, and lots more! Take the Whiz Quiz and find out what other great inventions and scientific contributions have been made by African Americans.

1. In the early 1900s, Sarah Breedlove McWilliams (known as Madame C.J. Walker) became the first self-made woman millionaire in the United States by inventing what?

   A. The electric toothpick
   B. The hot comb
   C. Trick candles that don't blow out
   D. The modern telescope

   

2. Benjamin Banneker helped design which American city in 1731?
   Hint: It was Definitely Cool!

   A. Topeka, Kansas
   B. Redmond, Washington
   C. Washington , D.C.
   D. Gnome, Alaska

   

3. Granville Woods--a very busy inventor--was awarded more than 60 patents for his inventions between the years of 1888 and 1902, including which of the following:

   A. A pitchfork and a tractor horn
   B. Railway telegraph and an incubator to hatch eggs
   C. An alarm clock and a tricycle
   D. Sonar device to communicate with dolphins and a surfboard

   

4. Which of these safety products did J.R. Winters invent in 1878?
   Hint: "Liar, liar, your pants are...."

   A. Seatbelt
   B. Football helmet
   C. Fire escape ladder
   D. Safety glasses to watch a solar eclipse

   

5. Ernest Everett Just pioneered the study of what area of science in the 1920s and 1930s?

   A. He studied hair transplants for men, and was responsible for the first case of renewed hair growth in a bald male laboratory rat.
   B. He studied computer science and created the first silicon chip, made from wood.
   C. He studied cell life, human metabolism, and egg fertilization.
   D. He studied phrenology, and made a science out of evaluating a person's intelligence based on the bumps on their head.

   

6. George Washington Carver is best remembered for what?

   A. Inventing peanut butter.
   B. Cutting down a cherry tree.
   C. Admitting to his mother that he "cannot tell a lie."
   D. Becoming the first president of the United States.

   

7. Lewis Howard Latimer had the bright idea to develop what product?

   A. The game of Lite Brite
   B. A cleanser that brightened linoleum floors
   C. A tooth polish
   D. The electric light bulb
   

   

8. Dale Hale Williams was the first doctor in the world to perform which surgery in 1893?

   A. Open nose surgery
   B. Open brain surgery
   C. Open heart surgery
   D. Open mouth surgery

   

9. Sarah Boone invented what product with a simple board from her backyard?
   
   A. An ironing board
   B. A gangplank for pirate ships
   C. A paddle board to spank her rotten kids
   D. A see-saw
   

   

10. In 1923, Garrett Morgan patented what great invention that we use every day?
    

    A. The cookie jar
    B. The TV remote control
    C. The electric pencil sharpener
    D. The traffic light
    

    
    
    

    
    
    

    
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