Failed Inventions Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Which gyroscope vehicle, presented in 2001 as 'the greatest invention since the internet', was a resounding commercial flop?
- A. Hoverboard
- B. Electric unicycle
- C. Segway
- D. Steam scooter
- Which German airship, symbol of the golden age of zeppelins, tragically caught fire in 1937 while landing in the United States?
- A. Graf Zeppelin
- B. Hindenburg
- C. Norge
- D. Italia
- Which revolutionary air-cushion train project, developed in France in the 1960s–70s, was abandoned despite its record performances?
- A. French Pendolino
- B. Turbotrein
- C. TGV (High-Speed Train)
- D. Aérotrain
- Which amphibious car, presented as 'the revolution in urban water transport', was a complete commercial flop in the 2000s?
- A. Gibbs Aquada
- B. Seabreacher
- C. WaterCar Panther
- D. Jetlev Flyer
- Which sticky substance accidentally discovered in 1942 by a chemist seeking to make clear optical lenses became Super Glue?
- A. Cyanoacrylate
- B. Epoxy
- C. Silicone
- D. Polyurethane
- Which 1990s satellite mobile telephone standard, launched by Motorola with 66 satellites in orbit, went bankrupt for lack of paying customers?
- A. Thuraya
- B. Iridium
- C. ICO Global
- D. Globalstar
- Which 2014 smartphone, fitted with four front-facing cameras for a 3D effect, was marked down to 99 cents within weeks?
- A. Facebook Phone
- B. Amazon Fire Phone
- C. Palm Pre
- D. Essential Phone
- Which social network launched by Google in 2011 to rival Facebook was shut down in 2019, partly because of a data leak?
- A. Orkut
- B. Google Wave
- C. Google+
- D. Google Buzz
- Which clear soft drink, launched by Pepsi in 1992 to suggest purity, vanished from shelves in little over a year?
- A. Tab Clear
- B. 7 Up Gold
- C. Crystal Pepsi
- D. Pepsi Blue
- Which Swiss chemist discovered in 1943 the effects of a molecule he had synthesised five years earlier, after absorbing some of it accidentally through his skin?
- A. Tadeusz Reichstein
- B. Paul Hermann Müller
- C. Albert Hofmann
- D. Leopold Ružička
- In 1982, the toothpaste brand Colgate tried to sell… what type of food product?
- A. Mint sweets
- B. Ice cream
- C. Ready meals, such as lasagne
- D. Fizzy drinks
- Which range of pens 'for women', launched by Bic in 2012, was mocked in thousands of ironic online reviews?
- A. Bic Lady
- B. Bic Pink
- C. Bic Elegance
- D. Bic for Her
- Which short-video platform for smartphones, launched in 2020 with nearly 2 billion dollars, shut down after six months?
- A. Vine
- B. Quibi
- C. Periscope
- D. IGTV
- Which smartphone, launched in 2013 and built around the Facebook Home interface, saw its price drop from 99 to 0.99 dollars in under a month?
- A. The Facebook Phone X
- B. The HTC First
- C. The Nokia Face
- D. The Samsung Social
- Which 1989 accessory, a glove meant to control NES games through hand movements, proved almost impossible to use?
- A. The Zapper
- B. The Wiimote
- C. The Kinect
- D. The Power Glove
- Which DVD format launched in the US in 1998 became unplayable 48 hours after first viewing unless you paid again?
- A. HD DVD
- B. Video CD
- C. UMD
- D. DIVX
- Which Samsung smartphone was withdrawn in 2016 because its battery could catch fire, to the point of being banned on planes?
- A. The Galaxy S3
- B. The Galaxy Note 7
- C. The Galaxy Z Flip
- D. The Galaxy Tab
- Which American start-up claimed it could run hundreds of tests from a single drop of blood, before collapsing in 2018?
- A. Juicero
- B. Theranos
- C. Quibi
- D. WeWork
- Which cloud gaming service, launched by Google in 2019, shut down in January 2023?
- A. Google Play Games
- B. YouTube Gaming
- C. Stadia
- D. Google Arcade
- Which Philips multimedia player, launched in 1991, tried to combine games console and interactive CD player, without success?
- A. The LaserDisc
- B. The 3DO
- C. The Pippin
- D. The CD-i
Answer key — Failed Inventions Quiz
- C. SegwayThe Segway, invented by Dean Kamen, was presented under the code name 'Ginger' with grand promises.
- B. HindenburgThe LZ 129 Hindenburg, 245 meters long, burst into flames on May 6, 1937 in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people.
- D. AérotrainThe Aérotrain, designed by Jean Bertin, traveled on an air cushion at over 400 km/h as early as 1969.
- A. Gibbs AquadaThe Gibbs Aquada (2003), an amphibious car capable of 160 km/h on road and 50 km/h on water, was presented as the future of transport.
- A. CyanoacrylateHarry Coover (Eastman Kodak) was looking for transparent plastics for gun sights.
- B. IridiumThe Iridium project (1998) by Motorola promised phone calls anywhere on Earth via 66 satellites.
- B. Amazon Fire PhoneJeff Bezos bet on 'Dynamic Perspective' and the Firefly button, which scanned products and let you buy them on Amazon.
- C. Google+Google pushed Google+ everywhere: YouTube, Gmail, Android. Users signed up and never came back — 90% of sessions lasted under five seconds.
- C. Crystal PepsiThe marketing equated transparency with health. But cola flavour without cola colour simply confused shoppers.
- C. Albert HofmannAt Sandoz, Hofmann was working on ergot derivatives. Handling the 25th compound in the series, he felt a wave of coloured dizziness.
- C. Ready meals, such as lasagneHard to feel hungry while thinking of toothpaste: the failure was total.
- D. Bic for HerInternet users outdid each other in humour: 'at last a pen I can hold with my little hands'.
- B. QuibiIts idea: quality series in episodes under ten minutes, to watch while commuting.
- B. The HTC FirstNicknamed 'the Facebook phone', it constantly displayed the news feed on the home screen.
- D. The Power GloveImprecise and temperamental, it was only compatible with two games designed for it.
- D. DIVXThe idea was to replace rentals without having to return the disc.
- B. The Galaxy Note 7After a first recall, even the replacement devices overheated.
- B. TheranosValued at $9 billion, it relied on technology that did not work.
- C. StadiaIt promised gaming without a console, straight from the cloud.
- D. The CD-iIts Zelda games, made without Nintendo's input, remain famous…