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Inventions by Country: Who Invented What

30 cardsEnglish → EnglishIntermediate~15 minUpdated Aug 6, 2026
inventionshistorytriviageneral-knowledgescience

30 cards covering where the world's inventions really come from — from paper and gunpowder to Wi-Fi and the MP3. Each card names an invention; the answer gives the country, plus the inventor and year. Includes the ones almost everyone gets wrong: the croissant, the bicycle, the vending machine, and the light bulb.

This is a free, public flashcard deck on Memor More containing 30 cards about General Knowledge, covering inventions, history, trivia for learning English from English. Estimated study time: 15 min. Designed for spaced repetition — review with the Memor More iOS app for optimized recall.

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Cards in this deck

#1

Q:The printing press
A:Germany — Johannes Gutenberg, 1440s

#2

Q:Paper
A:China — Cai Lun, around 105 AD

#3

Q:Gunpowder
A:China — 9th century, Tang dynasty alchemists

#4

Q:Paper money
A:China — Song dynasty, 11th century

#5

Q:The sauna
A:Finland — over 2,000 years old

#6

Q:Instant noodles
A:Japan — Momofuku Ando, 1958

#7

Q:Karaoke
A:Japan — Daisuke Inoue, 1971

#8

Q:LEGO bricks
A:Denmark — Ole Kirk Christiansen, 1958

#9

Q:The Rubik's Cube
A:Hungary — Ernő Rubik, 1974

#10

Q:The ballpoint pen
A:Hungary — László Bíró, 1938

#11

Q:Dynamite
A:Sweden — Alfred Nobel, 1867

#12

Q:Penicillin
A:United Kingdom — Alexander Fleming, 1928

#13

Q:The X-ray
A:Germany — Wilhelm Röntgen, 1895

#14

Q:Insulin
A:Canada — Banting and Best, 1921

#15

Q:The croissant
A:Austria — the Viennese kipferl

#16

Q:Velcro
A:Switzerland — George de Mestral

#17

Q:The bicycle
A:Germany — Karl Drais, 1817

#18

Q:The diesel engine
A:Germany — Rudolf Diesel, 1892

#19

Q:The three-point seat belt
A:Sweden — Volvo, Nils Bohlin, 1959

#20

Q:The shipping container
A:United States — Malcom McLean, 1956

#21

Q:The microwave oven
A:United States — Percy Spencer, 1945

#22

Q:The computer mouse
A:United States — Douglas Engelbart, 1964

#23

Q:Stainless steel
A:United Kingdom — Harry Brearley, 1913

#24

Q:The fax machine
A:United Kingdom — Alexander Bain, 1843

#25

Q:The cash machine
A:United Kingdom — Barclays, London, 1967

#26

Q:Wi-Fi
A:Australia — CSIRO, 1992

#27

Q:Bluetooth
A:Sweden — Ericsson, 1994

#28

Q:The MP3
A:Germany — the Fraunhofer Institute, 1990s

#29

Q:The vending machine
A:Egypt — Hero of Alexandria, 1st century

#30

Q:The light bulb
A:United Kingdom — Joseph Swan, 1878
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