Accidental Inventions: Real or Fake?

The questions

All 10 questions in this quiz. Correct answers stay hidden until you finish.

1. 1

   The microwave oven was discovered when an engineer's chocolate bar melted in his pocket while he stood near radar equipment.

   • Real
   • Fake
2. 2

   Post-it Notes were born because a 3M scientist accidentally created a weak adhesive while trying to make a super-strong glue.

   • Fake
   • Real
3. 3

   Penicillin was discovered when Alexander Fleming returned from vacation and found mold growing in his petri dishes.

   • Real
   • Fake
4. 4

   Potato chips were invented by a chef who got annoyed at a customer complaining his fries were too thick, so he sliced them paper-thin and fried them out of spite.

   • Fake
   • Real
5. 5

   Bubble wrap was originally invented to be a type of textured 3D wallpaper.

   • Real
   • Fake

Score bands

Your final score places you in one of these bands.

Gullible GuestBelieves everything

You fell for quite a few of those dressed-up stories. Don't feel bad — the real histories behind these inventions are often messier than the legends. Next time someone says it was invented by accident, look it up first!

Curious SkepticHalf-convinced

You kept your guard up but still got caught by a few tall tales. Most famous accidental-invention stories have been polished and simplified over the years — the real stories are usually more complicated.

Myth BusterTruth hunter

You saw right through most of the exaggerated origin stories! You're not easily swayed by romantic happy-accident narratives and prefer to check the facts yourself.

Truth DetectiveNear-perfect

Perfect or nearly perfect! You're exceptionally good at separating fact from polished legend. The real history may be less dramatic, but nothing gets past you.

How this quiz works

Each question has one correct answer. When you finish, you get your score and can review every question with the correct answer and, where we have one, a short explanation.