Early Transportation: A Quiz About Old-Timey Ways of Getting Around
Written by Tom Cohen
Last updated · 7 min play time
We didn't always have high-speed jets and Teslas to get around. Back in the day, there were horse and carriage, steam trains, bikes, and eventually some rudimentary automobiles. Let's see how much you know about old-timey modes of transportation.
More than a hundred years ago, men and women had a much harder time moving around the country - and the world - than they do now. There were hot air balloons, blimps, weirdly-shaped bikes, steam trains, biplanes, and all kinds of other modes of transportation. As time went on, new developments in transportation changed the landscape.
In this quiz, we'll ask you some questions about transportation the way it used to be, in the good old days, before high-speed jets and mass produced Japanese sedans. Time to hop into your sidecar and answer some early transportation questions.
Quiz written by
Tom CohenI'm a 3-time Emmy-winning game show producer, writer, director and published author. I dig traveling, watching hockey, photographing wildlife and exploring the cultural and social fabric of society.
Early Transport Quiz Questions
15 Questions · 282 Plays · 1 Comment
Question 1
After making a fortune selling photographic plates, Freelan Oscar Stanley ventured into what early form of transportation in the late 1890s with his twin brother Francis?
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ASnowmobiles
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BSubways
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CSteam-powered cars
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DHelicopters
Steam-powered cars
So-called Stanley Steamers were cars powered by a steam engine, and the first vehicle was made in 1897. During 1898 and 1899, Stanley sold over 200 cars, which at the time was more than any other carmaker in the United States. The Stanley Motor Carriage Company fizzled out in 1924 when internal combustion engines began to take hold.
Question 2
Early trains ran the gamut from workhorses used to transport coal and goods to more upscale ways for the rich to travel. In early train jargon, what was known as a "Pullman"?
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AType of track that was easy to lay down
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BThe engine's chimney
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CThe cowcatcher
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DSleeper car
Sleeper car
The Pullman cars were used by passengers to stay overnight on long-haul train rides. In Europe, the term Pullman also referred to the dining or lounge cars, specifically the ones offered by the Pullman Company. They were named for George Pullman, an American engineer and industrialist.
Question 3
Old-timey jeeps conjure up images of patriotic and heroic GIs on the battlefield. What is one of the leading theories about the origin of the word "jeep"?
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AFrom a German word meaning "tire"
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BDerived from the initials GP, or "general purpose"
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CFrom the sound a bird makes
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DBecause they were "cheap" to manufacture
Derived from the initials GP, or "general purpose"
One of the most common theories about the origin of the Jeep suggests it comes from GP, an acronym for "general purpose," which referred to both a soldier who could do it all, and the vehicle he might ride in. Another more apocryphal theory is that it's an acronym for “just enough essential parts".
Question 4
Founded in 1912 by Thomas Frederick Watson, Watsonian Squire is a company that produces what conveyances that are now considered vintage here in the U.S.?
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ASidecars
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BStreetcars
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CMotorcoaches
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DRotorcrafts
Sidecars
Thomas 'Fred' Watson founded Watsonian Folding Sidecar company in 1912, under the original name Patent Collapsible Sidecar Company. In 1988, Watsonian merged with Squire Sidecars to form Watsonian Squire. Amazingly, they're still cranking out sidecars for use in countries like India.
Question 5
The now hilarious-looking penny-farthing is the most famous of all the old-timey bicycles. How did it gets its name?
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AThe distance it could go
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BFrom two British coins
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CA woman named Penny Farthing
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DIt was an old insult meaning "odd"
From two British coins
The Penny-Farthing got its name because its wheels resemble are different in size, like the penny and the farthing, with one being smaller than the other. In the case of this bike, the penny leads the smaller farthing.
Question 6
During the Civil War, President Lincoln leaned on Professor Thaddeus Lowe to devise a vehicle to do recon on Confederate soldiers. Lowe came up with "The Enterprise," which was what kind of vehicle?
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AHot air balloon
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BRudimentary helicopter
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CSubmersible boat
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DBird-drawn kite
Hot air balloon
The Enterprise was made of Indian silk, and was the second balloon built by Lowe in his factory in Hoboken, N.J. Lowe's special secret process allowed the balloon to stay gassed for as long as 14 days.
Question 7
Before the Model T, there was the 1901 Mercedes 35 hp automobile, marketed by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, or DMG. How did Mercedes get its name?
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AIt was a combination of the founders' three names
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BFrom the engineer's daughter
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CIt means "fast" in German slang
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DIt was a made-up word
From the engineer's daughter
Mercedes Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek was the daughter of Austrian automobile entrepreneur Emil Jellinek. Jellinek was the engineer behind Mercedes-Benz's first car that they marketed in 1901. Jellinek even hung up a large photo of Mercedes at the 1902 Paris car exhibition.
Question 8
The Italian song "Funiculì, Funiculà" was written to commemorate the first two-track funicular to travel up what mountain about 6 miles from Naples?
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AMount Vesuvius
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BMount Viso
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CMount Etna
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DMount Italiano
Mount Vesuvius
The funicular that traveled up the side of Mount Vesuvius was inaugurated in 1880, but only survived until 1944 after several volcanic eruptions rendered it inoperable.
Question 9
This is a Concorde buggy, known for its low-hanging sides, and named for the place where it was first manufactured, the town of Concord in what New England state?
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AVermont
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BNew Hampshire
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CMassachusetts
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DMaine
New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire was the birthplace of the Concorde horse-and-buggy. Concord coaches varied in how many people they could accommodate, ranging from the 4-person size to the more common 9-passenger one, used by mail couriers.
Question 10
A biplane was a staple of early aviation. How did the sesquiplane differ from the traditional biplane?
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AIt had four propellers
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BThere was an extra wheel on top
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CIt had a third wing
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DThe second wing was smaller
The second wing was smaller
The sesquiplane was used frequently by Allied Air Forces during World War I, and it was distinguishable from its cousin, the biplane, because the lower wing was someone smaller to reduce drag and weight. The most famous sesquiplanes were made by the French Nieuport company.
Question 11
Because it became the first city in U.S. to have streetcars run exclusively on electric power in 1886, what Eastern U.S. city still has the nickname "The Electric City"?
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ARichmond, VA
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BBuffalo, NY
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CScranton, PA
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DProvidence, RI
Scranton, PA
The electric trolley system in Scranton was established in 1886, which resulted in the city being nicknamed "The Electric City". A decade later, all the trolley companies merged to form the Scranton Railway Company. Its trolleys ran until 1954.
Question 12
The German-invented Laufmaschine, later known as a "hobby-horse," was an early type of bicycle that differed from modern bicycles in one key way. What was it?
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AIt had no pedals
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BThe wheels were oval
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CThe person riding it lay horizontally
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DIt had four wheels
It had no pedals
The so-called "hobby horse," more derogatorily called a "dandy horse" had no pedals and relied on people to power it with their feet. Invented by Karl Drais as Laufmaschine in 1817 in Germany, he later patented it under the name vélocipède in France.
Question 13
We've all heard of blimps and dirigibles, but what's the difference between these two types of airships?
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ABlimps are always smaller
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BThe dirigible is more rigid
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CThey use a different gas to stay airborne
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DThere's no difference
The dirigible is more rigid
The main difference between a blimp and a dirigible is that a blimp lacks a rigid internal structure. Basically, if a blimp deflates, it loses its shape, whereas a dirigible is always the same shape. The Goodyear blimp and Hindenburg are both dirigibles.
Question 14
This was the "Model T of the air," an early plane introduced by Ford with the explicit instructions from Henry Ford that it "fit in his office". What was it called?
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AThe Flash
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BThe Flame
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CThe Flivver
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DThe Flicker
The Flivver
The Ford Flivver was marketed on the back of the Model T as the everyday plane for Americans. Comedian Will Rogers posed for press photos in the aircraft, having never even taken to the skies in one. After a fatal accident during a test flight, production the Flivver was halted.
Question 15
The “first USA production motorcycle” was made by the Waltham Manufacturing Company, which was founded in 1893 by Charles Metz. What was the name of Metz's first ride?
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AThe Statesman-Bob
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BThe Flywheel-Hawk
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CThe Orient-Aster
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DThe Western-Waldorf
The Orient-Aster
The Orient-Aster, or just the Orient, had a one-cylinder engine with 2.5 horsepower and also sported copper fins, which was meant to help with engine cooling. It debuted in 1899, four years before the Harley.
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