What Does the Moon Smell Like?: 151 Astounding Science Quizzes (12 page)

d) John Young

151

Moon Buggies

Who was the first astronaut to drive on the moon?

A

a) Buzz Aldrin

b) Neil Armstrong

c) Dave Scott

THE

d) John Young

MEN

ON

THE

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) Dave Scott

MOON

Apollo 15 was the first mission to carry a lunar rover, and Dave Scott was the first man to drive it. Jim Irwin was next. For three days, they drove around near Mount Hadley, on the edge of the Apennine

Mountains (named for Italy’s mountain range with the same name). The first man to pop a wheelie on the moon was Apollo 16’s John Young, who was the third man to drive on the moon. All three lunar rovers are still on the moon’s surface, exactly where the astronauts parked them at the end of their last shift.

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Moon Ball

On the third moon landing, Apollo 14’s Alan Shepard Q

and Ed Mitchell collected more moon rocks than

previous Apollo missions, a total of 42 kilograms (94

lb). They were able to collect more because they THE

were the first to use a handcart designed to carry MEN

their tools and transport the moon rocks. It worked for the most part, but when it couldn’t negotiate a ON

15-degree slope on a big crater, the astronauts had to THE

carry the cart to the rock collecting site. Despite the MOON

heavy workload, near the end of their last moonwalk, the astronauts found time for fun, and another first.

What was the first ball on the moon?

a) football

b) baseball

c) basketball

d) golf ball

153

Moon Ball

What was the first ball on the moon?

A

a) football

b) baseball

c) basketball

THE

d) golf ball

MEN

ON

THE

CORRECT ANSWER:

d) golf ball

MOON

Alan Shepard wanted to be the first man to drive a golf ball on the moon. To everyone’s amusement, and in the interest of demonstrating the physics of low gravity, he attached a six iron to the bottom of a sampling instrument, and swung at a couple of balls. His best drive sent a golf ball into a distant crater.

Shepard said it went for “miles and miles.” For reasons known only to himself, Ed Mitchell grabbed a staff and threw it like a javelin. It landed in the same crater, and went a hair farther than the golf ball. Shepard brought his six iron back to Earth. It’s on display at the U.S. Golf Association Hall of Fame in New Jersey. His two golf balls, as well as Mitchell’s

“javelin,” are still on the moon.

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The Real Man in the Moon

Footprints and tread marks aren’t the only things Q

humans left on the moon. Along with tons of hard-ware and technology, including probes, rocket stages, rovers, tools, equipment, and experiments, there are THE

personal items too. One of them is about as personal MEN

as it can get: someone’s “cremains.” An ounce of human ashes hitched a ride on Lunar Prospector, ON

which orbited the moon for 19 months searching for THE

water. For its final experiment, and spectacular grand MOON

finale, the probe targeted a shadowed crater near the south pole, and hurled itself and the cremains into it.

Who is “buried” on the moon?

a) Gene Autry, singing cowboy

b) Gene Roddenberry,
Star Trek
creator c) Gene Shoemaker, geologist

d) Virgil “Gus” Grissom, astronaut

155

The Real Man in the Moon

Who is “buried” on the moon?

A

a) Gene Autry, singing cowboy

b) Gene Roddenberry,
Star Trek
creator c) Gene Shoemaker, geologist

THE

d) Virgil “Gus” Grissom, astronaut

MEN

ON

THE

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) Gene Shoemaker, geologist

MOON

Geologist Gene Shoemaker had dreamt of going to the moon, but couldn’t be an astronaut for medical reasons. So, instead, he trained astronauts, and organized the geological activities planned for the moon missions. He was a crater specialist, a pioneer of astrogeology, and discovered many comets. He headed up the 1994 Clementine mission, which

searched for water in shadowed craters around the south pole — the same area where he and his ride, Lunar Prospector, slammed into the moon’s surface in 1999. Yes, there really is a man in the moon, and his name is Gene Shoemaker.

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THE CAR KINGS

Paint it Black

Half the cars in America were Model Ts in 1918. In Q

the early days of the automobile trade, no one came out with a new model every year. They sold the same model for years. A decade after the Model T was introduced, there were more of them than any other car, and many, if not most, were black. It was the only colour available from 1915 to 1925. Why? Good question.

Why were Model Ts only made in black for 11 years?

a) as a gesture of mourning for Ford’s deceased son b) black paint dried faster

c) Ford was colour-blind

d) it was the most popular colour

157

Paint it Black

Why were Model Ts only made in black for 11 years?

A

a) as a gesture of mourning for Ford’s deceased son b) black paint dried faster

c) Ford was colour-blind

THE

d) it was the most popular colour

CAR

KINGS

CORRECT ANSWER:

b) black paint dried faster

Business was booming, and black paint dried faster than other colours. Ford had the most efficient assembly line in the world, and turned out a new car every 98 minutes, but it was still a struggle to keep up with demand. The faster the paint dried, the more cars the plant could churn out. The Model T was

“the car” for decades, but its run finally ended in 1927

when the last Model T, number 15,007,034, left the building. More Model Ts were made than any other car in the world, and that record stood for 45 years, right up until the 15,007,035th Volkswagen Beetle rolled off its assembly line.

The Top 10 Bestselling Cars of All Time that Never Underwent a Major Redesign

1. Volkswagen Beetle

6. Mini

2. Ford Model T

7. Peugot 206

3. Lada Riva

8. Peugot 205

4. Fiat Uno

9. Ford Model A

5. Renault 4

10. Hindustan Ambassador

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The Mercedes Era

The Mercedes was born thanks to the demands of

Q

Emil Jellinek. He wanted a revolutionary sports car,

“not a car for today or tomorrow, but for the day after tomorrow.” His demands included a longer wheelbase THE

and wide track for stability, a lower centre of gravity, CAR

and electric ignition. The Mercedes that Daimler and KINGS

Maybach built for him amazed car fans all over the world in 1901. Jellinek reached the then-incredible speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) to win the Nice races with ease, beating cars in all capacity classes. The Director of the French Automobile Club announced that the world had entered the Mercedes era. You probably know about the car, but what about other things named Mercedes?

What was NOT named Mercedes?

a) Emil Jellinek

b) Emil Jellinek’s daughter

c) Emil Jellinek’s mother

d) Emil Jellinek’s properties

159

The Mercedes Era

What was NOT named Mercedes?

A

a) Emil Jellinek

b) Emil Jellinek’s daughter

c) Emil Jellinek’s mother

THE

d) Emil Jellinek’s properties

CAR

KINGS

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) Emil Jellinek’s mother

Emil Jellinek’s mother was named Rosalie. Jellinek’s love for the name began after his first daughter was born, and named Mercedes. He thought it was an

exotic, attractive, and lucky name, and he stipulated that Daimler and Maybach were to name their new car Mercedes. He named his race team and all the properties he owned Mercedes, including three separate Villa Mercedes. At one point he decided that the Mercedes engine’s future was on the water, so he put one on each of his yachts, and called every single yacht — you guessed it — Mercedes. But it gets

even better! In 1903, when he was 50, he legally changed his name to Emil Jellinek-Mercedes. He

joked that it was the first time a man had taken his daughter’s name. No kidding.

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Car Kings

Two of the pioneers of the car industry, Karl Benz Q

and Gottlieb Daimler, were born about 60 kilometres (37 miles) apart in southern Germany. Karl Benz was born and educated in Karlsruhe, where Daimler and THE

his partner Wilhelm Maybach worked for a manufac-CAR

turer for two years. To support their families, and to KINGS

finance the development of their engines, these future car kings had other jobs in the early days, and worked on their engines in their spare time. By 1886, Benz was in Mannheim testing a motorized tricycle he’d built, while Daimler and Maybach were in

Stuttgart test driving a horse carriage rigged with one of their engines. Fast-forward 25 years to the merger of Daimler and Benz’s companies. The merger was a good fit, but what about the car kings themselves?

What was Daimler and Benz’s relationship? They . . .

a) were rivals in school

b) worked together in Karlsruhe and became friends c) were related by marriage

d) had no relationship

161

Car Kings

What was Daimler and Benz’s relationship? They . . .

A

a) were rivals in school

b) worked together in Karlsruhe and became friends c) were related by marriage

THE

d) had no relationship

CAR

KINGS

CORRECT ANSWER:

d) had no relationship

Daimler’s and Benz’s companies merged during rough financial times in Germany in 1926. Daimler had already been dead for 26 years, and Benz was retired.

Despite the fact that their birthplaces were close together, and they lived and worked in the same neck of the woods, there’s no evidence that the two ever met. Based on how different their engine designs were, it’s possible that they weren’t even interested in one another’s work. Even though the founders of the two companies weren’t involved in the merger, or maybe because they weren’t involved, the new company, Daimler-Benz, proved to be incredibly

successful. Their most popular luxury vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz, is still an automotive object of desire.

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Patented Success Stories

The men who rose to be the kings of the motor trade Q

got there, not just by having good ideas, but also by getting patent protection for their inventions. More than a century ago, thousands of inventors all over THE

the world were furiously working away on different CAR

kinds of engines and cars. Sometimes more than one KINGS

inventor came up with the same idea. The ones who patented their inventions first were the ones who got the bragging rights, and if they had good lawyers, money for the use of their patented ideas. They were a creative bunch and came up with all kinds of innovations.

Match the car kings with their achievements.

a) Benz

b) Daimler and Maybach

c) Diesel

d) Ford

1. A charcoal briquette, an ethanol-fueled plastic-bodied car, set land speed record

2. First commercial engine at a brewery, solar-powered air engine, compression ignition engine

3. First motorcycle, first motorboat, the Phoenix engine 4. First commercially available automobile, the truck, race car engine

163

Patented Success Stories

Match the car kings with their achievements.

A

a) Benz

b) Daimler and Maybach

c) Diesel

THE

d) Ford

CAR

1. A charcoal briquette, an ethanol-fueled plastic-bodied car, set land speed record

KINGS

2. First commercial engine at a brewery, solar-powered air engine, compression ignition engine

3. First motorcycle, first motorboat, the Phoenix engine 4. First commercially available automobile, the truck, race car engine

CORRECT ANSWERS: a-4, b-3, c-2, d-1

Benz was the first to advertise and sell his car, the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motorwagen, in 1888. He also designed the first truck, and patented an engine design still used in some high performance race cars.

Daimler and Maybach were the first to attach their engine to a bicycle, and a boat. Their Phoenix engine powered the car that won the world’s first car race in 1894. Rudolf Diesel invented the compression ignition engine, a.k.a. the Diesel engine, and his first commercial engine powered a brewery in the U.S. He also patented a solar-powered air engine. Ford and his brother-in-law E.G. Kingsford created a charcoal briquette using sawdust and wood chips from the car factory. Ford held 161 patents, including one for an ethanol-fueled car with a body made of soybean plastic. In 1904, he set a world land speed record of 147

km/h (91.3 mph) but it was broken a couple of

months later.

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HOT CHICKEN

Chicken Beautiful

Inside every chicken beats the heart of a wild Red Q

Jungle Fowl. Chickens are domesticated jungle fowl, but that hasn’t changed their wild instincts. In the jungles of Asia, wild chickens live in flocks, and spend most of their time hunting for food and