What was the first item sold over the internet?

It is disputed, with several competing claims

The first message sent on ARPANET, the internet's predecessor, was what?

An attempt to type "login" that crashed after two letters

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General Knowledge Medium ⚡ 10 Questions ⏱️ ~7 Mins +100 XP

Firsts, and Who Actually Got There

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Credit for a first is awarded by history rather than by evidence, and the two often disagree.

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~7m

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About this topic

Being first is rarely a clean fact. Inventions arrive in pieces, several people reach the same idea within a few years of one another, and the person remembered is often the one who commercialised it, publicised it or simply outlived the competition. This quiz covers a set of genuine firsts alongside a few where the popular answer is wrong. In each case the explanation says what actually happened, including where the credit is genuinely contested rather than simply misremembered.

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Firsts, and Who Actually Got There: all 10 questions and answers

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1The first successful vaccine was developed against which disease?
- A Measles
- B Smallpox Correct
- C Polio
- D Rabies
Answer: B. Smallpox

Why: Edward Jenner demonstrated it in 1796 using cowpox. Smallpox went on to become the only human disease ever eradicated.
2What was the first item sold over the internet?
- A It is disputed, with several competing claims Correct
- B A book from Amazon
- C A pizza
- D A Sting CD
Answer: A. It is disputed, with several competing claims

Why: Rival claims include a Sting CD in 1994 and, earlier, a marijuana sale between university students. No single transaction is settled as the first.
3Who is generally credited with taking the first permanent photograph?
- A Louis Daguerre
- B William Henry Fox Talbot
- C George Eastman
- D Joseph Nicéphore Niépce Correct
Answer: D. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

Why: His view from a window, made around 1826, required an exposure of many hours. Daguerre, his later collaborator, is more widely remembered.
4The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth was what?
- A Vostok 1
- B Telstar
- C Sputnik 1 Correct
- D Explorer 1
Answer: C. Sputnik 1

Why: Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, it carried little more than a radio transmitter. Its beeping signal could be picked up by amateur radio operators worldwide.
5The first commercially successful ballpoint pen is associated with whom?
- A George Parker
- B László Bíró Correct
- C Lewis Waterman
- D John Loud
Answer: B. László Bíró

Why: A Hungarian journalist, he patented a workable design in 1938. John Loud had patented an earlier version in 1888 that never worked well on paper.
6Which country granted women the right to vote in national elections first?
- A New Zealand Correct
- B United States
- C United Kingdom
- D Finland
Answer: A. New Zealand

Why: New Zealand did so in 1893, though women could not stand for parliament there until 1919. Finland was the first to grant both together.
7The first person to reach the summit of Everest alongside Tenzing Norgay was who?
- A George Mallory
- B Chris Bonington
- C Reinhold Messner
- D Edmund Hillary Correct
Answer: D. Edmund Hillary

Why: They reached it in 1953 and always declined to say who stepped up first, treating it as a joint achievement.
8The first message sent on ARPANET, the internet's predecessor, was what?
- A A photograph
- B A military dispatch
- C An attempt to type "login" that crashed after two letters Correct
- D A weather report
Answer: C. An attempt to type "login" that crashed after two letters

Why: The system failed after "lo" in 1969, and the full word arrived about an hour later.
9The first heart transplant on a human was performed in which country?
- A France
- B South Africa Correct
- C United States
- D Soviet Union
Answer: B. South Africa

Why: Christiaan Barnard performed it in Cape Town in 1967. The patient survived eighteen days before dying of pneumonia.
10Who is generally credited with the first powered, controlled aeroplane flight?
- A The Wright brothers Correct
- B Louis Blériot
- C Otto Lilienthal
- D Alberto Santos-Dumont
Answer: A. The Wright brothers

Why: Their 1903 flight lasted twelve seconds. Santos-Dumont is widely credited in Brazil, because his 1906 flight took off unaided rather than using a rail.

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