Pub quiz style questions about crazy eccentric inventors of the past.
1. Which eccentric inventor allegedly spent years trying to create a device to communicate with ghosts, despite the fact that he’s better known for inventing the lightbulb?
2. Which 18th-century British aristocrat famously walked around London with an umbrella open indoors, convinced it would stop him from drowning in puddles?
3. Which famous artist, known for his extravagant moustache, once brought a bell with him to public appearances so he could ring it and declare, “I am the divine!”
4. Nikola Tesla had a strange relationship with a specific type of animal. What was it, and how did it influence his invention process?
5. Who was the 19th-century eccentric inventor who tried to design an anti-seasickness chair for his ship travels but never considered that it might also make people dizzy?
6. Which ruler of Bavaria ordered the construction of extravagant castles but spent so much on them that he was declared insane and removed from power?
7. Who invented the electric bed warmer but was so obsessed with keeping warm that they also insisted on wearing four pairs of socks at all times—even in summer?
8. Howard Hughes, an eccentric billionaire, refused to cut one part of his body for years, growing it to absurd lengths. What was it, and why?
9. What eccentric French chemist is known for writing letters to his cat and reportedly trying to turn lead into gold in his spare time?
10. Which Victorian-era inventor created a “mouse cannon” to rid his home of mice, only to have his invention backfire and turn his house into a cheese-smelling battlefield?
11. Which 17th-century mathematician tried to invent a perpetual motion machine using water, but ended up creating what was essentially a very leaky fountain instead?
12. Which historical figure invented a machine for “chopping vegetables more efficiently” but was known to use it only to shred paper due to paranoia about spies?
13. Who designed the infamous “exploding fountain pen,” a device that looked like a regular pen but would douse its user in ink—often himself—by accident?
14. Which famous painter reportedly refused to paint for months because he was waiting for the “perfect shade of green,” but was later found with a stash of 10 different greens?
15. Known for building catapults, which eccentric inventor tried to create a giant spoon to fling himself across the river, only to end up in a neighboring pigsty instead?
16. Who famously claimed that their pet duck was capable of dictating Shakespeare but never got around to proving it?
17. What eccentric inventor is said to have tried to develop a “thought recorder” to capture his dreams, but ended up with a pile of scribbles on paper instead?
18. Which mad scientist attempted to create “self-flipping pancakes” using a catapult mechanism, but ended up flipping pancakes onto the neighbours’ roof instead?
19. Who tried to invent an “anti-snore helmet” but abandoned the project when his wife complained that it made him sound like Darth Vader?
20. Which French philosopher and eccentric invented a “dinner napkin flipper” but never once used it himself, as he preferred to eat standing up?
21. Which eccentric inventor was so obsessed with predicting the weather that he spent 15 years building a “rain machine” that never worked and famously forgot to put a roof on his own house?
22. Who tried to invent a silent piano for people to play without disturbing the neighbors but ended up creating a piano that only disturbed the cats?
23. Which 18th-century British aristocrat claimed to have eaten 3,000 different species of animals in his lifetime, from panthers to mice, all in the name of science?
24. What famous author was convinced that the key to a long life was to wear wet socks to bed and was known to do so religiously?
25. Which eccentric mathematician insisted that the number three was evil and refused to eat any meal with more than three ingredients?
26. Who invented a “doughnut-shaped” house to improve airflow, only to discover that the wind whistled through his living room like a hurricane?
27. Which 19th-century poet attempted to write a novel entirely while riding a horse and ended up with a story about “hoof prints” in every chapter?
28. Who claimed that staring at goats could give people psychic powers and spent years trying to teach his goat “telepathy”?
29. What eccentric inventor tried to build a submarine made of cheese, believing it would blend into the ocean depths, only to have it dissolve during its maiden voyage?
30. Who famously believed that bathing in honey would extend his life and spent months covered in the sticky substance, only to attract a swarm of bees instead?
31. Which 19th-century French artist insisted on wearing a pet lobster on a leash during his daily walks, claiming it was a “calming influence”?
32. Who invented a “reverse alarm clock” that didn’t wake you up but put you to sleep—so successfully that he overslept every day?
33. Which eccentric scientist tried to teach his parrot to deliver lectures on physics but gave up when the bird only learned to swear at students?
34. Who built an underground lair to live like a mole, complete with a tiny garden, but had to abandon it when it flooded during a rainstorm?
35. Which mad inventor tried to create a “flying bicycle” powered by pedaling but spent most of his time picking himself up off the ground?
