50 “Which came first?” questions to test your sense of history
Quick answer: Each of these 50 questions gives two things, and you decide which came first. The answers include the dates, so you can see how far apart they were.
How to play
Read both options and let players choose. Award a bonus point for anyone who can name the year. These questions are great for history fans; for more, read famous historical figures and inventions that changed history.
Questions 1–10
Many of these inventions are explained in inventions that changed history.
| # | Which came first? | Answer | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The telephone or the light bulb? | The telephone | Telephone 1876; practical light bulb 1879 |
| 2 | The Great Pyramid of Giza or Stonehenge? | Stonehenge | Stonehenge’s first stage about 3000 BC; Great Pyramid about 2560 BC |
| 3 | The Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty? | The Statue of Liberty | Statue of Liberty 1886; Eiffel Tower 1889 |
| 4 | Facebook or YouTube? | Facebook 2004; YouTube 2005 | |
| 5 | The first iPhone or the first Android phone? | The iPhone | iPhone 2007; first Android phone 2008 |
| 6 | The World Wide Web or the first text message? | The World Wide Web | Web proposed 1989; first SMS 1992 |
| 7 | The steam locomotive or the bicycle? | The steam locomotive | Locomotive 1804; first bicycle (draisine) 1817 |
| 8 | The fall of the Berlin Wall or the end of the Soviet Union? | The fall of the Berlin Wall | 1989; 1991 |
| 9 | St Peter’s Basilica or the Taj Mahal? | St Peter’s Basilica | Completed 1626; Taj Mahal about 1653 |
| 10 | The first FIFA World Cup or the first modern Olympics? | The modern Olympics | Olympics 1896; World Cup 1930 |
Questions 11–20
| # | Which came first? | Answer | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Penicillin or insulin? | Insulin | Insulin 1921; penicillin 1928 |
| 12 | The Moon landing or the first person in space? | The first person in space | Gagarin 1961; Moon landing 1969 |
| 13 | Coca-Cola or Pepsi? | Coca-Cola | 1886; 1893 |
| 14 | The founding of Baghdad or of Cairo? | Baghdad | Baghdad 762; Cairo 969 |
| 15 | The Parthenon or the Colosseum? | The Parthenon | Parthenon 438 BC; Colosseum 80 AD |
| 16 | Radio or television? | Radio | Radio 1890s; television 1920s |
| 17 | The Suez Canal or the Panama Canal? | The Suez Canal | 1869; 1914 |
| 18 | The car or the aeroplane? | The car | Benz car 1886; first powered flight 1903 |
| 19 | The Dome of the Rock or the Alhambra? | The Dome of the Rock | 691; Alhambra mostly 13th–14th century |
| 20 | The birth of Shakespeare or of Cervantes? | Cervantes | Cervantes 1547; Shakespeare 1564 |
Questions 21–30
| # | Which came first? | Answer | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | American independence or the French Revolution? | American independence | 1776; 1789 |
| 22 | The Burj Al Arab or the Burj Khalifa? | The Burj Al Arab | 1999; 2010 |
| 23 | Amazon or Google? | Amazon | 1994; 1998 |
| 24 | The dishwasher or the microwave oven? | The dishwasher | 1886; 1947 |
| 25 | The Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel ceiling? | The Mona Lisa | Begun about 1503; ceiling 1508–1512 |
| 26 | The Channel Tunnel or euro banknotes? | The Channel Tunnel | 1994; 2002 |
| 27 | The zip or the ballpoint pen? | The zip | 1913; 1938 |
| 28 | The sinking of the Titanic or the start of the First World War? | The Titanic | 1912; 1914 |
| 29 | The death of Napoleon or of Beethoven? | Napoleon | 1821; 1827 |
| 30 | The first Lord of the Rings book or the first Harry Potter book? | The Lord of the Rings | 1954; 1997 |
Questions 31–40
| # | Which came first? | Answer | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | WhatsApp or Instagram? | 2009; 2010 | |
| 32 | The smallpox vaccine or the electric battery? | The smallpox vaccine | 1796; 1800 |
| 33 | Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra book or the founding of al-Qarawiyyin? | Al-Khwarizmi’s book | About 820; 859 |
| 34 | The first Nobel Prizes or the first Oscars? | The Nobel Prizes | 1901; 1929 |
| 35 | The founding of Harvard or the Great Fire of London? | Harvard | 1636; 1666 |
| 36 | Mickey Mouse or Superman? | Mickey Mouse | 1928; 1938 |
| 37 | The birth of Julius Caesar or the death of Cleopatra? | The birth of Julius Caesar | 100 BC; 30 BC |
| 38 | The first email or the first mobile phone call? | The first email | 1971; 1973 |
| 39 | The Wright brothers’ flight or the Titanic sinking? | The Wright brothers’ flight | 1903; 1912 |
| 40 | The Moon landing or the opening of the Sydney Opera House? | The Moon landing | 1969; 1973 |
Questions 41–50
| # | Which came first? | Answer | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | The first ancient Olympics or the founding of Rome? | The ancient Olympics | 776 BC; 753 BC (traditional date) |
| 42 | The structure of DNA or the first heart transplant? | The structure of DNA | 1953; 1967 |
| 43 | Wi-Fi or Bluetooth? | Wi-Fi | 1997; 1999 |
| 44 | The death of Umm Kulthum or of Elvis Presley? | Umm Kulthum | 1975; 1977 |
| 45 | The finding of the Rosetta Stone or of Tutankhamun’s tomb? | The Rosetta Stone | 1799; 1922 |
| 46 | Velcro or the Post-it note? | Velcro | 1955; 1980 |
| 47 | The Arab League or the United Nations? | The Arab League | March 1945; October 1945 |
| 48 | Gutenberg’s printing press or Columbus reaching the Americas? | The printing press | About 1440; 1492 |
| 49 | The earliest Great Wall of China or the invention of paper? | The earliest Great Wall | 7th century BC; about 105 AD |
| 50 | The first woman in space or the first Arab in space? | The first woman in space | Valentina Tereshkova 1963; Sultan bin Salman 1985 |
Frequently asked questions
Which came first, the telephone or the light bulb?
The telephone, in 1876.
Which came first, the Arab League or the United Nations?
The Arab League, in March 1945.