Oh-oh, it’s Gandalf again!

Here’s the first of three quizzes covering J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. It’s a book that teaches two main life lessons. First, when traveling, always stay with the Elves if at all possible. Second, and even more important, do not answer the door if it’s Gandalf. Avoid his company altogether.

Everyone’s talking Tolkien

The life story of linguist and author John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the subject of our new quiz, has recently been adapted for the screen as the movie Tolkien. We haven’t seen the movie yet, but we are happy to assume without evidence that our quiz paints a picture of the man that is paradoxically far more vivid and visceral than any mere celluloid representation could hope to achieve. We begin with Tolkien’s grandfather, who pursued a business beginning with ‘B’.

Welcome to the
Technology Trivia Quiz

Start the quiz Start the ‘quick’ version

The history of the human species is to a large degree the history of technology, from the ancient discoveries of the wheel, the lever, and other elementary machines, to the rapidly-developing high technology of the present day. In this quiz we present a brief sampling of moments from that long and endlessly fascinating story.

Technology quiz frontispiece: The Mill, a painting by Henri Rousseau