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About This Quiz
You see and use these ordinary things every day, but how are they are made? Take this quiz to find out if you know how to make these common items. Every step won’t be described, just the basics.
How is a pink eraser made?
Rubber is pressed in molds and heated to cure it.
Rubber and oil paste are extruded in thin strips and cut. The erasers are placed in cold water to cure them.
Vinyl, pumice, and vulcanized oil are combined for fifteen minutes in a blender and pressed into sheets. The sheets are cut and thrown in a tumbler.
Rubber is placed between heated rollers; sulfur, accelerators, and coloring are added; treated oil is added and then it is cooled, cut, and cured.
White erasers are made out of vinyl, but pink erasers are made from rubber. In 1736, Europeans discovered South American natives making bouncy balls from tree resin. The explorer brought the rubber home to experiment with and found its first use as an eraser (or “rubber”).
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How is concrete made?
Crushed cement is mixed with sand, water, and oils.
Crushed cement is mixed with rocks, sand, and oils.
Crushed aggregates are mixed with sand, rocks, and oils.
Crushed aggregates are mixed with cement, water, sand, and chemicals.
“…You have to remember that I came to America as an immigrant. You know—on a ship, through the Statue of Liberty. And I saw that skyline not just as a representation of steel and concrete and glass, but as really the substance of the American Dream.” –Daniel Libeskind
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How is printer ink made?
Pigment powder is mixed with a type of heated varnish and milled between a bead mill and a roller mill.
After being milled, the ink is run through quality control five times and more additives are combined with it to give it the correct consistency and insure colors are similar. It is run through a final milling process before it is packaged.
Pigment powder is mixed with heated honey and milled between a bead mill and roller mill.
Pigment powder is mixed with heated alcohol and milled between a bead mill and a roller mill.
Pigment powder is mixed with heated turpentine and milled between a bead mill and roller mill.
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Gelatin, hot water, potassium chloride, and silica granules are combined and paraffin-coated aspen is dipped in the mixture to make what?
Lollipops.
Chopsticks.
Toothpicks.
Matches.
“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us, but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.” –Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
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How is perfume made?
Plant essences are mixed with water to dilute it.
Plants essences are mixed with alcohol to dilute it.
Plant essences are combined and mixed with water and alcohol to dilute it.
“A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.” –Christian Dior
Plant essences are combined and mixed with acetone to dilute it.
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Waxes, pigments, a plant-based gel, and moisturizers are combined in a kettle that melts and blends them; then the product is molded, cooled, and placed in their case?
Jojoba oil.
Lipstick.
“You can’t keep changing men, so you settle for changing your lipstick.” –Heather Locklear
Gin.
Bricks.
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Aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate, and xanthan gum are combined with other chemicals into large containers and then cooked until it is doughy; colors are added; and packaging tubes are filled to make what?
Conditioner.
Toothpaste.
Peppermint it the most common flavor of toothpaste. People tend to prefer toothpaste with colored stripes as opposed to plain toothpaste.
Hard candy
Deodorant.
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Sodium hydroxide and animal fat are combined and heated; water is added to keep it fluid; its cooled, milled, mixed with color and fragrant oils, an formed into long bars?
Cheese.
Soap.
“Memories are like mercury: Every time you sort of try to get near them, they slip out of your hand like a bar of soap.” –Daphne Guinness
Chocolate bars.
Paper.
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Water, sodium laurel sulfate, coconut oils, colorants and scents, keratin proteins are combined to make what?
Conditioner.
Body lotion.
Shampoo.
All shampoos contain the same basic mixture of about 50 percent water, sodium lauryl sulfate, and at least two coconut oils for lather and texture. Other additives determine the difference between salon shampoos and those sold in grocery stores.
Hairspray.
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Rubber is added to oil with pigment and kneaded; the mixture is milled and formed into talcum powder coated tubes; after it is cured and vulcanized, they are cleaned and cut?
Rubber bands.
Rubber bands are a British invention. They were first created in the middle of the 1800s.
Shoes.
Door stops.
Antacid.
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How is aluminum foil made?
Steel is punched into sheets, shined on one side, coated in talcum powder, and spooled.
Aluminum is mixed with tin and copper before being formed into sheets and spooled.
Aluminum is melted down and poured into flat molds, cooled, and then spooled.
Aluminum is melted into 8-ton ingots and milled under huge rollers cooled with a water and oil mixture. Then it is spooled, doubled, cold rolled, and cut.
“I grew up on comic books. X-men was my favorite team; Wolverine was my guy. At 8 years old, I dressed up as Wolverine with adamantium claws that I made out of aluminum.” –Brian Tee
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How is correction fluid made?
Water is mixed with pigments and resins before being packaged.
Tempera paint is watered down and packaged.
First water and a suspending agent are mixed, then pigment is added with more water and they are blended on high speed, finally, resins, colorants, and preservatives are slowly added before it is packaged.
Betty Nesmith Graham invented correction fluid while working a secretary in the ‘50s. After bottling and selling the product to other secretaries, she lost her job when she accidentally typed the name of her company on a document (Mistake Out) instead of typing the name of the bank for which she worked.
Titanium dioxide is mixed with xanthan gum in a high-speed blender and water is added to thin the mixture.
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Glass is highly polished and backed with thin layers of tin, silver, copper, and two coats of paint to make what?
Stained glass windows.
Mirrors.
“Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only.” –Samuel Butler
Marbles.
LED television screens.
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Melt copper, cobalt, sulfur, nickel, iron, aluminum, and titanium together in an electrical induction furnace and pour it into a sand mold; break the mold away and collect the metal pieces; then heat the pieces again and run an electrical charge and then an electromagnetic charge through them to make what?
Pennies.
Copper wire.
Knives.
Magnets.
The first electrical charge aligns the magnets properly and primes them. The second electromagnetic charge turns the shaped pieces of metal into a strong magnet.
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Recycled paper is mixed with water until it becomes pulp, which is strained and injected with air to remove ink; it is then bleached and heat rolled and spooled to make what?
Candles.
Aspirin.
Hand lotion.
Toilet paper.
“Today, you can go to a gas station and find the cash register open and the toilets locked. They must think toilet paper is worth more than money. ” –Joey Bishop
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Paraffin is melted with a secret powder, chemicals, and pigment is blended and injected into molds; they are labeled and boxed to make what?
Wax lips.
Candles.
Crayons.
Crayons were first invented in 1903 in America. Most crayon makers only use non-toxic ingredients.
Shoe polish.
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How are toothpicks made?
A log is debarked, polished, then chopped into splinters.
A log is debarked, sliced into small splinters and dried.
A log is debarked, unraveled into thin ribbons, cut into small strips, dried, polished and packaged.
“‘It seemed to me,’ said Wonko the Sane, ‘that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a package of toothpicks was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.’” –Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
A log is debarked and chopped into small splinters and packaged.
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How are marbles made?
Glass scraps are melted, the molten stream is cut and rolled for three days.
Special marbles are hand crafted and have numerous layers. Many are larger and are signed by their artists.
Tiny glass balls are melted with pigment and poured into molds where they are cooled overnight.
Special machines carve giant glass blocks.
Silica is mixed with potassium and limestone and colored glass and dropped onto a giant, cold conveyor belt where they instantly cool.
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Glass disks are cleaned and inspected before a primer and a photo-resistant coating are applied and dried and has data etched on to it; the glass plate is then used as a mold for liquid polycarbonate, which is later thinly coated in aluminum and varnish to make what?
Vinyl records.
CDs.
“When we were making vinyl records, we had a lot of time limitations for each record, so songs were left off for a number of reasons. Now, with CDs, much more music can be included.” –Ken Hensley
Dinner plates.
Headlights.
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Flour, egg white powder, onion powder, potato starch, yellow food coloring, and water are mixed twenty minutes and rolled into a thin sheet; then it is sliced thin, steamed, portioned, fried, and packaged with seasoning to make what?
Soy sauce.
Crackers.
Instant noodles.
Go Pek-Hok (Momofuku Ando) was raised by his grandparents after his parents died. After World War II, he invented Ramen noodles as a way of creating a noodle product that was easily manufactured. The first packages cost six times more than noodles of the day, but now they are one-third the cost of the cheapest restaurant fare.
Bread.
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Natural and synthetic rubber, chemical additives and carbon black are blended under heat and pressure before being rolled into doughy sheets that are reinforced with rubber fabric and rubber encased steel cables; inner and outer parts are built separately and stuck together to make what?
Tennis shoes.
Car tires.
“I might be a living legend, but that sure don’t help when I’ve got to change a flat tire.” –Roy Orbison
Rain boots.
Rubber duckies.
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How is peanut butter made?
Valencia peanuts are roasted, fast cooled, skinned and hearted, and ground into paste before salt, sugar, and oil are added.
Spanish peanuts are roasted, fast cooled, skinned and hearted, and ground into paste before salt, sugar, and oil are added.
Runner peanuts are roasted, fast cooled, skinned and hearted, and ground into paste before salt, sugar, and oil are added.
An American doctor invented peanut butter in 1890. It was used as a protein substitute for those who could no longer chew meat with their bad teeth.
Virginia peanuts are roasted, fast cooled, skinned and hearted, and ground into paste before salt, sugar, and oil are added.
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How are needles made?
Thin steel wire is cut, ground, and flattened on one end so a hole can be punched into it; then they are baked, smoothed, washed, and electroplated.
“Kittens are wide-eyed, soft, and sweet with needles in their jaws and feet.” –Pam Brown
Thin steel wire is cut, a hole is punched in one end, and then it is polished.
Molten steel is poured into molds, cooled, and polished.
Molten steel is poured into molds, cooled, smoothed, polished, washed, and electroplated.
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A laser slices tiny wafers of diamond, which are then polished and placed in a metal chamber that is filled with hydrogen and methane gas under pressure; after growing for two weeks it makes what?
Stained glass.
Synthetic diamonds.
It takes sophisticated testing to determine the difference between a synthetic and real diamond in modern times, but synthetic diamonds usually cost 15 percent less.
Neon lights.
Dry ice.
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How is silk fabric made?
The seed casings on mulberry trees are boiled and wound into thread that is then woven into fabric.
Moth caterpillars are ground into paste, which is extruded and cooked to turn it into thread, which is woven into fabric.
Moth cocoons are boiled to kill the pupa inside, and the thread from the cocoons is wound and woven into fabric.
“With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes satin.” –Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Moth spiders weave webs that are collected and wound into thread, which is then woven into fabric.
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Seeds are collected and cleaned, then pressed into liquid wax, where it is heated, filtered, and cleaned and filtered again to make what?
Jojoba oil.
The jojoba plant is grown in desert areas naturally. It is used in beauty products, soaps, and even some recipes.
Canned tuna.
Aloe vera.
Cocoa butter.
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How are bricks made?
Shale is ground into powder and mixed with water, extruded, textured, cut, dried and baked in a giant oven.
“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” –David Brinkley
Clay is mixed with water and extruded as a paste that is cut and baked in a giant oven.
Shale is mixed with clay and water, extruded, dried, and baked in a giant oven.
Sand and clay are mixed with water, poured into molds, and baked in a giant oven.
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Concentrate is made in a secret location and shipped to a packaging factory, where it is diluted with high fructose corn syrup, filtered water, and carbon dioxide?
Starbucks bottled Iced Expresso.
Minute Maid orange juice.
Snapple.
Coke.
Although the ingredients are listed on the label, “natural flavors” means any chemical compound that can be naturally derived from a plant. The exact “natural flavors” in Coke are a highly classified trade secret as is the location from where these flavors come.
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How are construction nails made?
Steel is melted and poured into a mold. Then the molds are cooled with water and packaged.
Steel wire is stretched, cut into small rods, cut again to form points and pressed on the other end and packaged.
“There is a joke that your hammer will always find nails to hit. I find that perfectly acceptable.” –Benoit Mandelbrot
Giant steel sheets are first cut into strips where one side is flattened and the other is pointed from the cutting process, and then the strips are cut into individual nails and packaged.
Giant steel sheets are cut into strips and then into nails. One side of the nail is sharpened with a grindstone and the other picks up a glob of molten steel for the head before being packaged.
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Recycled glass, soda ash, sand, limestone, and other minerals are melted together and then spun, glue is added and it is all compressed and heated, then cut, compressed again, and packaged to make what?
Drywall.
Fiberglass insulation.
Fiberglass insulation is spun like cotton candy. Gas and compressed air are involved in the process to stretch and thin the fibers.
A light switch.
Shingles.
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How are colored pencils made?
Small sycamore trees are grown in a special compound and then chopped into pencil lengths.
Pigments, water and binding agents are mixed, extruded, coated in wax and housed in cedar halves that are glued together over it.
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles away from the corn field.” –Dwight Eisenhower
Wax and pigment are combined and extruded into pine casing.
Graphite, pigment, and wax are combined and a worker forces the paste into oak casing.
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How are Twinkies made?
Batter is baked into a top and bottom cake. The frosting is placed between the two layers and the whole thing is baked one more time to set the frosting “glue.”
Batter is layered with frosting and then more batter is layered on top before the whole thing is baked.
Batter is baked in small pans and frosting is squirted inside after the baking process is complete.
The first Twinkies were filled with banana cream and hand filled. During World War II, bananas were in short supply, so vanilla cream became the standard filling.
Batter is placed in small pans and frosting is squirted into the unbaked batter; then everything is baked.
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How are staples made?
Steel is poured into molds and cooled before being packaged.
Iron wires are glued together, cut, and bent before being packaged.
“I don't think people have made staples by hand since the fifteenth century.” ―Lemony Snicket, The Austere Academy
Giant steel sheets are first cut into strips and then the strips are perforated and packaged.
A machine cuts individual staples from a long strip of iron, and then these staples are slightly melted together and packaged.
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Plastic pellets are heated and poured into molds, polyester reservoirs are shoved into the molded plastic, diluted dye is injected into the reservoir, and nibs are added?
Light bulbs.
Batteries.
Microchips.
Highlighters.
Yukio Horie invented felt-tipped markers in 1962. The next year, Carter’s developed highlighters that used translucent ink.
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Synthetic base made from plastics and rubbers, color, and flavoring is mixed and sweetener is added, after it melts together from the friction, it is extruded and cut to make what?
Hard candy.
Paint.
Bubble gum.
“Beethoven can’t really be great because his picture isn’t on a bubble gum card.” –Charles Schulz, Peanuts
Stain.
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