Tool Timeline Quiz

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This short quiz will test your knowledge of tool history. We've used all of the following tools on our old house, and can't imagine what folks did before!

Thanks to This Old House magazine for providing the answers to this quiz.

1. The sawhorse is a handy tool that people can use do their work without bending over. When was the first sawhorse patent awarded?

Image: sawhorse

1907
1910
1912
1919

2. Paint rollers makes quick work of a big room. It was invented by a Cleveland, Ohio engineer in what year?

Image: paint roller

1883
1902
1940
1955

3. The Phillips head screw, invented by Henry Phillips, was virtually guaranteed success when General Motors began using them to build its Cadillacs in the year...

Image: Phillips screw

1924
1937
1945
1949

4. "Measure twice, cut once," they say, and nothing beats a tape measure for ease and accuracy. The first spring-loaded tape measure was invented in what year?

Image: tape measure

1845
1868
1893
1915

5. The monkey wrench uses a threaded nut to adjust its square jaws around an object. What year did "Monkey" White, a machinist in Springfield, Massachusetts invent his tool?

Image: monkey wrench

1911
1900
1887
1840

  

Give up? Here are all the answers, with added historical info.

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