Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: What decision-making technique was popularized by Ben Franklin?

Pros and cons list
The Delphi method
Consensus mapping
Brainstorming

Correct Answer: Pros and cons list

So why is this answer correct? : While Ben Franklin surely wasn’t the first person to weigh both the good and bad sides of an issue, he is credited by many as the first to specifically promote the pros and cons list as a decision-making technique. In a 1772 letter, Franklin advised his friend, English chemist Joseph Priestley, about a possible career change. He wrote, “My way is, to divide half a sheet of paper by a line into two columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con.”

Trivia: Ben Franklin’s last words reportedly were, “A dying man can do” what?

No wrong
Everything at once
Nothing easily
Only in dreams

Correct Answer: Nothing easily

So why is this answer correct? : When Benjamin Franklin passed away at the age of 85 in 1790, his final words reportedly were, “A dying man can do nothing easily.” His Philadelphia funeral was attended by 20,000 people at a time when the total population of Philadelphia was only about 28,000.

Trivia: Which secretive social club did Ben Franklin belong to?

Skull and Bones
Hellfire Club
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The 21 Society

Correct Answer: Hellfire Club

So why is this answer correct? : Ben Franklin was sometimes rumored to have a double life as a British spy, and these suspicions came largely from his involvement with the Hellfire Club. The exclusive, secret club was founded in London in 1718 by Philip, the Duke of Wharton. The club mocked organized religion with phony ceremonies and claimed the organization’s head was the actual devil.

Trivia: Franklin’s son William was the last royal governor of what state?

New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island

Correct Answer: New Jersey

So why is this answer correct? : William Franklin was Ben Franklin’s son from an extramarital relationship, born in February 1730. The founding father’s influence helped get William appointed to the position of royal governor of New Jersey, an office he held from 1763 to 1776. While Ben Franklin supported the American Revolution, William was a Loyalist who was eventually forced into exile in London.

Trivia: Franklin published the first U.S. newspaper printed in what language?

French
Spanish
German
Italian

Correct Answer: German

So why is this answer correct? : “Die Philadelphische Zeitung” (“The Philadelphia Newspaper”) was the name of the German-language newspaper published by Ben Franklin in 1732. The publication was not only the first German-language newspaper in the United States, but it was the first newspaper in any foreign language published in America.

Trivia: Ben Franklin is credited with opening America’s first public what?

Pool
Hospital
Bank
Library

Correct Answer: Library

So why is this answer correct? : Using a subscription model, the Library Company of Philadelphia was the first of its kind when it was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin. At the time, books were rare and expensive, leading Franklin and a group of Philadelphia intellectuals called the Junto to come up with the idea of communally funded and shared reading material. The library began with about 50 members who each paid 40 shillings for access to the repository.

Trivia: Ben Franklin was the first person to serve in what U.S. government role?

Secretary of transportation
Postmaster general
Attorney general
Director of national intelligence

Correct Answer: Postmaster general

So why is this answer correct? : Ben Franklin was appointed postmaster of the city of Philadelphia in 1737, and he later served as postmaster general under the British crown. In 1775, he was appointed postmaster general by the Continental Congress, and he became the first person to hold the position in the fledgling United States.

Trivia: Franklin helped draft the Treaty of Paris in 1783, effectively doing what?

Accepting military aid from France
Ending the Revolutionary War
Purchasing parts of Louisiana
Annexing Canada to the French

Correct Answer: Ending the Revolutionary War

So why is this answer correct? : The treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, putting an end to nearly a decade of war between the American colonies and the British monarchy. The U.S. was granted independence and substantial land thanks to this treaty. The specifications were negotiated by various American statesmen including Franklin, and the treaty was finally signed by Franklin, Adams, and Jay at the Hotel d’York in Paris, France.

Trivia: What did Franklin use to depict the colonies in his “Join or Die” cartoon?

A severed snake
Bald eagles
Stripes on the flag
Daffodils

Correct Answer: A severed snake

So why is this answer correct? : Ben Franklin’s “Join or Die” cartoon is one of the most powerful illustrations of early American history. He drew a snake severed into eight pieces, each labeled as a colony. His powerful caption “Join or Die” rallied colonists from north to south, helping Franklin see his goal of unity realized.

Trivia: Which college was founded by Ben Franklin?

Harvard University
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
Cornell University

Correct Answer: University of Pennsylvania

So why is this answer correct? : In 1749, Ben Franklin proposed the founding of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Although the polymath was mostly self-taught, he saw the value of higher education and wanted his community to have world-class education opportunities. In 1751, the school first opened as the Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania, which Franklin served as the president of until 1755. Today, UPenn is one of eight prestigious Ivy League schools in America.