CAD is serious business. So is trivia. But put them together and, through some strange metaphysical alchemy, it ends up as pure fun. In this, Round 3 of the AutoCAD trivia quiz, we also share a few choice trivialities about Autodesk. Get your nerd on.
As always: If you’re holding onto some arcane AutoCAD factoids, please send them along via a Comment or an email. We’d be happy to give you credit if we use them.
AutoCAD trivia quiz Questions
- Which magazine described Autodesk’s 1985 initial public offering (IPO) as a “high-flyer that may not fly.”
- Which magazine named Autodesk the “Number One Hot Growth Company in America” in 1986? And again in 1987?
- Who lived downstairs from Autodesk CFO Al Green, in Sausalito, at the time of the Autodesk IPO?
- Which “celebrity guest” joined the party to celebrate Autodesk’s first million-dollar year?
- Where, and when, was the first AutoCAD Expo held?
- Why did Autodesk change the AutoCAD naming convention from decimal point “versions” to whole number “releases” … initially jumping from Version 2.6 to Release 9?
- What AutoCAD-supported device worked by generating sparks?
But it’s OK if you don’t.
AutoCAD trivia quiz Answers
- Business Week
- Business Week
- Hunter S. Thompson
- Hunter S. Thompson
- Chicago, 1986
- Two reasons: Autodesk felt the upcoming release (after Version 2.6) was a major update. And everybody expected the first, fully 3D release would be called AutoCAD 3.0. Therefore: Calling it AutoCAD Version 2.7 might suggest the release was only a minor update (bad), and, because the product wasn’t fully 3D, rounding up to AutoCAD Version 3.0 might disappoint folks (also bad). So, we imagine, someone said: “I know! Let’s say the decimal point ‘versions’ were actually stealth ‘releases’! Version 2.1 was really Release 3! We just didn’t tell anybody. Until now. So—stay with me—we’re not launching Version 2.7. It’s actually Release 9! See? No? Too bad. We’re doing it.”
- The SAC Grafbar digitizer. The pen’s tip contained a small spark gap that triggered a spark several times a second. The digitizer calculated the pen’s position by measuring how long the spark sound took to arrive at two microphones. The sparks created ozone, contributing to the electric feeling generated by pioneering the desktop CAD industry. Apparently, the digitizer was also handy for annoying (verb) annoying (adjective) cats.
I just checked: There’s one on eBay.
AutoCAD Trivia Quiz: The Adventure Continues ….
You really like this stuff? Hunh.
