Evaluation · Level 3

The first traffic lights were revolving red and green lanterns, illuminated by gas and manually operated by police. This was in London. All went well for four years until the gas exploded, injuring the officer on duty.

It wasn’t until 1914 that red and green electric lights which had a loud warning buzzer were introduced in the city of Cleveland, in the United States of America. Four years later, the amber light was used in New York to let motorists know that the lights were about to change.

The French did not use electricity, using instead a manually operated light with the word HALTE on the glass.

Britain returned to using traffic lights in 1926, but it was not until 1928 that they began to be widely used. Even then, it was not an offence for motorists in Britain to disobey traffic lights until 1930.

In 1979, the Rubik’s cube hit the international market. Invented by Hungarian lecturer in architectural design Erno Rubik, it is a large cube composed of twenty-seven small cubes so that each outward facing edges are of different colours. The aim is to arrange the small cubes so that each side is uniform.

Many people found this an extremely difficult and frustrating exercise. Some very clever individuals were able to solve the puzzle in seconds. Eventually, the fad of owning a Rubik’s Cube faded and people moved on to other mind games and puzzles. In the meantime, its creator had amassed a considerable fortune.

The first traffic lights were revolving red and green lanterns, illuminated by gas and manually operated by police. This was in London. All went well for four years until the gas exploded, injuring the officer on duty.

It wasn’t until 1914 that red and green electric lights which had a loud warning buzzer were introduced in the city of Cleveland, in the United States of America. Four years later, the amber light was used in New York to let motorists know that the lights were about to change.

The French did not use electricity, using instead a manually operated light with the word HALTE on the glass.

Britain returned to using traffic lights in 1926, but it was not until 1928 that they began to be widely used. Even then, it was not an offence for motorists in Britain to disobey traffic lights until 1930.