Sorry That's the Wrong Answer - Answer 12

Question 12: Which nation invented vodka?

The correct answer is:

The origins of vodka (and of its name) cannot be traced definitively, but it is believed to have originated in the grain-growing region that now embraces Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. It also has a long tradition in Scandinavia.

Little is known about the early history of the drink in Europe. The first written record of vodka in Poland dates from 1405 in the Sandomierz Court Registry. In Russia, the first written usage of the word vodka in an official document in its modern meaning is dated by the decree of Empress Catherine I of June 8, 1751 that regulated the ownership of vodka distilleries.

Another possible origin of the word can be found in the Novgorod chronicle in records dated 1533, where the term "vodka" is used in the context of herbal alcoholic tinctures. A number of pharmaceutical lists contain the terms "vodka of bread wine" and "vodka in half of bread wine."