Which came first? · Counterintuitive
Which came first: the gorilla or the Penny Black, the first stamp?
The Penny Black, the first stamp came first, in 1840 (issued). The gorilla followed 7 years later, in 1847 (described).
- Second1847
The gorilla
animal · describedScientists only described the gorilla in 1847; its name comes from a word Hanno used for "wild men" in Africa.
- First1840
The Penny Black, the first stamp
stamp · issuedThe Penny Black of 1840 was the world's first adhesive postage stamp.
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All which-came-first pairs · About Older Than You Think · Quiz games
Years from Wikidata, each checked against the item’s English Wikipedia article on 2026-10-18. A year stands for what its label says: a founding, a first patent, a premiere.