Which came first? · Counterintuitive

Which came first: the discovery of the Rosetta Stone or The Star-Spangled Banner?

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone came first, in 1799. The Star-Spangled Banner followed 15 years later, in 1814 (written).

  1. First1799

    The discovery of the Rosetta Stone

    discovery · found

    French soldiers found the Rosetta Stone in 1799; it became the key to reading hieroglyphs.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

  2. Second1814

    The Star-Spangled Banner

    song · written

    The Star-Spangled Banner was written in 1814 but only became the US anthem in 1931.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

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.