Picture This — Answers

These are all connected to today’s date, May 14th.

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One

1842 saw the first publication of an illustrated weekly news magazine, named The Illustrated … News. The image is from a later edition. What city completed the name of this periodical?

Answer: London. The Illustrated London News

Founded by Herbert Ingram, The Illustrated London News debuted on 14 May 1842 as the first illustrated weekly news magazine. It published weekly until 1971, then less frequently, ceasing in 2003. The company, now Illustrated London News Ltd, remains a publishing and digital agency in London, preserving its archives.

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Two

The United States’ first space station was launched on this date. In what year was this, and what was it called?

Answers: 1973; Skylab.

Skylab, the US’s first space station, was occupied for 24 weeks in 1973-1974. It was constructed from a repurposed Saturn V third stage and included an orbital workshop, solar observatory, and Earth observation capabilities. Skylab’s orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979 scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.

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Three

In 2004, the then Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark married Mary Donaldson at Copenhagen Cathedral. The couple are now the king and queen of Denmark. On what island was the bride born?

Answer: Tasmania.

Mary, born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson in 1972 at Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is the Queen of Denmark and wife of King Frederik X. They met at the 2000 Olympics and married in 2004, having four children together. Mary is a patron of over 30 charities and founded the Mary Foundation in 2007.

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Four

The practice of holding a two-minute silence to remember the dead from the First World War began on 14 May 1918. In what port city of the then British Empire did it begin?

Answer: Cape Town, South Africa.

The Remembrance Day two-minute silence began in Cape Town in 1918, when Mayor Sir Harry Hands introduced a daily pause after the death of his son in the First World War. Organised with councillor Robert Rutherford Brydone, the ceremony halted traffic while buglers played the ‘Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’. The practice spread across the British Empire after Sir Percy FitzPatrick promoted it to King George V, who officially adopted the two-minute Armistice Day silence in 1919.

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Five

Born Catherine Élise today in 1969 in Victoria. This actress won an award for her role as Katharine Hepburn and later played KGB agent Irina Spalko. Who is she?

Answer: Cate Blanchett.

Cate Blanchett, an Australian actress born Catherine Élise Blanchett on 14 May 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, is 56 years old. Known for her multidimensional characters and wide range of roles, her breakthrough came playing a young Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998). She later appeared in The Lord of the Rings series, The Aviator (2004), and Blue Jasmine (2013). Blanchett won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator and another for her performance in Blue Jasmine. She also portrayed Irina Spalko, the main antagonist in the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

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