On this day in 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris by three Italian handymen. The painting was not recovered until 1913, and the media sensation surrounding the theft helped make it one of the world's most famous paintings.
Quiz Questions and Answers
In a quiz feature, readers were asked to identify the author of the novel "Jaws," on which the famous movie is based, the original London Congestion Charge from 2003, and the maiden names of several female personalities including Margaret Thatcher, Beyonce Carter, Samantha Cameron, Melinda Gates, and Linda McCartney.
The quiz also asked for the anatomical name for the upper jaw bone, the names of the five Great Lakes, the composer of the opera "The Bartered Bride," and the previous name of the shipping forecast area Fitzroy until 2002.
Historical and Cultural Trivia
Additional questions covered the concept of "The Fourth Estate," the European country of origin for the fruit cake-like bread called babka, and the silent film star known as "The Great Stone Face."
Answers to the August 20 quiz included: children's author Mary Pollock is better known as Enid Blyton; the River Jordan flows into the Dead Sea; the zodiac symbol for Gemini is Twins; Brighton became a city as part of the millennium celebrations; in the Bible, Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt; novelist Anthony Trollope is credited with introducing pillar boxes in the UK; boxer Mike Tyson was banned for biting Evander Holyfield's ear; the Murray-Darling is the longest river in Australia; a cheetah differs from other cats because it cannot retract its claws; and Botswana was called Bechuanaland prior to 1966.
Further Reading
Readers are also directed to other regular features on InYourArea, including InYourGarden for outdoor advice, InYourPocket for saving tips, and a weekly horoscope.
