June 1
Quick Hits
Questions
From what I can tell, there is only one major world airport named for a person who died at that airport (see the answer for an example of another airport, not nearly as important, that shares in that distinction). Shown is the memorial - located outside Gate 11 of Terminal One - to what man, who was assassinated at his now namesake airport moments after he set foot on the tarmac? The August 1983 murder of this man occurred after he had spent three years abroad in self-imposed exile, with his trip home taking several days, with the last, fateful leg being a flight on China Airlines Flight 811 out of Taipei.
The following obituary, published in The Guardian on March 19, 2026, has one word redacted. What is this word?
Photograph 51 is a play by Anna Ziegler that debuted on the West End of London in 2015. In its original run, it starred Nicole Kidman in an award-winning performance. Who did Kidman portray in that production? Also starring in the play was Josh Silver, who portrayed Raymond Gosling, the person who actually took the titular X-shaped photo.
The Harriet Lane Handbook is considered to be the premier short reference manual for pediatric medicine in the United States. Now in its 24th edition, it is produced by residents training in pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Its namesake was a woman who married a wealthy Baltimore banker, using that fortune to become a philanthropist upon his death. Prior to that, she probably was most famous for holding an informal position working for what specific person? Others to serve in the same informal role, though at different points in time, include a trio of Marys: Mary Bliss, Mary McKee, and Mary McElroy, though in their cases someone had died previously prior to their taking on the role in question.
Last time I mentioned the film Perfect Days, as well as its soundtrack. Up until the end credits, which were accompanied by a piano cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” the music featured in that film was incorporated into its narration. That is, the characters in the film could hear the music that you heard as you watched the film, as for the most part those songs came in the form of cassette tape music played by Hirayama, the main character, as he drove to work. While such music is sometimes called “source music,” what is the typical term used for this kind of non-incidental music? This word is derived from the Greek word for “narration” and Aristotle used the term in his Poetics, but it was Claudia Gorbman in her 1987 work Unheard Melodies who first applied this term to the film context discussed here.
This practice was banned in Jamaica by the British following Tacky’s Rebellion of 1760, with a law at that time first legally defining this particular word, as up to that point there had been various words used for this practice. What is this broad term used to denote a range of spiritual practices, often associated with perceived supernatural powers of healing or the invocation of protection, still practiced among members of the African diaspora in the former (and current) British colonies of the Caribbean? In fact, colonial laws prohibiting this practice remain on the books in Jamaica today, though the most recent prosecution to receive any kind of widespread attention occurred in 1964, when a woman named Cindy Brooks was fined £25 because she had purchased a “holy oil” to ward off “spirits of the dead” that she said were tormenting her.
Winning a total of six medals, including golds in the pommel horse, rings, and floor exercise, who was the most successful male gymnast at the 1984 Summer Olympics? He - or, perhaps I should say, his company - has been in the news recently thanks to American basketball player Steph Curry.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder is a musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 2013. It is based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, written by Roy Horniman. That same novel by Horniman was previously adapted into what 1949 film? Among the accolades for A Gentleman’s Guide included a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for Jefferson Mays, who played Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith; Lord Asquith D’Ysquith, Sr.; Reverend Lord Ezekiel D’Ysquith; Asquith D’Ysquith, Jr.; Henry D’Ysquith; Major Lord Bartholomew D’Ysquith; Lady Hyacinth D’Ysquith; Lady Salome D’Ysquith Pumphrey; and Chauncey D’Ysquith in that production.
Probably the most successful wrestler in WWE to hail from Australia is what Adelaide native (shown)? This wrestler has held all four main roster major titles available for women, including the Raw, SmackDown, Women’s World, and the WWE Women’s World Championship (very fine and important distinctions, I know), and she is the current WWE Women’s World Champion, having regained that title by defeating Jade Cargill at Wrestlemania 42. In comparison, her spouse, Buddy Matthews, most notably has a WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
This man began his career with the Ashcan School, studying under Robert Henri and exhibiting his work at the 1913 Armory Show, but he would move on to develop a style distinct from that group. That distinctive work would include still lifes, like 1924’s Lucky Strike, that seemingly foreshadow the pop art movement that would occur decades later. Beginning later in the 1920s, this man would develop a style sometimes called a “modified Cubism” that would be the focus of much of the rest of his career, with examples like 1938’s Impression of the New York World’s Fair and 1940’s Report from Rockport typifying it. Who is this modernist American painter?
