The Daily Teaser — 30th August, 2014: Mary Shelley

Yayness … !

It’s Officially Saturday … !

Sorry, I’m getting a bit excited, there.

But it’s Saturday morning.   Which means, obviously, we’re heading for Saturday evening: and this week’s episode of Dr Who.

Well, frankly, I’m looking forward to it: especially after last week’s episode.

The trailer looks good: and has Daleks, so we can’t really argue, can we?

It’s just a shame they’ve done nothing with the New Paradigm Daleks: but there you go … 

~≈Ê≈~

But let’s move on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: and scoring five out of six.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s themed questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the How To, License and video … 

Q1) 30th August, 1797, saw the birth of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein.   What was the novel’s subtitle … ?

Q2) Mary was brought up — single handedly — by her father: a noted political philosopher.   Who was he … ?

Q3) Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, died when Mary was eleven days old: at the age of 38.   Wollstonecraft was an early what: travel writer, feminist or anarchist?

Q4) Mary famously eloped with — and then married — which English poet?

Q5) Mary’s best known novel — Frankenstein — was written when Mary and her husband were on holiday: with Claire Claremont, John  Polidori … and Lord who … ?

Q6) That holiday was on Lake Geneva, near the city of Geneva.   Geneva is in which European country … ?

Q7) The novel itself, tell us about the work of Baron Frankenstein: what was his first name … ?

Q8) The name Frankenstein is often — wrongly — used about his creation.   In the the novel, does the creature have a name … ?

Q9) Who played the Creature, in Universal Studio’s classic 1931 version of Frankenstein … ?

Q10) Finally … 1994 film, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is generally considered the most faithful film version of the story.   Who played the monster in it?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 29th August, 1885, saw the patenting of the first internal combustion powered what?

A1) Motorbike.

Q2) The vehicle concerned was called the reitwagen.   In English, it’s a what wagon: riding, driving or powered?

A2) Riding.

Q3) 29th August, 1949, saw the Soviet Union test its first atomic bomb: in what’s now which independent republic?

A3) Kazakhstan.

Q4) 29th August, 1991, saw Libero Grassi murdered, after publicly refusing to pay protection money: to the local whom … ?

A4) Mafia.

Q5) 29th August, 1982, saw artificial element, Meitnerium, synthesized for the first time.   What’s the half life of the stablest form of Meitnerium: 7.6 seconds, 8.6 seconds or 9.6 seconds?

A5) 7.6 seconds.   (Suppose you’ve got a ton of Meitnerium: or another radioactive substance.   The half-life is the time it takes for half of that pile to turn into a non-radioactive substance.   Or more than one non-radioactive substance.   Or more than one non-radioactive substance … and some particles …)

Q6) Finally … 29th August, 1946, saw the decommissioning of the USS Nevada.   Was the Nevada an aircraft carrier, a dreadnought or a destroyer?

A6) A dreadnought: or super-dreadnought, if you’re feeling accurate.   (The Dreadnought type battleship was named after the HMS Dreadnought of 1906, the first of the type.   If I’ve understood things correctly, the original HMS Dreadnought was intended as something like a modern nuclear bomb: Britain’s enemies assumed you’d be mad to provoke its use.   It provoked a naval arms race … )

I’ll leave you with this tune … 

And with this thought from the lady, herself …

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos.”

From the introduction to Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851.

Enjoy your day.

*        It’s certainly a pain, Debbi: especially after having to wait for a couple of weeks.   OK, it’s not an urgent repair.   But it would’ve been nice to not have to empty the bucket under the sink, every half an hour!   Still … I’ve got the next visit booked up.   And Dr Who’s on, tonight.  So it’s all good.