Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A style built for pleasure

Rococo grew out of the Baroque in early 18th-century France and spread across Europe, favouring lightness, curves and ornament over weight and drama. It is often associated with the reign of Louis XV and with painters such as Watteau and Fragonard, whose scenes of leisure and flirtation suited the style's playful mood. By the later 18th century, taste shifted toward the order and restraint of Neoclassicism, and Rococo fell out of fashion.

The line that splits the globe

The Equator divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and a handful of countries sit on both sides of it. Colombia is one of them: the Equator crosses its southern territory, while the bulk of the country lies to the north. Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia and several others share this distinction, which shapes their climates and daylight patterns.

A name borrowed from a classic

The Count of Monte Cristo, published by Alexandre Dumas in the 1840s, follows Edmond Dantes from a Marseille prison to wealth and elaborate revenge. The story moves through France and across the Mediterranean, with Rome, Paris and the island of Monte Cristo among its settings. Its themes of injustice and patient retribution have kept it in print and on screen for well over a century.

The symbol behind the symbol

Cerium takes its name from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and its chemical symbol is Ce. It is the most abundant of the rare earth elements, found in minerals such as bastnasite and monazite. In everyday life it turns up in glass polishing powders, catalytic converters and the flint in some lighter alloys.