Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

Why a king chose the sun as his symbol

Louis XIV did not simply inherit the nickname "the Sun King" - he cultivated it. He performed the role of Apollo, the sun god, in a court ballet as a young man, and the image stuck. The sun suited his idea of monarchy: a single body radiating light and order onto everything around it. He went on to rule for 72 years, longer than any other monarch of a major European country.

A soup built on aroma, not coconut

Tom yum is one of Thailand's best-known dishes, and its character comes from fresh aromatics rather than cream. Lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves go into the broth, and the result is sharp, fragrant and often quite hot. The creamy version many people know, tom yum goong nam khon, simply adds evaporated milk or coconut milk on top of that base.

A unit of power named after a man

James Watt did not invent the steam engine, but his improvements in the 1760s made it dramatically more efficient, separating the condensing chamber from the main cylinder. His name became so tied to measuring engine output that the unit of power, the watt, was named in his honour. It is a rare case of a surname becoming a standard scientific unit.

The teeth you can actually see

Adults normally have 32 teeth, but the last four - the wisdom teeth - often never appear or have to be removed. That means many people function perfectly well with 28. The full set includes incisors for cutting, canines for tearing and molars for grinding, a division of labour that reflects the varied diet our ancestors ate.