Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A city that hosts the world

New York is home to the United Nations headquarters, but the site is international territory rather than ordinary American soil. The complex, completed in 1952, sits along the East River in Manhattan and holds its own post office and stamps. Its design came from an international team of architects, which fits an institution built around cooperation between nations.

The shuttle that carried history

Discovery was one of NASA's most travelled orbiters, flying dozens of missions between 1984 and 2011. It launched the Hubble Space Telescope and returned to space after both the Challenger and Columbia disasters, carrying the agency's hopes with it. Today it rests at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia rather than in orbit.

A book central to a global faith

The Quran is the central text of Islam, which has roughly two billion followers worldwide. Muslims believe it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of about two decades. Its 114 chapters, called suras, are recited in Arabic in daily prayers, and memorising the entire text earns the title of hafiz.

Capitals that are easy to mix up

Oslo and Valletta are both capitals, but they belong to very different corners of Europe. Oslo sits at the head of a fjord in Norway and has been a capital since the early 19th century. Valletta, named after a Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, is one of the smallest capitals in the European Union and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Paella and the question of origin

Paella is associated with Spain, specifically the Valencia region on the eastern coast. The dish traditionally combines rice with saffron, olive oil and ingredients ranging from rabbit to seafood, cooked in a wide, shallow pan that gives the dish its name. Valencians treat the crisp layer of rice at the bottom of the pan, the socarrat, as the best part.