Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A country with two first languages

Ireland's linguistic story is more layered than many travellers expect. English is the dominant language of daily life almost everywhere on the island, yet Irish - a Celtic language also called Gaeilge - holds official status and is taught in schools. Road signs, government documents and even the national broadcaster reflect that duality, and Gaeltacht regions in the west keep Irish as a community language.

The B vitamins and the impostor in the list

The B vitamins are a family of water-soluble compounds that help the body turn food into energy. Thiamine (B1) and riboflavin (B2) are familiar members, and both were identified through research into deficiency diseases. Tetrahydrofuran, by contrast, is an organic solvent used in laboratories and industry - a reminder that a chemical-sounding name does not automatically make something a nutrient.

Stockholm and its Nordic neighbours

Stockholm sits where Lake Malaren meets the Baltic Sea, built across a cluster of islands connected by bridges. That geography gives the Swedish capital its nickname, "the Venice of the North". Norway's capital, Oslo, and Finland's Helsinki are close enough to appear in the same mental list, which is exactly why geography questions love to set them side by side.

Agatha Christie and the art of the twist

Agatha Christie remains one of the most widely read novelists in history, and her books have been translated into more languages than almost any other author's. A Murder Is Announced, published in 1950, is a Miss Marple mystery built around a newspaper advertisement announcing a killing in advance. Christie's plots helped define the Golden Age of detective fiction, where fair clues and a final reveal are the rules of the game.

Adonis and the flower of brief beauty

In Greek myth, Adonis was a youth of remarkable beauty loved by Aphrodite. When he died after being gored by a boar, the goddess turned his blood into the anemone, a flower whose short blooming season became a symbol of fleeting beauty. The story gave us the word "adonis" for a handsome young man, and the anemone still carries his name in botanical Latin.