Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A painting that seems to hold a secret

Wheatfield with Crows is one of Vincent van Gogh's best-known canvases, painted in the final weeks of his life in 1890. Its wide, restless field and dark, rising birds have invited endless interpretation, and it is often described as ominous or farewell-like. In truth, van Gogh painted many wheatfields that summer, and no letter of his calls this one a suicide note. The drama is largely ours, not his.

Small plates, long evenings

Tapas are woven into Spanish social life, and the tradition of eating them late - often between 9 and 11 pm, well before dinner - reflects a daily rhythm built around a late afternoon snack and a much later evening meal. The origin of tapas is debated; one popular story credits bars covering drinks with a slice of bread or ham to keep flies out, though the word itself simply suggests a "lid" or cover.

Two ranges, two very different worlds

The Appalachian Mountains run along the eastern side of the United States, from Alabama up into Canada, and are among the oldest mountain chains on Earth. The Andes are their opposite in almost every way: a young, still-growing range along the western edge of South America, formed by the collision of tectonic plates, and home to Bolivia and some of the highest peaks outside Asia.

A currency that still lingers in the language

Before the euro, Germany used the Deutsche Mark, introduced in 1948 and for decades one of Europe's strongest currencies. Even after euro notes and coins arrived in 2002, Germans kept using "Mark" in everyday speech, and the old coins and notes remained exchangeable at the Bundesbank for years afterwards. The Deutsche Mark's stability shaped how many Germans still think about money today.