Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The ocean that dwarfs the rest

The Pacific covers roughly a third of the planet's surface, which makes it larger than all of Earth's land area combined. Ferdinand Magellan's expedition named it "Mar Pacífico", meaning peaceful sea, after enjoying calm conditions while crossing it. That calm is deceptive: the same ocean holds the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point on Earth.

A novel that defined a generation

Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" follows a group of expatriates travelling from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona. Published in 1926, it helped cement Hemingway's spare, understated prose style and made the running of the bulls a lasting image in popular culture. The title comes from Ecclesiastes, a nod to the novel's themes of restlessness and renewal.

Hispania and the Roman footprint

The Romans called the Iberian Peninsula Hispania, and it became one of the empire's most valuable territories, supplying metals, olive oil and wine. Latin left a deep mark on the peninsula's languages: Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan all descend from it. The name Hispania itself is the root of "España" and, by extension, "Spain".

Constantinople, a capital that outlived its empire

Constantinople served as the capital of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire for more than a thousand years after the western half of Rome fell. Its position on the Bosphorus made it a bridge between Europe and Asia and a hub for trade routes. The city is known today as Istanbul, and its layered history still shows in landmarks such as Hagia Sophia.

A fairy tale with a bittersweet edge

Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is unusual among fairy tales for its melancholy tone. The story follows a one-legged toy soldier who falls in love with a paper ballerina and endures a series of misfortunes. Andersen, a Danish writer, published it in 1838 alongside other tales that would become classics of children's literature.