Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A monument that has outlived entire civilisations

The Great Sphinx of Giza has watched over the west bank of the Nile for millennia, carved from a single limestone outcrop. It is commonly dated to the reign of the pharaoh Khafre, builder of the second pyramid nearby, though the exact origins remain debated among scholars. Its body has spent much of its history buried in sand, and several rulers through the ages ordered it dug out again.

Three sisters and a family in free fall

Anton Chekhov's play "Three Sisters" follows Olga, Masha and Irina Prozorov, who dream of returning to Moscow while their provincial town slowly closes in around them. Premiered in 1901, it is one of the works that cemented Chekhov's reputation as a master of quiet, character-driven drama. The sisters' longing for a better life, never quite fulfilled, became one of theatre's most enduring themes.

The painter who chose peasants over polish

Vincent van Gogh painted "The Potato Eaters" in 1885, early in his career, while living in the Netherlands. He deliberately gave the figures coarse faces and bony hands, wanting the painting to feel like the rough life it depicted. Van Gogh considered it his first serious masterpiece, even though it drew criticism at the time for its dark, muddy tones.

Chromium: the element behind the shine

Chromium takes its name from the Greek word for colour, a nod to the vivid hues of its compounds. Its symbol, Cr, sits in the periodic table between vanadium and manganese, and the metal is prized for its hardness and resistance to tarnishing. That is why it shows up in chrome plating, stainless steel and the reflective trim on everything from motorcycles to kitchen taps.

Two capitals of the Gulf and Southeast Asia

Doha, Qatar's capital, grew from a small pearling town into a modern city of glass towers on the Persian Gulf. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has a far older colonial history, shaped by centuries of Spanish rule before becoming the sprawling metropolis it is today. Both cities sit on coastlines that have long made them hubs of trade.