Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A devil by name, a scavenger by nature

The Tasmanian devil is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, a stocky, black-furred animal found in the wild only on the island state of Tasmania. Despite its fierce reputation and loud screech, it is largely a scavenger that feeds on carrion, though it also hunts small prey. Since the late 1990s, a contagious facial cancer known as devil facial tumour disease has sharply reduced its numbers, and conservation programmes now include insurance populations on the mainland.

Bromine, the element named for its smell

Bromine takes its name from the Greek word for "stench", a nod to its sharp, irritating odour. Its symbol, Br, follows the same pattern as many elements: the first letter is capitalised, the second is lower case. This matters, because Ba stands for barium and B for boron - so a single letter can point to a completely different substance. At room temperature bromine is a reddish-brown liquid, one of only two elements that are liquid under ordinary conditions.

Morris dancing and the sound of England

Morris dance is a traditional English folk dance, performed by troupes who often wear bells on their legs and wave handkerchiefs or sticks. It is usually accompanied by live music, historically a pipe and tabor or a fiddle, and today often a melodeon or concertina. The sitar, by contrast, is a plucked string instrument from the Indian subcontinent, while taiko refers to Japanese ensemble drumming - both are firmly tied to other musical traditions.

Addis Ababa, a capital at altitude

Addis Ababa sits at roughly 2,350 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest capital cities in the world. Its name means "new flower" in Amharic, and it was founded in the late nineteenth century by Emperor Menelik II. The city is also home to the headquarters of the African Union, which gives this Ethiopian capital a notable diplomatic role beyond its own country.

Roman numerals and the value of CM

In the Roman numeral system, letters are combined and, crucially, subtracted: when a smaller value appears before a larger one, it is taken away. So CM means 1,000 minus 100, or 900. The same principle explains IV for 4 and IX for 9. This subtractive trick is why a numeral like MCMXCIV can be read step by step rather than simply added up.