Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A bridge that grew into a symbol

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, spanning the East River to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. Its designer, John A. Roebling, died before construction began, and his son Washington Roebling was later incapacitated by caisson disease, so much of the work was overseen by his wife, Emily Warren Roebling. The bridge remains one of New York's most recognisable landmarks.

The Sahel: a belt of transition

The Sahel is the semi-arid strip of Africa that runs along the southern edge of the Sahara, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea. Mali sits at its heart, along with countries such as Niger, Chad and Sudan. The region marks a gradual shift from desert in the north to savanna in the south, and its rainfall is famously unpredictable.

A peninsula with a complicated past

The Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through Bulgaria. Kosovo, landlocked in the centre of the region, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, though not every country recognises it. The Balkans' position between empires has made it a crossroads of languages, religions and cultures.

Two novels that still define their authors

Anna Karenina, published by Leo Tolstoy in the 1870s, unfolds in imperial Russia, moving between Moscow, St Petersburg and the countryside. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, is set on Long Island and in New York City during the Jazz Age. Both books use a single, restless society to explore ambition, love and loss.

Scurvy and the vitamin that prevents it

Scurvy results from a prolonged lack of vitamin C, which the human body cannot make on its own. It was once a scourge of sailors on long voyages, whose diets lacked fresh fruit and vegetables. Symptoms include bleeding gums, bruising and slow wound healing; the link to citrus fruit was established long before vitamin C was identified in the 20th century.