Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The delta that dwarfs the rest

The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, shared mainly by Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, is the largest river delta on Earth. It forms where the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna rivers meet before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The region is extremely fertile but also highly vulnerable to flooding and cyclones, and it supports one of the densest populations found anywhere on the planet.

A river that shaped a nation

Myanmar's Irrawaddy River runs roughly north to south through the centre of the country before reaching the Andaman Sea. It has long served as the country's main commercial artery, carrying goods and people through a landscape of rice paddies and ancient temple cities. The river's name is also given to the Irrawaddy dolphin, a species found in some of its waters.

Greenland's quiet currency link

Greenland uses the Danish krone, a reminder that the island is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark rather than a fully independent state. Denmark handles defence and foreign affairs, while Greenland manages most of its own domestic matters. The choice of currency is one of the clearest everyday signs of that constitutional relationship.

Sodium and its Latin secret

The chemical symbol for sodium is Na, which comes from natrium, the element's name in Latin. Several element symbols follow this pattern, drawn from older Latin or German names rather than the modern English word. It is a small piece of linguistic history hiding in plain sight on the periodic table.

Alphaville and the sound of the 1980s

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band best known for the 1984 hit "Forever Young". The group formed in Münster and belonged to a wave of European acts that helped define the sound of the decade. Their name, taken from a 1965 French film, suited the futuristic, electronic style that made them recognisable far beyond Germany.