Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A language family that keeps changing names

Serbo-Croatian was the standard term for the South Slavic language spoken across much of the former Yugoslavia. It is often described as one language with several standardized varieties, and since the 1990s many speakers call it Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian or Montenegrin. Dutch, by contrast, is a Germanic language, and Hindi belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family.

McEnroe's temper and touch

John McEnroe was one of the most gifted tennis players of his generation, known for his delicate volleys as much as for his arguments with umpires. His rivalry with Björn Borg produced some of the sport's most memorable matches, including the 1980 Wimbledon final. McEnroe later became a respected television commentator, where his blunt opinions kept him in the public eye.

Tolkien's long road to Middle-earth

J.R.R. Tolkien did not simply sit down and write The Lord of the Rings. The book grew out of a lifelong interest in languages and mythology, and he invented Elvish tongues before many of the stories took shape. The trilogy was published between 1954 and 1955, and its vast fictional history, including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, helped establish modern fantasy as a genre.

Apollo 11 and a single small step

Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first humans to walk on its surface while Michael Collins orbited above. The mission fulfilled a goal set by President John F. Kennedy earlier in the decade and was watched by millions around the world. Its images and words remain among the most recognizable of the 20th century.

Géricault and the wreck that shocked France

Théodore Géricault painted The Raft of the Medusa in 1819, basing it on the real wreck of the French frigate Méduse off the coast of Mauritania. The survivors endured starvation, thirst and desperation on a makeshift raft, and the scandal became a national embarrassment. Géricault researched the event carefully and produced a monumental image that turned a news story into enduring art.