Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The island that is mostly ice

Greenland is the world's largest island that is not a continent, which is why Australia, though bigger, is usually classified as one. Around 80 percent of Greenland lies beneath an ice sheet, yet the island is home to roughly 56,000 people, most of them living along the coast. Its name was reportedly chosen by the Norse settler Erik the Red to attract colonists, even though the climate was far from green.

A year that reshaped the world

1917 was a turning point not just for Russia but for the entire 20th century. In February, protests over food shortages led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. Later that year, in October, the Bolsheviks seized power under Vladimir Lenin, setting the stage for the Soviet Union and decades of global tension.

Rembrandt and a militia group portrait

"The Night Watch" was painted by Rembrandt in 1642 and depicts a company of Amsterdam militia rather than a nighttime scene, despite its popular name. The painting's real title is "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq". Rembrandt broke with tradition by showing the figures in action rather than in a stiff, formal line.

The Greek name behind Egypt

The Greek word "Aigyptos" is the root of the modern name Egypt. It likely derives from "Hikuptah", a name for the ancient temple of Ptah at Memphis. The Greeks adopted and adapted the term, and it eventually passed into Latin as "Aegyptus" and then into English.

Where the Sahel meets the Sahara

The Sahel is a semi-arid belt stretching across Africa just south of the Sahara Desert. Nigeria sits at the western end of this transition zone, where rainfall is scarce and drought has historically been a serious challenge. The region spans several countries, from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and is home to millions of people who depend on farming and herding.