Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A capital with a split personality

Bolivia is one of the few countries in the world with two seats of government. Sucre remains the constitutional capital, where the judiciary is based, while La Paz serves as the seat of government and the country's administrative heart. The arrangement dates back to the nineteenth century, when the seat of power was moved during a period of political upheaval. Sucre, named after the independence leader Antonio José de Sucre, kept its symbolic status.

The lake that holds a fifth of the world's fresh water

Lake Baikal in Siberia is not only the deepest lake on Earth, it is also the oldest and one of the clearest. It reaches a maximum depth of roughly 1,600 metres and contains around one fifth of the planet's unfrozen fresh water. Its age is estimated at 25 million years, which helps explain the unusual wildlife found there, including the freshwater Baikal seal.

Jack London and the pull of the north

Jack London drew heavily on his own experiences for The Call of the Wild, published in 1903. He had spent time in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, an adventure that shaped much of his best-known fiction. The novel follows a dog named Buck as he is taken from a comfortable life and gradually returns to a wilder existence, a theme that runs through several of London's northern tales.

Austria's currency before the euro

Before adopting the euro in 2002, Austria used the schilling, a currency with a long history behind it. The name comes from the word for a shield, referring to the coat of arms on early coins. When the euro was introduced, the schilling was replaced at a fixed conversion rate, and the old coins and notes gradually disappeared from everyday use.

Radon: the invisible gas in the basement

Radon carries the chemical symbol Rn and is a noble gas, meaning it rarely reacts with other elements. It is radioactive and occurs naturally in small amounts in soil and rock, where it can seep into buildings. Because it is colourless and odourless, it is usually detected only through testing, which is why many countries recommend measuring radon levels in homes.