Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The world's northernmost capital

Reykjavik is not just the capital of Iceland; it is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state, sitting just below the Arctic Circle. Despite its high latitude, the city is warmed by the Gulf Stream, so its winters are milder than those of many places farther south. Nuuk, one of the wrong answers, is the capital of Greenland, while Oslo belongs to Norway - a reminder that the Nordic countries are easy to mix up.

Why bread rises on flour

Flour is the backbone of most bread because of its protein content. When wheat flour meets water and is kneaded, two proteins, glutenin and gliadin, combine to form gluten, a stretchy network that traps gas produced by yeast. That trapped gas is what makes dough rise and gives a finished loaf its structure. Sugar and butter play supporting roles, but without flour there is no loaf at all.

Bern, a capital that is not the biggest city

Switzerland's capital is Bern, even though Zurich is the country's largest city and its financial hub. Bern is a federal city rather than a classic capital in the French or British sense, and the Swiss government deliberately keeps a low profile on the international stage. Bonn, another option in the quiz, was the capital of West Germany for decades before reunification moved the seat of government to Berlin.

Bronze and the birth of an age

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and it gave its name to an entire era of human history. Adding tin to copper produces a metal that is harder and more durable than pure copper, which made it valuable for tools, weapons and ornaments. The Bronze Age began at different times in different regions, but the discovery of this alloy marked a genuine technological leap for early civilisations.

Bradbury's burning books

Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451, a novel set in a future America where books are outlawed and burned by firefighters. The title refers to the temperature at which paper is said to ignite. Bradbury wrote the book in the early 1950s, and it remains one of the best-known works of dystopian fiction, often mentioned alongside novels by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.