Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

Riyadh and the rise of a desert capital

Riyadh became the capital of Saudi Arabia as the modern kingdom took shape, but its name reflects a much older geographic reality: it means "the gardens" in Arabic, a reference to the fertile wadis and oasis settlements that once dotted the central plateau. Today the city anchors a metropolitan region that has grown far beyond its mud-brick origins, yet it remains the political and administrative heart of the country rather than a coastal trading hub like Jeddah.

Victor Hugo and the novel of the dispossessed

Victor Hugo published "Les Misérables" in 1862 after years of exile, and the book became an immediate sensation far beyond France. Its sprawling story of Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Inspector Javert was not only a literary event but also a social intervention, dramatizing poverty, justice, and redemption in post-revolutionary France. The novel has since been adapted into dozens of films, plays, and one of the most performed musicals in theatre history.

Beriberi and the discovery of vitamin B1

Beriberi was once a mysterious and often fatal condition, particularly common in populations whose diets relied heavily on polished white rice. The removal of the rice bran stripped away thiamine, or vitamin B1, a nutrient essential for nerve and heart function. Researchers working in Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries helped establish the link between diet and disease, contributing to the discovery of vitamins as a class of essential nutrients.

Canberra and the compromise capital

Canberra was chosen as Australia's capital after Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest cities, could not agree on which should hold the honour. The solution was to build a purpose-planned city in the Australian Capital Territory, located between the two rivals. Its design emerged from an international competition won by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, whose geometric layout around a central lake still shapes the city today.

Libra and the language of the zodiac

Libra is the only zodiac sign represented by an inanimate object rather than a living creature or person. Its symbol, the scales, reflects the sign's association with balance and justice, an idea that appears in many cultural traditions. The word "libra" itself is Latin for a set of scales or a pound, and it survives in modern abbreviations such as "lb" for the imperial pound.