Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A friendship that shaped fantasy literature

J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were not just contemporaries at Oxford; they were close friends and members of the same informal literary discussion group, the Inklings. They regularly shared drafts of their work with each other. Lewis reportedly encouraged Tolkien to keep working on the mythology that eventually became "The Lord of the Rings", while Tolkien played a role in Lewis's turn toward Christianity. Their creative exchange left a lasting mark on 20th-century fantasy and children's literature.

Why tin is Sn and not Tn

The chemical symbol for tin comes from its Latin name, stannum. This is why the symbol is Sn rather than something closer to the modern English word. Symbols based on older or Latin names are common in chemistry: gold is Au from aurum, silver is Ag from argentum, and lead is Pb from plumbum. Tin has been used by humans for thousands of years, most famously as a component of bronze when alloyed with copper.

The two capitals that confuse travellers

Toronto is often assumed to be Canada's capital, but that role belongs to Ottawa. The choice was made in the mid-19th century, partly because Ottawa was considered more defensible and sat on the border between English- and French-speaking regions. Nairobi, meanwhile, grew from a railway depot in the late 19th century into one of Africa's major cities. It remains Kenya's political and economic centre, while Mombasa serves as the main coastal port.

Emily Brontë's single novel

Unlike her sister Charlotte, who published several novels, Emily Brontë completed only one: "Wuthering Heights". It appeared in 1847, just a year before her death at the age of 30. The novel was initially published under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, as female authors often used male or ambiguous names at the time. Despite its mixed early reception, "Wuthering Heights" later became one of the most studied and adapted works in English literature.