Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The kite, the key and a stubborn myth

Benjamin Franklin's interest in electricity was not a passing hobby. His famous kite experiment, conducted in Philadelphia in 1752, was designed to demonstrate that lightning is a form of electrical discharge. The lightning rod he subsequently promoted was a practical application of that insight, offering buildings a safer path to ground. It remains one of the most enduring examples of Enlightenment science turning directly into everyday technology.

A currency born from a word for "round"

The Japanese yen takes its name from the Chinese term for "round object", a reference to the shape of the coins. It was formally adopted in 1871 as part of the Meiji government's push to modernise and unify the country's chaotic monetary system. Today it is one of the most traded currencies in the world, and the yen's role as a safe-haven asset in turbulent markets is a recurring theme in global finance.

Why rodents dominate the mammal family tree

Roughly forty per cent of all mammal species are rodents, which makes their order the largest by a wide margin. Their success comes down to adaptability: they are small, breed quickly, and have teeth that keep growing, allowing them to gnaw through everything from seeds to timber. From city sewers to mountain meadows, rodents have colonised nearly every habitat on Earth.

Bernstein and the making of a Broadway landmark

Leonard Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, which premiered on Broadway in 1957. The show transplanted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to rival gangs in 1950s New York, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Its blend of classical technique, jazz and Latin rhythms was unlike anything else on Broadway at the time, and it has since become one of the most frequently performed musicals in the world.

Lisbon and the pull of the Atlantic

Lisbon is one of Europe's oldest cities and sits at the mouth of the Tagus river, looking out towards the Atlantic. Its position made it the launching point for Portugal's Age of Discovery in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when navigators set out to chart sea routes to Africa, India and Brazil. The city's Belem district still houses monuments to that era, including the tower and the monastery that recall Portugal's maritime past.