Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

Port Louis and the crossroads of the Indian Ocean

Mauritius is a small island nation east of Madagascar, and its capital, Port Louis, grew up around a sheltered harbour that made it a useful stopover for ships crossing the Indian Ocean. Over the centuries the island passed between Dutch, French and British hands before gaining independence in 1968. That layered history shows up in the country's languages and cuisine, where Indian, African, Chinese and European influences sit side by side.

Munich, a city that is not a capital

Munich is one of Europe's largest and wealthiest cities, yet it is not a national capital. It is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, which is why it can feel like a seat of power while Berlin handles the country's national affairs. Bratislava and Ljubljana, by contrast, are the capitals of Slovakia and Slovenia respectively, which is what makes them the odd ones out in a different sense.

Chekhov's three sisters and their restless provincial life

Anton Chekhov wrote "Three Sisters" in 1900, and its central characters - Olga, Masha and Irina - spend the play dreaming of returning to Moscow. The drama is less about plot than about atmosphere: longing, boredom and the slow erosion of hope in a provincial town. It remains one of the most performed plays in the modern theatre repertoire.

The Sphinx and the Giza plateau

The Great Sphinx sits on the Giza plateau near Cairo, carved from a single outcrop of limestone and generally dated to the reign of the pharaoh Khafre. It has the body of a lion and a human head, though the face is badly weathered and the nose is missing. Despite centuries of speculation, much about its original purpose remains debated among scholars.

Calcium, from bones to chalk

Calcium takes the symbol Ca, and it is one of the most abundant elements in the human body, where it builds bones and teeth and helps muscles and nerves function. It is also the metal at the heart of limestone, chalk and marble, which is why it appears in so much of the world's architecture. Its name comes from the Latin word for lime.