Why are four-leaf clovers lucky, and what dogs can run the fastest? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Lily, 6, asks: why are four-leaf clovers lucky?

   1. In the Garden of Eden, Eve picked one to remind her of Paradise

   2. St Patrick had a four-leaf clover on his shield, which protected him

   3. The belief can be traced back to a 17th-century Irish poem called The Clover

   4. No one knows

2. Astra, 5, asks: what is the difference between a jaguar and a leopard?

   1. They are 99.992% the same, but South Americans and Africans just have a different word

   2. Jaguars are about 20% larger, but otherwise they are the same

   3. They have different jaws, heads and tails, and live on different continents

   4. The only difference is their fur patterns

3. Matilda, 7, asks: why do humans have toenails?

   1. So we have nails to paint

   2. We used to need them before we wore shoes

   3. Toenails protect the top of our toes

   4. They’re just there

4. Tasso, 5, asks: what dogs can run the fastest?

   1. Wolfhounds

   2. Greyhounds

   3. Whippets

   4. Dalmatians

5. Iris, 4¾, asks: if you let go of a helium balloon, could it float all the way to space?

   1. Yes. There’s already lots of balloon plastic in orbit

   2. No, it would pop first

   3. In theory it will keep going until the helium runs out – but no one has ever inflated one big enough

   4. No, but scientists think a bunch of 600 could

Solutions

1:A - The four leaves are said to stand for faith, hope, love and luck. The story goes that when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, she picked a four-leaf clover to take as a reminder of Paradise. Later, the Celts thought they had magical powers to ward off evil and bad luck., 2:C - In the wild, jaguars and leopards live on different continents: jaguars in Central and South America; leopards in China, parts of Russia and India, the Middle East and down into Africa. Although they look similar, jaguars are more muscular, with a wider head and big, strong jaws. Leopards are nimbler at climbing trees and have longer tails, which help them balance., 3:C - Toenails keep the blood vessels, muscles and flesh underneath them safe – like armour for your toes!, 4:B - Greyhounds are the fastest dog breed – they can run up to 72km an hour. That’s almost double the speed the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, has run., 5:B - Sadly not. It would burst around 10km above the Earth. As it rises, the helium gas inside expands and the air pressure outside goes down. This makes it go pop!

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering children’s questions, out now as a book.

Does your child have a question? Submit one here

• This article was amended on 22 August 2022 to remove a description of Eve taking a four-leaf clover from the Garden of Eden as a “Bible story”; it does not feature in the Bible.