Why do flamingos stand on one leg and who invented chocolate? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Blythe, 7, asks: why do flamingos stand on one leg?

   1. To show off their better leg and attract a mate

   2. To stay balanced and conserve energy

   3. They use the other leg as a cushion when they are sleeping

   4. So that they can quickly engage the other leg to catch fish with in the water

2. Casey, 8, and Cody, 6, ask: how many people died in the Great Fire of London?

   1. 6

   2. 12

   3. 79

   4. 212

3. Sebastian, 7, asks: who invented chocolate?

   1. Willy Wonka

   2. Mesopotamians

   3. The Swiss

   4. Mesoamericans

4. Natalie, 6, asks: why is there alcohol in beer?

   1. The foamy part contains all the alcohol

   2. It’s made by injecting a bit of alcohol into beer-tasting drinks

   3. Because it is fermented

   4. Because it’s made from leftover wine

5. Ines, 7, asks: why is America called America?

   1. It’s because of Christopher Columbus’s middle name, America

   2. It’s named after an English explorer called Derrick Americk

   3. It’s named after an Italian explorer called Amerigo Vespucci

   4. It’s named after the indigenous population of North America who called themselves Americans

Solutions

1:B - Flamingos find it easier to stand on one leg because they can lock it into position and use less muscular energy. When they are on two legs, they have to keep balancing themselves, which wastes energy!, 2:A - Only six people are recorded as having died in the Great Fire of London in 1666, but this number isn’t accurate and also doesn’t include the hundreds of deaths that must have occurred in the aftermath of the fire., 3:D - Mesoamerica was a historical area in Central America where the cacao tree comes from. People living there thousands of years ago were the first to cultivate cacao and to serve it as a chocolatey drink., 4:C - Beer is made of fermented cereals, and fermentation is a process that produces alcohol., 5:C - Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer who went on voyages to America after Columbus did when the Europeans were exploring and colonising the Americas. A German cartographer drew a map and named the continents America, after him, and it caught on.

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