What is the tallest windmill and which animal lives longest? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth

1. Billy, 6, asks: what is the tallest windmill in the world?

   1. The Mykonos windmill in Greece

   2. The windmill of Consuegra in Spain

   3. The De Noord windmill in the Netherlands

   4. The windmill of Nashtifan in Iran

2. William, 9, asks: what country has the most islands?

   1. Norway

   2. Sweden

   3. Indonesia

   4. Canada

3. Emily, 8, George, 7, and Alice, 5, ask: which animal lives the longest?

   1. The Ocean quahog mussel

   2. The Greenland shark

   3. The giant tortoise

   4. The immortal jellyfish

4. Mae, 6, asks: who made up all the words we use?

   1. Shakespeare

   2. Cavemen

   3. They have all developed over time from lots of different places

   4. Babylonians at the Tower of Babel

5. Milo, 11, asks: what do birds talk about?

   1. They talk about lots of things!

   2. They talk about how pretty their feathers are

   3. They talk about what they had for breakfast

   4. They mostly talk about humans

Solutions

1:C - At 33.3 metres, the De Noord is the tallest windmill in the world. It is one of the Schiedam Giants, named after their location in the Netherlands. (A mill in Dublin, Ireland, used to be taller but its sails were taken off, so now it’s a tower.), 2:B - Sweden has the most islands, up to 270,000! Of these, fewer than 1,000 are thought to be inhabited., 3:D - All these animals can live remarkably long lives. The Greenland shark is the world’s longest living vertebrate, potentially 500 years! But the immortal jellyfish doesn’t age: it can reverse its life cycle, so technically could live for ever., 4:C - All our words have developed over time. English primarily comes from the languages of Germanic people, but it’s a mixture of so many ancient languages and words, and even today we constantly have new words appearing in our vocabulary that might come from within England or outside., 5:A - Birds talk about lots of things. A bird’s call might be used to attract a potential mate, or to warn of danger, or mark their territory, or even just for fun, as they make such beautiful sounds!

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.

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