1. The first full episode of "The Simpsons" was broadcast on 17 December 1989. It was a Christmas special. Which family pet did the Simpsons get in that episode?

2. On 17 December 1938, two chemists in Berlin split the uranium atom, discovering nuclear fission. Name either of them, and the Austrian physicist, then in exile, who explained what they had found.

3. On 17 December 1777, after an American victory at Saratoga, which European country told American diplomats it would recognise the independence of the United States?

4. Simón Bolívar proclaimed a new South American republic on 17 December 1819, and died exactly 11 years later, on 17 December 1830. What was the republic called?

5. On 17 December 1790, workers in Mexico City's main square dug up a huge carved Aztec stone disc that has become a national symbol. What is it usually called?

6. A Cornish chemist born in Penzance on 17 December 1778 invented a lamp that saved countless miners' lives. Name him.

7. Which pope was born in Buenos Aires on 17 December 1936, and what was his birth name?

8. Which crime writer, creator of the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey, died on 17 December 1957?

9. A British long-distance runner born on 17 December 1973 set a women's marathon world record in London in 2003 that stood for 16 years. Who is she?

10. On 17 December 1969, the US Air Force announced it was closing "Project Blue Book". What had the project been investigating?