Here are the questions. The answers can be found at the bottom of this page, but don’t scroll down until you’ve given them a good go.  

1. Uncle Johannes has outdone himself this year, serving up an eight-course Christmas feast (though some of the dishes are a little unusual). In order, the first seven courses are: mousse, vol-au-vents, eggnog, milkshake, jelly, soup and upside-down cake. What might the final course be?

2. This entity can be found travelling at near the speed of light under the Swiss-French border. Change one letter and you get the name of something it turns into. What are these two things?

3. What does this code, which might be delivered to you upon opening your front door, represent? (Hint: 262 usually appears in the middle.)

587 / 523 494 523 587 494 523 / 494 440 494 523 440 494 / 440 392 440 494 392 440 / 392 370 392 440 370 392 / 370 330 349 392 330 370 / 330 294

4. After the frontal lobe makes a call and the limbic system sends a signal, 15 facial muscles contract, including the zygomaticus major. The muscles between the ribs spasm, forcing air out of the lungs. Speech may become strained and reach a higher pitch than normal. Tears may emerge. But there is no reason to be alarmed. Why?

5. All three of the following describe different objects that share a name, and all might be seen during December – at least in the northern hemisphere. What is the name?

● A mixture including emulsified vitellus, crystalline sucrose, alcohol and acid

● A…