The Iliad describes the Trojan War — but focuses on a few weeks of the final year, not the whole 10-year conflict.

The famous 'Wilhelm Scream' sound effect has been used in hundreds of movies since 1951.

The sitar, fundamental to Indian classical music, has 21 strings — 7 played and 14 sympathetic.

The concept of karma — actions determining future circumstances — appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

The concept of hell as a place of punishment varies dramatically across world religions — Buddhism's naraka is temporary, not eternal.

Aboriginal Australians have oral traditions and songlines that preserve ecological knowledge going back tens of thousands of years.

The Epic of Gilgamesh contains a flood narrative strikingly similar to the biblical story of Noah.

The Portuguese word 'saudade' describes a nostalgic longing for something loved and lost — it has no direct English equivalent.

Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 — a first for a songwriter.