Michael Beattie Most Egyptologists think that the Great Sphinx was built by King Khafre, the builder of the second of the pyramids at Giza, who ruled from around 2558 to 2532 BCE. Some believe the Great Sphinx started out as a statue of a lion, with Khafre’s features added later. This combination of man and beast represents the pharaoh’s super-human power: the sphinx suggested that the king was a god on Earth. It may also have been intended to serve as a guardian of the king’s pyramid.

WHEN WAS THE VERY FIRST BUS SERVICE IN LONDON?

Thomas Farrant

London’s first regular bus service was started by George Shillibeer on 4 July 1829. He had seen the omnibus operating successfully in Paris and was inspired to do the same in London. Shillibeer’s Omnibus carried up to 20 passengers and was drawn by three horses. There were no fixed bus stops as we know them today – passengers just hailed a bus from the roadside. To stop the bus, passengers either banged on the roof or pulled on reins attached to the driver’s arms. Although called Omnibus, meaning ‘for all’, the fare of one shilling meant only the well-off could afford to use it. The first route ran from Paddington in west London via Regent’s Park to Bank in the city. The five-mile journey took about an hour.

WHERE ARE THE DEEPEST LONDON UNDERGROUND STATION PLATFORMS?

Marc Compton-Bennett

At 58.5 metres, the platforms at Hampstead station are the deepest of all the London Underground stations. Hampstead also has the deepest lift shaft on the system at 55.2 metres – that’s just 1.2 metres less than the height of Nelson’s Column. On 11 April 1954, two new high-speed lifts, which travelled the 55-metre journey in 18 seconds – almost four times as fast as the 1907 lifts they replaced – came into service. They were then the fastest lifts anywhere in the UK. Not surprisingly, the station also has the longest spiral staircase on the system, with a total 310 steps, but a notice advises passengers not to use them.