Palau Polymathy Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Philippines

The Palauan archipelago is located in the Pacific Ocean. The small country lies less than ten degrees north of the equator and nearly fifty degrees west of the Antimeridian (180° longitude line).

If you were to travel westward from the main islands of Palau, the first country you'd reach would be the Philippines. Directly to the south of Palau would be Indonesia and Australia respectively. Traveling southeast from Palau would bring you to Papua New Guinea and you'd reach Japan if you traveled directly to the north of Palau.

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

Two small islands belonging to the Palauan archipelago are believed to have been discovered in 1522 by the Trinidad, one of the five Spanish ships used during Ferdinand Magellan's voyage to circumnavigate the Earth. The islands were given the name San Juan, but the expedition did not stop to explore them.

The discovery of Palau as a whole would not be properly documented until 1696, after which the islands became the focus of several European missionaries. Palau would become part of the Spanish East Indies in 1885.

Answer: Ngerulmud

Ngerulmud was designated as Palau's capital city in 2006. It is located on Babeldoab, the largest island in the nation. Despite being on Palau's largest island, Ngerulmud had only 318 residents as of the 2020 census. Ngerulmud's name comes from a Palauan phrase that translates to "cityplace of fermented angelfish".

The Palauan government convenes at a building in Ngerulmud that was inspired by the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Unlike the U.S. Capitol, which only houses the national legislature, Palau's capitol complex houses all three branches of its government (executive, legislative and judicial) in the same location.

Answer: father and daughter

Hans Ongelungel is a contemporary artist who was born in Palau. He would immigrate to the United States after graduating from high school. Many of his works depict the landscape of his home country.

Hans' daughter is Sha Merirei Ongelungel, who normally just goes by Sha Merirei. She is a contemporary artist herself, but despite having been born in the United States, she has become an activist for people from Palau as well as several other island nations in the same region.

Answer: Jellyfish

Jellyfish Lake (aka Ongeim'l Tketau in Palauan) is located on the island of Eil Malk, one of the Rock Islands of Palau. The lake is approximately 460 m (1,510 ft) long and 160 m (520 ft) wide.

There are several species of Jellyfish that inhabit the lake, most notably the Mastigias papua etpisoni (aka golden jellyfish). These golden jellyfish are not considered to be dangerous and it has become popular for tourists to swim in the lake with them.

Answer: Call of Duty

The Battle of Peleliu was fought in the Palau Islands between the United States and Japan during World War II. The battle began on September 15, 1944 and lasted two months ending on November 27, 1944. The battle concluded as a victory for the Americans.

The Battle of Peleliu would be featured in the main campaign of the video game "Call of Duty: World at War" which was released in November, 2008 for the Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PC.

Answer: Taro

Taro is a root vegetable that is native to Palau and other Pacific island nations. Taro looks like and has a taste similar to a sweet potato. The vegetable is widely used for many Palauan recipes, including Taro Rösti, which looks similar to hash browns. Taro is also used in various soups and salads.

While it is an important part of Palauan cuisine, people are warned to not consume raw taro as it contains toxic compounds that are removed when the vegetable is cooked properly.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

Bligh Madris made his debut on June 20, 2022 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. While Bligh Madras was born in the United States, his father's side of the family came from Palau.

Unfortunately, Bligh Madris would get demoted on September 13, 2022 after playing for two and a half months with the Pirates. He would later be placed on waivers twice where he was claimed by two other teams (Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers) before being traded to the Houston Astros for the start of the 2023 season.

Answer: Koror

Koror Island (aka Oreor Island) is the most populous island in Palau with over 11,000 people which is more than half the population of the entire nation.

Koror served as the location used for the tenth season of the popular CBS reality series "Survivor". It was filmed between November 1 and December 9, 2004 and aired between February 17 and May 15, 2005. Tom Westman, a firefighter from Long Island, New York outlasted nineteen other competitors to win "Survivor: Palau".

Answer: American Dollar

Following World War II, Palau fell under the control of the United States of America who liberated it and several other Pacific island chains from the Japanese. Palau's independence from the United States was formally recognized on October 1, 1994.

While Palau is now independent of the United States politically, Palau has continued to use the American Dollar as its primary currency, along with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. In 2022, Palau launched a project to create its own digital currency named Palau Stablecoin.