Flags of the (Entire) World Trivia Quiz

Answer: The designer didn't mean the rings to represent specific continents

The man behind the flag was actually the man behind the Modern Olympics, Pierre le Coubertin. Coubertin's own mind, not a Greek symbol, was the source. Designed just before World War 1, the flag first appeared during the 1920 Games in Antwerp.

For the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, organizer Carl Diem conceived of the first Olympic torch relay. The committee constructed an altar at Delphi, made to look ancient (except, of course, for the Olympics' excellent branding). Some hare-brained archaeologists later found this altar and believed that it really *was* ancient. Shocking discovery - ancient origins to the Olympic rings! You can see the History Channel special in your head. Thus the myth of the "ancient" Olympic rings was born.

The Olympic rings do symbolize the continents, but contrary to popular belief, Coubertin never intended for each ring to be tied to a different continent. The rings symbolize Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the (singular, Hemisphere-spanning) America. Coubertin was proud that those five colors, plus the white, can "reproduce [the flags] of all nations without exception" - which was true when he said it (shortly before Ireland's independence).

Answer: Perfection

Yes, perfection. The COE writes, "The number of stars is fixed, twelve being the symbol of perfection and completeness and bringing to mind the apostles, the sons of Jacob, the labours of Hercules, the months in the year, etc." But that's not perfect enough: it goes on to call the flag a "perfect blend of neutrality, timelessness, and simplicity."

The European Union adopted this perfect flag in the perfect year of 1986, perfecting its already perfect public image. Nordic crosses, St. George crosses, fleurs de lis and rosettes were submitted by private individuals, but all these glyphs were deemed imperfect. The winning design is credited to the Council of Europe itself. (They say a camel is a horse designed by a committee, but that seems too harsh to camels.)

On the plus side, the EU flag has inspired some more exciting (but less perfect) designs. Both Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina based their flags on the EU's.

Answer: Antarctica

Even the first people to trek to Antarctica felt that somehow, the place deserved a flag. The first Antarctic flags were plain white sheets flown by explorers, a show of respect to the uninhabited continent. As the South Pole has no citizens and no claimants, we have only proposals like this one.

The designers of this flag, a non-profit called True South, note that "In the absence of an official selection, the flag which is recognized as the flag of Antarctica is the one that's most widely flown and used." Rightfully so. Like the Antarctic seasons, half the flag is shrouded in darkness. A snowy mountain towers into the murk, while its shadow resembles a compass pointing south.

What clue can you find by flipping this flag? Why, a certain resemblance to the flag of the other Pole, Greenland. Cool! (Literally.)

Answer: Eight-pointed border from Kyrgyzstan

The white border is called a Seljuk star, another general symbol of Islam based on a glyph that appears in the Quran. Added in 2024, the Seljuk star was added as a nod to the presidential seals of Turkey and Uzbekistan (the latter not being represented until then). Kyrgyzstan's flag actually depicts the hole at the top of a yurt surrounded by the sun, and the reference in the flag of the OTS comes in the forty rays surrounding the central circle.

The Islamic crescent appears on many flags, but the star on Turkey's flag has five points. The use of eight-pointed stars within the crescent is another reference to the Seljuk star's eight points, with Azerbaijan specifically using this symbol.

Answer: Federated States of Micronesia

This Flag of Oceania was designed by Steven Squires, who notes that it would be useful for the Pacific Games, various economic forums in the Pacific, and others. Symbolically, the light blue represents Oceania's clear skies, with the navy denoting its oceans and rivers. The light blue is almost identical to that of Micronesia's, and pretty close to the teal-ish tones of Tuvalu, Fiji, and Palau.

The current Micronesian flag closely resembles an earlier one used by the region while it was under control of the United States. Micronesia chose the blue to mimic the flag of the United Nations, and I've seen Micronesia's emoji flag used as shorthand to "represent" the U.N. A hardworking flag for such a small nation!

The three incorrect choices are the only Oceanian countries with no blue on their banners.

Answer: Blue

The red, green, and yellow stripes on the Ethiopian flag have inspired the color schemes of many African countries. Black national Marcus Garvey independently proposed red, green, and black be used for Pan-Africanism, and these are the colors celebrated on Kwanzaa. Several African countries use all four colors on their flags, namely Ghana, Sao Tome, and Guinea-Bissau.

The African Union's flag features a star and a ray for each member, currently numbering 55. Some dislike the flag for being "just a map," but I find the background symbols and use of color to be striking, map or no.

If we were to consider Pan-Earth colors, we may note that every current national flag uses at least one of the colors red, white and blue. All except for one - Jamaica.

Answer: Cuba

The OAS was formed in 1948, formalizing a number of existing alliances. Putting it diplomatically, the United States likes to be an active participant in the mission and decision-making of the OAS. Thus, to this day, the OAS considers its goals incompatible with Cuba's communist government. In fact, for a while the OAS kept Canada out for being a monarchy!

Nicaragua and Venezuela both have tense relationships with the OAS at time of writing, with Nicaragua formally leaving after the OAS denounced its 2021 elections. At time of writing, however, they're both featured on this flag of flags.

As a denizen of the Western Hemisphere, this brazen blazon bothers me. If there was ever a half of the Earth that could use a little unifying symbolism, it's ours!

Answer: SETI

SETI is the Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, and both SETI-affiliated research stations and independent observatories have liked this design enough to fly it. The designer was James Cradle, who made and mailed out the flags himself until his death. As the current stewards of his legacy put it: "Before the first astronauts landed on the Moon, everyone knew that they would plant the American flag as a symbol of the accomplishment. [...] But there was a small movement which urged that it would be more appropriate for the first flag planted by Humankind on an extra-terrestrial body be a flag representing *all* the people of Earth."

I prefer this straightforward and attractive arrangement to some of the more high-minded flag designs. One of the more popular alternatives is a flag with Apollo 10's Blue Marble photo - to me that's more like an ID card than a flag. The "World Flag" designed by Paul Carroll features all of the flags of all of the country surrounding a world map - a bad mashup of the OAS and African Union's flags, if you ask me!

Answer: Stalks of rice

Rice is a staple foodstuff and a cash crop throughout Southeast Asia. The region is home to the world's largest exporters of rice (among them Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand at the top) and the largest importers (again, the Philippines and Indonesia - they literally can't get enough of the stuff).

The ASEAN countries are growing rice to sell to their neighbors, so a bundle of rice stalks bound together is a perfectly fitting symbol. The ten stalks represent the ten original members of ASEAN - too bad for Timor-Leste, the eleventh, who came late to the party (joining in 2025).

Answer: A heart

The IFOPE (their abbreviation, not mine) has an official folding pattern designed by an origami master, and a video tutorial for folding it can be found on their site. The website made for the design writes that the flag "is a reminder to humanity that we need to take care of this planet and each other."

Oskar Pernefeldt designed the flag in 2015 to resemble a flower. The seven rings originally represented the seven continents (I wonder where that idea came from), but no longer do, to keep the flag culturally non-specific. Not as perfect as twelve, but we'll let it slide.

Although the IFOPE claims no particular ideology, it's associated with conservationist and environmentalist movements. The website recommends flying the flag during Earth Day.