Samoa - The Cradle of Polynesia Quiz

Answer: Singapore

A simple way to define Polynesia is by drawing three imaginary lines that connect Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. The region encompassed by this spherical triangle consists of more than 1,000 islands; all of which are located in either central or southern Pacific Ocean.

Due to its strategic location, American Samoa has earned the nickname of "The Heart of Polynesia". American Samoa is located to the east of Samoa.

Singapore is an island nation located in Southeast Asia. Hawaii is one of the 50 states of the US. Easter Island belongs to Chile. New Zealand is an island nation that is located in the southwestern region of the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: International Date Line

Samoa lies to the west of the International Date Line (IDL), whereas American Samoa lies to the east of the line. Samoa uses the UTC+13 time zone, whereas American Samoa uses the UTC-11:00 time zone. In other words, Samoa is 24 hours ahead of its neighbor, American Samoa.

The Prime Meridian (Greenwich), located at 0 degrees longitude, was proposed by English mathematician and astronomer Sir George Airy in 1851.

The Tropic of Cancer is located approximately 23.4 degrees north of the equator. Its counterpart, the Tropic of Capricorn, is located approximately 23.4 degrees south of the equator.

Answer: Savai'i and Upolu

Savai'i is Samoa's largest island. It lies to the northwest of Upolu, which is the country's second largest island.

New Zealand is made up two two major islands, namely the North Island and the South Island, separated by the Cook Strait. Trinidad and Tobago are the names of the two islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation. The Republic of Malta, a European island nation, is made up of two main islands - Gozo and Malta.

Answer: Barbados

Barbados is an island nation located in the Caribbean.

Tokelau lies to the northeast of Samoa. It is a dependent territory of New Zealand. The Kingdom of Tonga is located to the southwest of Samoa. Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity.

Answer: Apia

The capital of Samoa, Apia, is located on the island of Upolu.

Yaren is the capital of Nauru. Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati, whereas Suva is the capital of Fiji.

An apiary, or a bee yard, is a place where beehives are kept. Honey bees are kept for their honey.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, best known for his novels "Treasure Island" (1883) and "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886). He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1890, he moved to Samoa. He died at a very young age of 44 and was buried at Mount Vaea.

Answer: Silisili

Mount Silisili is located on the island of Savai'i. Other notable mountains of Samoa include Mount Matavanu, Mata o le Afi, and Mauga Afi.

Pago Pago is the capital city of American Samoa. Lavalava are traditional clothes worn by Polynesians. Voiced by Will.i.am., Moto Moto is a male hippopotamus that is featured in "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (2008).

Answer: Marine geysers

Blowholes, or marine geysers, are volcanic plug holes that are formed over a long period of time. The eroded portion of sea caves would form long tubes, allowing sea water to flow in. Flowing through these narrow tubes, the hydraulic compression of the sea water translates into powerful blast of water that is released through these blowholes.

Karsts are formed from certain soluble rocks, such as gypsum and limestone. Stalagmites are rock formations that rise from the floors of caves. Fjords are long, narrow inlets sandwiched by tall cliffs on both sides.

Answer: SS Talune

The SS Talune, departed from Auckland, New Zealand, arrived in Samoa on 7 November 1918. Prior to the arrival of the vessel, there were no Spanish Flu cases reported in Samoa. In 2002, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, issued an official apology to Samoans over the incident.

RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912. The Wright Flyer was the name of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers in 1903.The Spirit of St. Louis was the name of the monoplane flown by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, during his solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, USA to Paris, France.

Answer: Crux

The five stars featured on the flag of Samoa are white in colour. There are four large stars and one smaller star. The four large stars form a cross-shaped figure, hence the name of the constellation, Crux, which means "cross" in Latin.

Hydra is the largest constellation, followed by Virgo. Equuleus is the second smallest constellation, after Crux.

Answer: Dwayne Johnson

Luke Hobbs, played by "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson, is one of the two main characters in "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" (2019); the other being Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. The scenes in Samoa featured in the movie were actually filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Johnson was born in Hayward, California, in 1972. His other notable movies include "The Scorpion King" (2002), "San Andreas" (2015), and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (2017).

Both John Cena and Steve Austin are professional wrestlers turned actors. Cena's notable movies include "The Marine" (2006) and "Bumblebee" (2018). Austin made his acting debut in "The Longest Yard" (2005), where he had a minor role, playing the character of Guard Dunham.

Jason Momoa is an American actor known for his roles in the TV series "Game of Thrones" (2011-2019) and the movie "Aquaman" (2018). He was born in Hawaii in 1979.