White Flags: They're Not Black & White Quiz

Answer: Surrender

The white flag, which may be as simple as a white piece of clothing on a stick, symbolises "Surrender". It is an internationally recognised protective sign of truce or ceasefire and it is also a request for negotiation. There is a mention of a white flag of surrender in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 A.D. - 200 A.D.) in China and also by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus in A.D. 109.

It has also been chronicled as an indication of surrender by the Portuguese and noted in India in the 1500s.

Answer: Perfidy

During war, "perfidy" is a form of deception and occurs when one side promises to act in good faith yet intends to breach the trust when the other side has shown themselves. The inclusion in the Hague Convention transferred this definition of perfidy into the 1949 Geneva Convention.

Answer: Mourning

In Buddhist culture, white is the color of mourning, so a white flag would be seen where "western" cultures would fly a black flag.

Answer: Jesus' pact for non-violence and surrender to God's will

The Christian Flag is meant to represent all Christianity but is flown mainly in Protestant churches in North and Central America and Africa. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches usually do not fly the flag.

Answer: When limp with little wind, it could be mistaken for the flag of truce

This problem when there was little or no wind, making the "droopy" flag appear all white was rectified, in 1865, by adding a vertical red bar on the outer edge of the flag. Of course noting the date, this third version of the confederate flag flew for a very short time before the CSA were dissolved.
The flags of Alabama and Florida appear similar to the Confederate flags, but are actually derived from the Cross of Burgundy flag. This flag flew, initially, over the territory of Spanish Florida.

Answer: Dido

By stating there will be "No white flag," Dido indicates she will not give up on the relationship and that she intends to fight until the bitter end, and that she will not give up on her relationship with her partner.

Answer: IndyCar

A white flag in IndyCar racing indicates slow vehicle ahead OR Last Lap. In NASCAR racing a white flag means "Final Lap" and In the FIA (Formula One, Karting, Rallying, Touring cars) a white flag means "Slow Vehicle on Track". In MotoGP (Motorcycles), a white flag warns riders of rain.

Answer: Cyprus

Cyprus (Greek for "copper" after the large amounts of copper mined from the island) has the largest white area at 92%. Japan isn't far behind at 84%, South Korea (78%) and Israel at 64%. Mauritania has only green and yellow but no white in its flag.

Other features of the Cyprus flag is its neutrality (having no colours from the Greek or Turkish flags), the only country with a map of itself (copper in colour naturally) on the field of the flag (Christmas Island is not a country but has a map of itself on its flag) plus 2 crossed olive branches to indicate peace. Some sources state that the white background also indicates peace.

Answer: Absence of blood

While the national flag of Latvia was adopted in 1990, it was the same flag that was used when Latvia was "first" independent between 1917 and 1940. However it can trace its origin back to a Latvian battle in 1280 where (legend has it) a mortally wounded tribal chief was wrapped in a white sheet.

The flag was covered in blood on the edges, but the sheet remained white where he lay. In the next battle, the blood-stained sheet was used as a battle flag. This time the Latvians won the battle. Since then the flag has been based on the sheet. (Is this the first case where a flag was a blank canvas?)

Answer: The field

The Korean flag is similar to, but not based on, the national flag of Japan (both were adopted in the late 1880s). It is the wide expanse of the field that represents the Korean people. The central circle of blue and red (the Taegeuk) represents the origin of all universal things. The four trigrams (all different) represent justice, vitality, wisdom and fruition.