Stop Poisoning My Name Trivia Quiz

Answer: none of them

It's admittedly a bit hard to tell, but many people believe that the swastika is the oldest symbol that people have ever created. The oldest-known swastika is on a bird carved out of mammoth ivory that was found in Ukraine. It dates back to about 15,000 years ago. Numerous other artifacts show that by the Bronze Age, the swastika had become widespread throughout Europe. It was also plentiful in Asia and the Americas for thousands of years.

Pictured: a painted pottery jar from the Majiayao culture in China, 3000 BCE. Resides in the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Answer: architecture

Greeks knew the swastika as the tetra-gammadion, literally the cross made with four capital gamma letters. Some ancient Greek staters (coins) feature a swastika. The relatively simple nature of the swastika makes it easy to tessellate, or repeat itself in a regular pattern. Swastikas were often incorporated into mosaics from the time period, and have been found at Troy and Pompei. They would also be directly linked with each other, forming a pattern known as a meandering swastika.

Pictured: part of a meandering swastika pattern, often used for borders in architecture. Part of a motif in a church in Verona, Italy.

Answer: Sanskrit

The swastika is particularly prominent on the Indian subcontinent, and comes from a Sanskrit word that means lucky or auspicious object. It is an important symbol in Hinduism and is meant to ward off evil. Dots (rangoli) are usually included in the swastika and are meant to absorb evil energy. Swastika rangoli are seen in great abundance during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. They are meant to invoke the triumph of knowledge and hope over ignorance and despair.

Pictured: a Hindu boy with a shaved head and swastika as part of his Upanayana ceremony.

Answer: Buddhist temple

The swastika spread to Buddhism when the Indian emperor Ashoka adopted it. From there, it spread to China and Tibet. In China, it became one of many Chinese characters and eventually moved to Japan, Korea, and southeast Asia. It is extremely common in East Asia to see swastikas on Buddhist temples and statues of Buddha. The symbol became associated with the sun and with the concept of eternity.

Pictured: a swastika-shaped pond at Hase-dera, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan.

Answer: good luck

A number of military and sports groups were quite happy to represent themselves with swastikas, with the connotation being its near-universal meaning of good luck and fortune. Among these were the Latvian Air Force, Lafayette Escadrille squadron, and US 45th Infantry Division. Swastikas were also popular good-luck charms among aviators during a time when aviation was a little more dangerous than it is today. Numerous sports groups used it to presumably bring themselves good luck in their games.

Pictured: the Fernie Swastikas, a Canadian women's hockey team, 1922. And no, they weren't the only ones.

Answer: Hebrew

While not a part of their religion, there was once a time where the Jews had no issues with swastikas. In this picture, the swastika is made from letters of the Hebrew word "light", and the invocation is spaced to invoke the image of a sun. Alluding to the sun is one of the many positive meanings carried by a swastika. Many modern movements, such as the Raëlian Movement and Theosophical Society, have symbols that combine the swastika and Star of David.

Pictured: a swastika made of Hebrew letters and surrounded by an Aramaic hymn. Known to have appeared in the book "Parashat Eliezer" by Rabbi Eliezer ben Isaac Fischel of Strizhov.

Answer: Finland

The Continuation War was fought between the Soviet Union and Finland. In Finland, the swastika is called the hakaristi; a black swastika on a blue field was chosen as the Finnish Air Force symbol in 1918. Finland ordered Me 109s from Germany, which they then used against the Soviet Union. The Finnish Air Force has long since changed its emblem, but the flags and medals of other Finnish air commands still feature a swastika.

Pictured: the Finnish Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2s used by Finland during the Continuation War against the Soviet Union.

Answer: Yes

Prior to the 1940s, it was extrememly common for businesses to use swastikas in advertisements and merchandise. Thousands of different coins, tokens, and fobs issued during the early 20th century featured swastikas, including ones made by Coca Cola. K-R-I-T Motor Company (an early car manufacturer) used swastikas as part of its logo. Swastika Laundry was an Irish laundry company that was founded in 1912. Use of swastikas in advertising dropped dramatically after 1945. Go figure.

Pictured: Becker-Rosenthal murder trial jury going to lunch, 1912. The car belonged to Green Car Sight Seeing Company.

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

When you consider that he lived in India, and swastikas are still a sign of luck and fortune there, it should not really surprise you to see that Rudyard Kipling's early books were each adorned with a swastika, elephant, and lotus flower. In one note that he wrote to a friend, he said "I thought it being the Swastika would be appropriate for your Swastika. May it bring you even more good fortune."

Pictured: early and later versions of the elephant, lotus, and swastika symbols on Rudyard Kipling's books.

Answer: Navajo

A number of Native American tribes made use of the swastika, but the Navajo were the most prominent in doing so. They called it the whirling log symbol, and it was inspired by a legend where a man came across a whirling cross. It symbolizes luck and wisdom, and was used in sand paintings, jewelry, rugs, and many other things they made. These days, it's mostly found as a motif on older buildings.

Pictured: Navajo building, Raton, New Mexico. Numerous older Navajo buildings and charms make use of the swastika design.