International Blue Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scotland

Although the Union Jack has never been officially proclaimed as the flag of the United Kingdom, it has gained that status through precedence.

The flag's origins came with the joining of the Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland when the Scottish King James VI inherited the other two crowns in 1603 as James I. At this time, each Kingdom remained separate states under one ruler.

The initial flag (created in 1606 for maritime purposes) was a combination of the white saltire of Scotland's St. Andrew's Cross with the red cross of England's St. George's flag. Later, with the 1801 proclamation joining Great Britain with Ireland, the red saltire of Ireland was added and the "Union Jack" was born.

Answer: Finland

Also known as the Scandinavian Cross, the symbol represents Christianity, and was first adopted in the 13th century in Denmark. The cross would be used in many flags over the years throughout Scandinavia, although the adoption into the modern countries we know today generally came much later. In Finland's case, the flag seen here was adopted in 1917 when the country achieved independence from Russia.

The blue is said to represent the sky and Finland's thousands of lakes while the white represents the winter snows.

Answer: Uruguay

The Uruguayan flag was established after Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil in 1825. In its original version (1828), there were nine blue stripes to match the number of departments in the country, but this was changed to the current format in 1830 (nine stripes in total, alternating blue and white).

As a former province of Argentina, the Sun of May held significance as a symbol of the earlier declaration of independence from Spain.

Answer: The Flag of Zion

Israel's flag has its origins with the Zionist movement of the late 19th century, with variations on Jacob and Charles Askowith's design appearing until the current flag was adopted by the Knesset (Israeli parliament) on November 12th, 1948 alongside the newly (re)created State of Israel.

According to Jewish writer Ludwig August von Frankl, the importance of the colour scheme was paramount: "These are the colours of the beloved country, blue and white are the colours of Judah; White is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue, the splendours of the firmament."

Answer: Micronesia

The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia was adopted in 1978, with the four stars representing the states named. While the stars on the flag are arranged as a diamond, the islands themselves are arranged roughly east to west in a line.

The flag pattern was born out of the previous (1965) flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which included Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae and Pohnpei together, along with Palau, the Marshall Islands and Northern Mariana (it had six stars in a circle). The latter three states chose not to join the new federation in 1978.

Answer: False

There is actually no true consensus of what the nine stripes represent, as the origin has quite literally been lost to antiquity. The popular explanations today have them representing the nine Muses of Greek mythology, or the nine syllables in the Greek phrase "Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος", which translates as "Freedom or Death".

The current flag was adopted in 1978.

Answer: Somalia

The Somali flag originally represented the ethnic group of Somali peoples found through different regions (Ogaden, North Eastern Province, French Somaliland, British Somaliland, and Italian Somaliland), but it came to represent the geographical countries that bore the Somali name, beginning with the Trust Territory of Somaliland in the 1950s.

The flag was designed by Mohammed Awale Liban and first flown in 1954.

Answer: Honduras

The blue bands of the Honduran flag represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea with the white band being the land (Honduras) between. As mentioned in the question, the five stars represent the five former members of the Federal Republic of Central America, as well as the hope that they might form a union once again in the future.

In addition to the blue of the surrounding bodies of water, the blue represents the sky and brotherhood, while the white also represents peace, prosperity, and purity of thought.

Answer: True

When the Council of Europe was first formed in 1948, it had ten member states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. By the time a flag was proposed and adopted, there were fifteen member states, including West Germany, who protested against the idea of having the number of stars equal the number of states. One of the member states at the time was the Saar Protectorate, and giving it a star would imply equal status (sovereignty) with the other member states.

The flag has since been adopted by other European organizations, such as the European Community and the European Union.

Answer: Red

In the official description of the emblem in the proclamation regarding the "Official Seal and Emblem of the United Nations, 15 October 1946", the blue was described as "the opposite of red, the war colour". This shade of blue has come to be known as 'UN blue'.