Vexillological Fluttering Part I | Answers

Flag of Vatican City State
Wikipedia
  1. Vatican City State—Both the coat of arms and flag of Vatican City feature crossed gold and silver keys bound with a red cord, topped with a tiara. The yellow and white stripes of the flag date back to the early 19th century.
    Flag of Nepal
    Wikipedia
  2. Nepal—Nepal’s national flag is unique in the modern world as it is non-rectangular. It consists of two united pennant shapes, resembling a triangular flag. The flag is crimson with blue borders and incorporates stylised symbols of the sun and moon.
  3. Wales—Until the early 17th century, England and Scotland were two entirely independent kingdoms. Wales had been annexed into the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542.
    Flag of Mozambique
    Wikipedia
  4. Mozambique—The national flag of Mozambique is a horizontal tricolour of green, black, and golden-yellow with a red isosceles triangle at the hoist. The triangle contains a gold star, a gun, a hoe, and an open book, representing the Mozambican people and their war of independence. Although the constitution doesn’t mention the specific gun used in the design, it’s generally understood to be an AK-47 with a bayonet attached.
  5. Triskelion—a Celtic symbol consisting of three legs or lines radiating from a centre. The Manx triskelion, a sun symbol, has been used since the late 13th century. It became the basis for the Manx flag after Sir Thomas Randolph became ruler in 1313.
  6. Brazil—The national flag of Brazil, adopted in 1889, features a green field with a yellow rhombus and a blue disc depicting a starry sky. The stars represent Brazilian states and the federal district, with their sizes proportional to their geographical size.
Flag of Brazil
Wikipedia

Vexillological Fluttering Part I


The Allée des Nations in front of the Palace of Nations (United Nations Office at Geneva)/Wikipedia

Vexillology is the study of flags and below are some questions related to that subject.

  1. Out of the only two national flags that are square in shape, where can you a gold and white flag bearing a coat of arms?
    • Principality of Monaco
    • Republic of San Marino
    • Vatican City State
  2. Only one national flag is non-quadrilateral, ie NOT rectangular or square, which one is it?
    • Namibia
    • Nepal
    • Nicaragua
  3. Which of these is NOT represented on the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom?
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • Ireland
  4. A gun, generally understood to be an AK-47 with a bayonet attached, features on what national flag?
    • Kazakhstan
    • Liberia
    • Mozambique
    Flag of the Isle of Man
    Wikipedia
  5. What word describes the symbol on this Isle of Man flag?
    • Triskelion
    • Treiskaideka
    • Tristesse
  6. The second highest number of stars on a national flag, after the USA with 50, is a country with 27 where the stars represent 26 states and a federal district. What country?
    • Brazil
    • Micronesia
    • India

Good Luck! The answers will be posted later today.

Confused to Start With | Answers

J. M. Flagg’s recruiting poster, 1917
Wikipedia
  1. Luc means—is an anagram of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam, a national personification of the United States, represents the federal government and is a symbol of patriotic emotion. The character, popularised by a 1917 recruiting poster, originated during the War of 1812 and is distinct from Columbia, representing the nation, and Brother Jonathan, representing the populace.
    Lonesome George.
    Wikipedia
  2. Pinta—Pinta Island tortoise, a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, was hunted to near extinction by the end of the 19th century. A single male, Lonesome George, was discovered in 1971 but died in 2012, leading to the subspecies’ presumed extinction.
  3. YesterdayYesterday was the only “solo” Beatles Track.

    “He [McCartney] played it to John, George and Ringo, who approved but didn’t think it required them to play on it. Yesterday would be a Beatles song with only one Beatle on it.”

    The Sunday Times, 23 March 2025 © Ian Leslie 2025. Extracted from John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs.

  4. AA Milne—Heffalumps and Woozles appear in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories
  5. Galahad—Sir Galahad, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot and Lady Elaine. He is renowned for his gallantry and purity, replacing Percival as the hero in the quest for the Holy Grail.
  6. Arachnophobia—fear of spiders. Shelob is a spider featured in The Lord of the Rings. Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting and pogonophobia is having an extreme dislike of beards.
Piglet dreams of the Heffalump. E. H. Shepard’s original illustration, from Winnie-the-Pooh.
Wikipedia

Confused to Start With


Nothing to do with today’s date just a selection of questions.

Flag of the US
Wikipedia
  1. Which one of the following can become a personification of the US government?
    • Clean Sue
    • Muscleman
    • Luc means
  2. Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies, died in 2012. His subspecies, now extinct, was named…
    • Niña Island tortoise
    • Pinta Island tortoise
    • Santa Maria Island tortoise
  3. The only Beatles song featuring just one Beatle was…
    • If I Fell
    • This Boy
    • Yesterday
  4. Heffalumps and Woozles appear in books by…
    • AA Milne
    • CS Lewis
    • JRR Tolkien
  5. One of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table; the son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic; renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights, is…
    • Bedivere
    • Galahad
    • Percival
  6. An irrational fear of the fictional Shelob is…
    • Arachnophobia
    • Emetophobia
    • Pogonophobia
The Arming and Departure of the Knights,
one of the Holy Grail tapestries, 1890s, figures by Edward Burne-Jones
Wikipedia

Good luck! The answers will be posted later.

Ups and Downs! | Answers

E.V. Haughwout Building, 488-492 Broadway, New York City.
Wikipedia
  1. Steam—The E.V. Haughwout Building, NYC installed the world’s first successful passenger elevator in 1857. The steam-powered hydraulic lift, designed by Elisha Graves Otis, was a novelty that attracted customers to the five storey department store.
  2. Akira Kurosawa—Akira Kurosawa, a Japanese filmmaker, directed 30 films over seven decades. His bold and dynamic style, influenced by Western cinema, earned him international acclaim. Notable works include Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Red Beard.
  3. President Ronald Reagan—The Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), introduced by President Reagan in 1983, was a missile defence system designed to protect the US from Soviet ICBMs using various platforms. Known as “Star Wars,” it faced criticism for its technical feasibility and potential to destabilise the MAD doctrine and escalate the arms race. Although the programme ended in 1993, some elements were revived in 2019 by the Space Development Agency.
  4. Ben-Hur (1959)—Films with the most awards: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) each earned 11 Academy Awards. (Wikipedia)
  5. 2001Mir, the first modular space station, was launched in 1986 and operated for 15 years. It served as a microgravity research laboratory for experiments in biology, physics, astronomy and more. Mir held records for the longest continuous human presence in space and the longest single human spaceflight until surpassed by the ISS.
Mir’s re-entry into the atmosphere over Fiji, 2001.
Satobs

Ups and Downs!

Otis free-fall safety demonstration in 1853.
Wikipedia

All of the following relate to today, 23 March.

  1. On 23 March 1857 the first commercial elevator was installed in a New York City department store, it was powered by…
    • Steam
    • Electricity
    • Water
  2. Born today in 1910, a Japanese film director who according to Encyclopædia Britannica ‘won worldwide acclaim with subtle, brilliantly composed films, such as Rashōmon (1950) and
    Seven Samurai (1954), that combined Japanese historic themes with a Western sense of action and drama”; he was…
    • Yasujirō Ozu
    • Ishirō Honda
    • Akira Kurosawa
  3. On this date a nationwide television address in the US announced a space based defence system against nuclear attacks which came to be known as “Star Wars”; the address was made by…
    • President Jimmy Carter
    • President Ronald Reagan
    • President George HW Bush
  4. On this day in 1998 Titanic won 11 Academy Awards equalling the record set by…
    • All About Eve (1950)
    • Ben-Hur (1959)
    • The Godfather (1972)
  5. The space station Mir returned to Earth on 23 March. It had been launched by the Soviet space agency in 1986 with a design life expectancy of five years. In what year did it re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere?
    • 1991
    • 1996
    • 2001
Approach view of the Mir Space Station viewed from Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-89 rendezvous. A Progress cargo ship is attached on the left, a Soyuz manned spacecraft attached on the right. Image ID: STS089-340-035
NASA/Wikipedia

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

To Boldly Go…to a Musical—Answers

Montreal.
Wikipedia
  1. Montreal, Quebec – William Shatner, a Canadian actor, is renowned for his prolific output and self-deprecating humour, which have solidified his place in North American pop culture. He is best known for his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk in the science fiction television series Star Trek (1966–69) and several Star Trek films.
  2. Amerigo Vespucci—is best remembered for the place named after him. He believed Brazil was part of a new continent, inspiring Waldseemüller to name it “America”—the Latinised Amerigo—in 1507. This name became standard on maps of the New World.
    Ruins of the Great Dam of Marib, Yemen.
    Wikipedia
  3. Yemen—The Arab League, formed in Cairo in 1945 with seven members, is a regional organisation in the Arab world. It now has 22 members and its main goals are to strengthen relations, safeguard independence, and consider the affairs of Arab countries.
  4. 1934—The 1934 Masters Tournament, the first of its kind, was held at Augusta National Golf Club. Horton Smith won the event with a 284 (−4), one stroke ahead of Craig Wood.
  5. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat—the following quote is about Lloyd Webber and Rice’s collaboration: “The names of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are, of course, forever bound together in musical theatre history, like those of Gilbert and Sullivan.”—Theatre critic Mark Shenton on the partnership of Lloyd Webber and Rice.
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Wikipedia

To Boldly Go…to a Musical

All of the following are about today’s date, 22 March, but in a variety of years.

William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk.
Wikipedia
  1. William Shatner was born today in 1931 in the Canadian city of…
    • Montreal, Quebec
    • Toronto, Ontario
    • Vancouver, British Columbia
  2. On this day in 1508, Ferdinand II of Aragon commissioned a new chief navigator of the Spanish Empire. Born in the Republic of Florence, he was…
    • Amerigo Vespucci
    • Vasco da Gama
    • Christopher Columbus.
  3. The Arab League was formed this day in Cairo by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan) and…
    • Tunisia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Yemen
  4. The first Masters Tournament took place at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on this date in…
    • 1934
    • 1938
    • 1941
  5. The 22nd March 1948 saw the birth of the English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is well known for his collaboration with Tim Rice. The first of their works to be performed publicly was…
    • Evita
    • Jesus Christ Superstar
    • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Amerigo Vespucci. Wikipedia

Good luck! The answers will be posted later today.

Historical Milestones and Cultural Icons: From Bach’s Birth to Twitter’s First Tweet—Answers

Field of Battersea.
A print caricaturing the Wellington–Winchilsea duel
by William Heath.
Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier pot are shown in bold below.

  1. 1685—Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, blended northern and southern German styles in his early compositions. He composed numerous cantatas, including the St. John Passion, and is known for his mastery of counterpoint and harmonic organisation.
    Jack Dorsey, 2014.
    Wikipedia
  2. $2.9m—Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is a social networking service that allows users to share short text messages, images, and videos. It was created in 2006 and quickly grew to over 100 million users by 2012.
  3. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington—The Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea engaged in a duel at Battersea Fields, with Wellington firing first and missing, and Winchilsea firing into the air. This act of deloping cleared Winchilsea of cowardice allegations, allowing him to apologise unconditionally. The duel was the second, and last, fought by a sitting Prime Minister following the 1798 Pitt–Tierney duel on Putney Heath.
  4. San Diego, California—San Diego Comic-Con, founded in 1970, is a multi-genre entertainment event showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy media, and pop culture. It is the largest convention of its kind, attracting over 130,000 attendees annually.
    Stanley, a newspaper reporter and tireless self-promoter, was hired by the New York Herald to find the missing Livingstone in 1871, winning himself wealth and reputation. Kalulu is in the backgound.
    Wikipedia
  5. 700 miles (1,125 km)—Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871, claiming to have outfitted an expedition with 192 porters, though his diaries suggest a smaller number. After facing challenges including the death of his horse and desertion of porters, he found David Livingstone in Ujiji, Tanzania, famously greeting him with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”; this phrase was probably made up by Stanley after the event. Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, later recounting his experiences in a book.
Routes of Henry Morton Stanley.
The Red route is the 1871-1872 is the expedition to find Livingstone.
Wikipedia

Historical Milestones and Cultural Icons: From Bach’s Birth to Twitter’s First Tweet

Johann Sebastian Bach
Wikipedia

All questions relate to today, 21 March.

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer of the Brandenburg Concertos and The Well-Tempered Clavier, was born this day in…
    • 1685
    • 1745
    • 1815
  2. Twitter, now X, was founded today in 2006 and Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder, sent the first public tweet, “just setting up my twttr.” Fifteen years later Dorsey auctioned this tweet as a nonfungible token (NFT) with the proceeds going to charity. It was bought using ether cryptocurrency for the equivalent of…
    • $1.4m
    • $2.9m
    • $5.8m
  3. 21 March saw the last time a serving UK Prime Minister fought a duel. Who was the Prime Minister?
    • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
    • William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
    • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
  4. A Comic-Con held its inaugural event on this date in 1970 and is now described by Forbes magazine as being “the largest pop and culture festival in the world”: it is held in…
    • Red Rock, Arizona
    • San Diego, California
    • Las Vegas, Nevada
  5. Henry Morton Stanley set out to find Dr David Livingstone today in 1871. His expedition was successful, finding Livingstone after trekking through tropical forest for…
    • 300 miles (482 km)
    • 450 miles (725 km)
    • 700 miles (1,125 km)

“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”, an illustration from Stanley’s 1872 book How I Found Livingstone. Wikipedia