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Flags: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
The Oldest Flags
Denmark’s red-and-white Dannebrog is often called the oldest national flag still in use, with records going back to the 1300s.
Key fact
Legend says it fell from the sky during a battle in 1219.
Unusual Shapes
Almost every national flag is a rectangle. Nepal’s is the exception: two stacked triangles. Switzerland and Vatican City have square flags.
Key fact
Nepal’s constitution sets out exactly how to draw its flag.
What Colours Mean
Flag colours often carry meaning: red for courage or struggle, white for peace, green for land or Islam, and blue for the sea or sky.
Key fact
Red is the most common colour on national flags.
Stars & Stripes
The US flag has 13 stripes for the original colonies and 50 stars, one for each state. The 50-star design dates from 1960.
Key fact
The flag has changed 27 times as states joined.
The Union Jack
The UK’s Union Flag combines the crosses of St George (England), St Andrew (Scotland) and St Patrick (Ireland). Wales isn’t represented on it.
Key fact
It also appears on the flags of Australia and New Zealand.
Maps on Flags
Only a couple of national flags show a map of their country: Cyprus and Kosovo.
Key fact
Cyprus’s flag shows the island in a copper colour.
Vexillology
The study of flags is called vexillology. Good flag design, experts say, is simple enough for a child to draw from memory.
Key fact
The word comes from the Latin “vexillum”, a Roman banner.
Fun facts
The Nordic countries’ flags all share Denmark’s off-centre cross.
Among US state flags, Ohio’s isn’t a rectangle either: it’s a swallowtail pennant.
Purple is rare on flags because the dye was once very expensive. Dominica’s parrot has some.
The 50-star design began as a high-school class project by 17-year-old Robert Heft, who got a B- for it.
The Union Flag has a right way up. Flown upside down, it has traditionally signalled distress.
Cyprus’s flag is copper-coloured for a reason: the word “copper” itself comes from the island’s name.
The word “vexillology” was coined in the 1950s by the American flag scholar Whitney Smith.
Story: The Flag From the Sky
The Flag From the Sky
1219, on the Estonian coast. A Danish army led by King Valdemar II is losing a battle at Lyndanisse, today’s Tallinn.
Legend says that as the bishop prays, a red banner with a white cross falls from the sky. The Danes rally and win.
Historians doubt the story, but the red-and-white Dannebrog has flown ever since, and may be the oldest national flag still in use.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Denmark’s flag is among the oldest still in use.
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True. The Dannebrog, from the 1300s.
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Question 2 of 10
Nepal’s flag is not a rectangle.
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True. It’s two stacked pennants.
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Question 3 of 10
Red is the most common colour on national flags.
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True. It appears on most of them.
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Question 4 of 10
The US flag has 50 stars.
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True. One for each state.
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Question 5 of 10
Wales isn’t represented on the Union Flag.
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True. Wales has its own dragon flag.
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Question 6 of 10
Cyprus’s flag shows a map of the island.
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True. In copper, for its copper history.
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Question 7 of 10
The study of flags is called vexillology.
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True. From the Latin for banner.
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Question 8 of 10
Every national flag was designed after 1950.
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False. Some are centuries old.
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Question 9 of 10
Switzerland’s flag is a long rectangle.
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False. It’s square.
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Question 10 of 10
Flag colours never carry any meaning.
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False. Most are chosen for a reason.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. Flags has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Flag, Dannebrog, Union Jack
- North American Vexillological Association — Good Flag, Bad Flag
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History — The US flag’s history
- NASA — Apollo lunar flag assembly
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — flags of Chad, Romania, Brazil, Canada, Lebanon, Mozambique; International Code of Signals
- Gilbert Baker Foundation — The rainbow flag
