Capitals, Flags & Countries

Why C? And why not the others?

Correct answer: C. Canberra

Canberra is a capital built out of a rivalry. When Australia federated in 1901, Sydney and Melbourne both wanted the honour so badly that the constitution brokered a truce: the capital had to sit in New South Wales but at least 100 miles from Sydney. A sheep-station district was chosen, an international design competition was won by American architect Walter Burley Griffin, and Parliament finally moved in come 1927. Sydney tempts as the biggest and most famous city, Melbourne actually served as the interim seat of government until 1927, and Brisbane is only the state capital of Queensland - none of them is the national capital.

Source: Britannica: Canberra; Australian Capital Territory (constitution section 125, 1927 transfer)

Why A? And why not the others?

Correct answer: A. Nepal

Nepal's flag is two stacked triangular pennants - a 'double pennon' - making it the world's only non-rectangular national flag, and the only one taller than it is wide. The two pennants originally belonged to rival branches of the ruling dynasty and were joined into one banner, formally adopted in 1962; the crimson field echoes the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower. Switzerland is the tempting near-miss because its flag is square - unusual, but a square still has four right angles. Qatar's flag has a striking serrated edge between its white and maroon bands, yet the flag itself is an ordinary rectangle, and Bhutan's dragon flag is rectangular too.

Source: Britannica: flag of Nepal; CIA World Factbook: Nepal

Why D? And why not the others?

Correct answer: D. Ottawa

Ottawa was hand-picked by Queen Victoria in 1857, an obscure lumber town that had been known as Bytown until its 1855 renaming. Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Kingston were locked in such fierce competition to host the government that the choice was referred to the queen, who settled on Ottawa partly because it sat right on the boundary between English-speaking Canada West and French-speaking Canada East - a diplomatic middle ground - and was safely inland from the American border. Toronto lures answerers as Canada's largest city, Montreal was long its commercial metropolis and briefly a seat of government, and Vancouver is merely the Pacific coast's biggest city; none holds the capital title.

Source: Britannica: Ottawa (Queen Victoria's 1857 selection)

Why B? And why not the others?

Correct answer: B. Brasília

Brasília is a capital conjured from empty savanna: on 21 April 1960 Brazil moved its government about 600 miles inland to a brand-new city, planned by Lúcio Costa with sweeping modernist buildings by Oscar Niemeyer, its street plan famously resembling an airplane. The idea of an interior capital had been floated since 1789 and was even written into the 1891 constitution, but construction only began in 1956 - the city went from scrub to seat of government in under four years. Rio de Janeiro is the classic trap, since it really was the capital until 1960; São Paulo is only Brazil's biggest city; and Salvador was the colonial capital, but that ended back in 1763.

Source: Britannica: Brasilia (1960 capital transfer, Costa/Niemeyer design)

Why A? And why not the others?

Correct answer: A. Japan

That is Japan's Hinomaru, the 'circle of the sun' - officially the Nisshoki, or 'sun-mark flag'. The red disc depicts the sun itself, a nod to Japan's ancient identity as the land of the rising sun, the country east of the Asian mainland where the day begins. Bangladesh is the cleverest trap: its flag also carries a red disc, but on a green field and set slightly off-centre so it looks centred when flying. South Korea's flag is white too, yet its centre holds the red-and-blue taegeuk swirl ringed by black trigrams, while Indonesia's flag has no disc at all - just two horizontal bands, red over white.

Source: Britannica: flag of Japan; flag of Bangladesh

Why D? And why not the others?

Correct answer: D. Liechtenstein

Tiny Liechtenstein is wedged between exactly two neighbours, Switzerland and Austria - and since neither of them touches the sea either, anyone leaving Liechtenstein for a beach must cross at least two international borders. The CIA World Factbook singles out Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan as the only two countries on Earth in this position; all five of Uzbekistan's neighbours are landlocked too. Switzerland and Austria feel right because they are famously landlocked Alpine states, but each borders countries with coastlines (Italy, France, Germany among them), so they are only singly landlocked. Nepal is likewise landlocked just once - its neighbour India has thousands of kilometres of coast.

Source: CIA World Factbook: Liechtenstein; Uzbekistan (geography notes)

Why B? And why not the others?

Correct answer: B. Bern

Bern - and the twist is that Switzerland technically has no official capital at all. When the modern federal state formed in 1848, the founders deliberately avoided crowning any city, so Bern carries only the modest title of 'federal city'. It won the role partly because giving the seat of government to Zurich, already the economic powerhouse, would have concentrated too much power in one place; Bern offered a central location, support from French-speaking cantons, and free land for the government buildings. Zurich misleads as the largest and richest Swiss city, Geneva as the famous host of international organisations, and Basel as the third major hub - but the parliament sits in Bern.

Source: Britannica: Bern; swissinfo.ch: Why is Bern the capital of Switzerland (1848 federal city decision)

Why C? And why not the others?

Correct answer: C. Denmark

Denmark's Dannebrog - a white Nordic cross on red - holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest continuously used national flag. Danish legend says it fell from the sky during a battle in Estonia in 1219; that story is folklore, but the flag's documented use reaches back at least to the 1370s, when it appeared in the Gelre Armorial, and the current design was formally adopted in 1625. Austria tempts because its red-white-red bands also have medieval origins, but their use as a national flag was interrupted over the centuries. The United Kingdom's Union Jack reached its final form only in 1801, and Sweden's yellow cross on blue was itself modelled on the Danish original.

Source: Guinness World Records: oldest continuously used national flag; Britannica: flag of Denmark

Why D? And why not the others?

Correct answer: D. Paraguay

Paraguay's red-white-blue tricolour is unique among national flags: the front carries the national coat of arms - a golden star ringed by a wreath and the words 'República del Paraguay' - while the back carries an entirely different device, the treasury seal, showing a lion guarding a staff topped with a liberty cap above the motto 'Paz y justicia' ('Peace and justice'). The two-faced design was confirmed by Paraguay's first flag law in 1842, and every properly made flag must still be stitched with both emblems. Argentina and Uruguay both display a golden sun, but identically on both sides, and Bolivia's coat of arms likewise appears the same front and back.

Source: Britannica: flag of Paraguay (obverse arms vs. reverse treasury seal, 1842 flag law)

Why A? And why not the others?

Correct answer: A. Lesotho

Lesotho sits wholly inside South Africa: its 909-kilometre border forms one unbroken loop, so every road out leads into the same neighbour. Only three sovereign states on Earth are enclaved like this, and the other two - San Marino and Vatican City - are microstates on the Italian peninsula, which makes mountainous Lesotho by far the largest and the only one you could call a full-sized country. Eswatini is the sharpest trap, a small southern African kingdom nearly engulfed by South Africa - but it also borders Mozambique, breaking the loop. Bhutan is pinned between two giants, China and India, and Andorra likewise touches two countries, France and Spain.

Source: Britannica: Lesotho (enclave within South Africa); CIA World Factbook: Lesotho