ANSWERS

1. South Korea The flag of South Korea has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. In Korean, the flag is called the Taegeukgi. The design of the flag was reportedly suggested by Qing Dynasty diplomat Ma Jianzhong in 1882 during the reign of King Gojong. The symbol of taegeuk originally came from the Chinese book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. Since the Chinese had heavy influence on the Korean culture, the general design of the flag also comes from traditional use of the Taegeuk symbol by Koreans starting from the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people." The taegeuk, known as taiji in Chinese, represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of "Eum", the negative aspect rendered in blue, and "Yang", the positive aspect rendered in red, in perfect balance. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one. The four trigrams are:

• ||| Force (geon) = heaven, spring, east, virtue;
• ??? Field (gon) = earth, summer, west, justice;
• |?| Radiance (ri) = sun, fall, south, courtesy;
• ?|? Gorge (gam) = moon, winter, north, knowledge or wisdom.

2. The USA and Brazil The flag of Brazil has a green field on which a large yellow rhombus is centered. A blue circle is placed within the rhombus, with white stars of five different sizes and a curved white band running through it. The motto Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress") is inscribed in capital letters (of the same shade of green as the field) inside the band. The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars. The constellation of the Southern Cross is on the meridian (indicated by the number 6 in the diagram). To the south of it is Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis, numbered 7), representing the Federal District. The star of Par? stays on top. The motto appears on a band roughly coincident with the ecliptic.

3. A tiny needle-like fish that sometimes makes its home in the penis

4. Germany and Ireland

5. 8 Million

6. Gary Kasparov

7. Chess Openings

8. Four Answers: 
    a: 1000 (Robbie Williams)
    b: 4 (Kenny Rogers)
    c: 20 (Leonard Cohen)
    d: 19 (Beatles)

9. Bananas

10. Baghwan