Q 01/05

Which Pacific nation skipped 30 December 2011 by moving west across the International Date Line?

A) Vanuatu

B) Niue

C) Fiji

D) Samoa

Answer · why

D) Samoa

Samoa switched its clocks from UTC−11 to UTC+13 at the end of 2011. The change redrew the date line so that it now passes to the east of the country.

Q 02/05

Villagers on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu came to revere which British royal as a divine being?

A) Prince Philip

B) Lord Mountbatten

C) King George VI

D) King Edward VIII

Answer · why

A) Prince Philip

Prince Philip heard about his followers and sent them a signed photograph. They replied with a traditional pig-killing club, and he posed with it for ...

Q 03/05

Which Pacific nation, whose capital is Funafuti, earns millions by leasing its internet domain, .tv?

A) Tokelau

B) Vanuatu

C) Tuvalu

D) Niue

Answer · why

C) Tuvalu

Tuvalu was simply assigned .tv as its country code, but the match with television made the domain valuable. By 2019 its royalties made up 8.4% of gove...

Q 04/05

Which actor bought the Polynesian atoll of Tetiʻaroa after filming Mutiny on the Bounty nearby?

A) Clark Gable

B) Marlon Brando

C) Charles Laughton

D) Trevor Howard

Answer · why

B) Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando first saw the atoll in 1960 while scouting film locations and decided to buy it in 1966. A resort on one of its islets now carries his n...

Q 05/05

Which home of the moai statues did Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen name after the holiday he arrived on?

A) Christmas Island

B) Ascension Island

C) Easter Island

D) Pentecost Island

Answer · why

C) Easter Island

Easter Island was first sighted by Roggeveen on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1722, while he was hunting for a rumoured land. Chile annexed it in 1888.