Farflung Answers · Expedition #12 (2026-10-16)

Prompt 1 of 5

Pin a country the equator crosses, by land or by its waters

Ruling note: Land or territorial waters: the line crosses the Maldives and Kiribati at sea, between their islands. It passes Equatorial Guinea outside its waters.

Gem note: The line crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, a small islet off the south of São Tomé.

13 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Ecuador	Common	26%
Brazil	Uncommon	20%
Indonesia	Uncommon	14%
Kenya	Uncommon	11%
Colombia	Rare	8%
DR Congo	Rare	6%
Uganda	Rare	5%
Somalia	Rare	3%
Gabon	Rare	2.5%
Republic of the Congo	Elusive	1.5%
Maldives	Elusive	1.5%
São Tomé and Príncipe	Farflung	0.8%
Kiribati	Elusive	0.6%

Prompt 2 of 5

Pin a country whose national flag has a sun

Ruling note: Discs that stand for the sun count, and so do suns in the coat of arms on a national flag, state flags included. Australia counts for the Aboriginal flag, an official flag of Australia.

Gem note: Malawi swapped its rising sun for a full white one in 2010, then Parliament voted to change back in 2012.

23 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Japan	Common	32.6%
Argentina	Uncommon	19.5%
Kazakhstan	Rare	6.5%
Philippines	Rare	6.5%
Uruguay	Rare	6.5%
Bangladesh	Rare	4.3%
Kyrgyzstan	Rare	4.3%
North Macedonia	Rare	3.3%
Taiwan	Rare	3.3%
Nepal	Rare	2.7%
Namibia	Elusive	1.6%
Mongolia	Elusive	1.3%
Rwanda	Elusive	1.3%
Ecuador	Elusive	1.1%
Antigua and Barbuda	Elusive	0.9%
Kiribati	Elusive	0.9%
Niger	Elusive	0.9%
Bolivia	Elusive	0.5%
Costa Rica	Elusive	0.4%
Nicaragua	Elusive	0.4%
El Salvador	Elusive	0.4%
Australia	Elusive	0.3%
Malawi	Farflung	0.3%

Prompt 3 of 5

Pin a country with pyramids built over 500 years ago

Ruling note: Step pyramids, ziggurats, pyramid tombs and pyramid-shaped earth mounds count. Oman's stepped ruin at Khawr Kharfut and Brazil's shell mounds count as close calls. Tenerife's are from the 1800s and Bosnia's are natural hills.

Gem note: Rome caught a craze for Egypt after taking it in 30 BC. Gaius Cestius built his tomb as a pyramid, and it now forms part of the city walls.

36 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Egypt	Common	41.8%
Mexico	Uncommon	18.6%
Guatemala	Uncommon	8.4%
Peru	Rare	4.6%
Brazil	Rare	3.7%
Sudan	Rare	3.7%
China	Rare	2.3%
Belize	Elusive	1.9%
Honduras	Elusive	1.9%
Iraq	Elusive	1.4%
United States	Elusive	1.4%
Indonesia	Elusive	0.9%
Cambodia	Elusive	0.9%
El Salvador	Elusive	0.9%
Oman	Elusive	0.8%
Syria	Elusive	0.8%
Bolivia	Elusive	0.7%
Iran	Elusive	0.6%
Italy	Farflung	0.5%
Greece	Elusive	0.4%
India	Elusive	0.4%
Japan	Elusive	0.4%
Mali	Elusive	0.4%
Algeria	Elusive	0.3%
Ecuador	Elusive	0.3%
France	Elusive	0.3%
South Korea	Elusive	0.3%
Myanmar	Elusive	0.3%
Poland	Elusive	0.3%
Israel	Elusive	0.2%
Libya	Elusive	0.2%
Sri Lanka	Elusive	0.2%
Tonga	Elusive	0.2%
Samoa	Elusive	0.2%
Kazakhstan	Elusive	0.1%
Tajikistan	Elusive	0.1%

Prompt 4 of 5

Pin a country with glacial fjords

Ruling note: Sea inlets carved by glaciers. The Bay of Kotor is a sunken river canyon, and the Flensburg Fjord a different kind of inlet.

Gem note: France’s Kerguelen Islands, far south in the Indian Ocean, are cut by glacial fjords. Only staff at a research base live there.

13 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Norway	Common	54.3%
New Zealand	Uncommon	9.8%
Iceland	Rare	7.6%
Canada	Rare	5.4%
Chile	Rare	5.4%
Denmark	Rare	4.3%
United Kingdom	Rare	3.3%
United States	Rare	3.3%
Sweden	Rare	2.2%
Russia	Elusive	1.6%
Ireland	Elusive	1.3%
Argentina	Elusive	1.1%
France	Farflung	0.3%

Prompt 5 of 5

Pin a country that has hosted the Grand Départ, the start of the Tour de France

Ruling note: The Grand Départ is where the race itself sets off. Andorra has started stages, but never the race.

Gem note: The 1998 Tour, which began in Dublin, is remembered for the Festina doping affair, which broke days before the start.

12 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
France	Common	43%
Belgium	Uncommon	10.8%
Netherlands	Uncommon	10.8%
United Kingdom	Rare	7.5%
Spain	Rare	6.5%
Germany	Rare	5.4%
Italy	Rare	5.4%
Switzerland	Rare	3.2%
Denmark	Rare	3.2%
Luxembourg	Elusive	1.6%
Monaco	Elusive	1.6%
Ireland	Farflung	1.1%