Braingle: 'U.S. Flag Laws' Brain Teaser

U.S. Flag Laws

Trivia brain teasers have some element of trivia in them, but they are not just pure trivia questions.

Puzzle ID:	#37173
Fun:	(2.96)
Difficulty:	(2.28)
Category:	Trivia
Submitted By:	drussel3
Corrected By:	cnmne

According to U.S. law, there are officially designated days that all U.S. flags are to be flown at half-mast (for example: Memorial Day). The President and state governors also have the right to declare certain days that flags are to be flown at half-mast.

There is a particular group of U.S. flags that are never lowered to half-mast and appear to "violate" this U.S. Law. These flags were erected by U.S. Military personnel, but those troops will never be accused of doing anything wrong for those violations.

These flags are currently displayed today, and they have been for numerous years. Where is this particular group of flags displayed?

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Answer

These flags are on the moon.

The first of these U.S. flags were deployed to the moon on July 20, 1969 by NASA astronauts. There are a total of 6 US flags deployed to the moon surface, one for each visit to the moon (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 & 17). We can only assume they are still standing and were not knocked down when the lunar modules' engines fired.
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Comments

menz Jul 01, 2007	Are astronauts considered military personnel??? I guess they would be...
drussel3 Jul 01, 2007	All Apollo astronauts that made it to the moon, except one, were US Military members, (Navy, Air Force or Marine). Dr. Harrison Schmitt was a geologist.
PimpSlap Jul 01, 2007	That is cool never new tat^^ tq for the info
Hadleigh Jul 07, 2007	Very informative teaser. I saw them plant the flag in 1969 but I didn't realise that it was done on the next 5 visits.
cashewnut801 Jul 13, 2007	Very cool!
funnygirl25 Aug 02, 2007	very clever!
GebbieRose Aug 04, 2007	Good stuff!
WCCope Aug 04, 2007	I don't know if they all were but the original astronauts were chosen because they were military aviators (pilots). NASA originally being an offshoot of the military hypersonic plane program. Military personal being used to following strict disapline nesissary, and the stress of combat flight mirroring the stress of take-off made them ideal for the program.
Shaggs153 Aug 04, 2007	Yes at the start only military pilots and engniers were allowed.Who knows when civelians were accepted? Also when will they add spell check? LOL sorry.
coolguy5678 Aug 04, 2007	I never knew there were six flags on the moon, so I gave up after thinking "one of them has to be the flag on the moon". This is great. Favourited.
cloughme Aug 04, 2007	Excellent! Really clever!
puttumup Aug 04, 2007	very well written.. and educationel
coolpainter Aug 04, 2007	I thought "troops" were here on earth...(God forbid if we need them on the moon, too!)
omgitsash Aug 04, 2007	...
shawneeo Aug 04, 2007	"Dr. Harrison Schmitt was a geologist." That was why I knew it couldn't be the six flags on the Moon!!! You need to correct this error immediately! haha, just kidding, , Im so funny sometimes... (emphasis on sometimes). Anyway, I actually wasn't sure if the astros were military, but I did think "The Moon", so I guess I got it right. I wasn't really sure, but that was the only answer I had. I do think it would help to make clear that they are all in one location. In the Question, it seems to say once they're all together, and another time that they could be in different locations. But, this was informative, fun, and um... informative, LOL, Thanks so much!!!
doehead Aug 04, 2007	Being a veteran I think this was well thought out and delivered in a very good format.
doehead Aug 04, 2007	P.S. Thanks Drussel3. Keep up the good work.
jabdr Aug 04, 2007	I had no clue...good teaser though.
bradon182001 Aug 04, 2007	My first thought was the moon, and it made sense to me, but I didn't realize that there were 6 flags, and the significance of it. What a great bit of information to pass on. Thanks so much.
2ndhandrose Aug 04, 2007	Thanks Drussel3. I am Canadian and I learned a lot from this I got the answer, it was the only thing that seemed logical to me and I knew there were flags on the moon but not how many. The military part threw me off but not being American I wasn't sure if that was part of the Space Program. THANKS AGAIN GOOD ONE
2huskies Aug 04, 2007	I don't think Astronuats are considered our Military.
HeartBreakKid1 Aug 04, 2007	i love this brain teaser. it is cool.
SweetPotato Aug 04, 2007	The moon was the farthest thing from my mind! (Pun intended ) My guess was Arlington National Cemetary, but then, all national cemetaries should be the same and 24/7 half-mast would be more appropirate there than the opposite. I've heard of 6 Flags over Texas, 6 flags over Georgia, but never 6 Flags over the Moon!
SweetPotato Aug 04, 2007	appropriate
xolilangel827ox Aug 04, 2007	wow im suprised. i actually got this one! good teaser!!
Sweetooth49 Aug 04, 2007	I got it right, and i think it was very well formatted. Good teaser.
mondayschild59 Aug 04, 2007	That was not only a good teaser, it was very informative. I didn't get it right, but still enjoyed the post. Thanks Monday~
bhssoccer23 Aug 04, 2007	I was thinking of the flag on the moon, but I didn't know there were 6, and then I thought of that picture of the troops raising the flag over Iwo Jima, and thought of a statue that commemorates it. But then, that was only one flag, also. So I guess I should've stuck with the moon! Anyway, great teaser, and very informative!
rbasch Aug 05, 2007	I realized that astronauts were military (mostly Air Force) in the early days, and the thing that tipped my hand was a flag that would never be lowered (ie. fixed) and not on US soil. I didn't know there were 6, but I knew there were enough moon landings there might be six. Excellent trivia question (even though I guessed it in a couple seconds).
scallio Aug 06, 2007	You got me with that one! Great bit of trivia.
Spammy Aug 06, 2007	You said we can only assume they are still standing...can't the flags be seen with a telescope? Do we know the exact coordinates?
grams60 Aug 07, 2007	Just a great teaser, didn't solve it but it is a great teaser. by the way the first astronauts were chosen from the military, so they could be called troops.
Bruce81 Aug 10, 2007	The correct term is half-staff unless of course it is on a ship. And no, not all of the astronauts were military members at the time the flag was placed
Barticus Dec 26, 2007	There are other flags that aren't lowered, but it's a very clever teaser. I should have figured out why there were six of them. Spammy, if you have access to point the Hubble telescope at the moon you might see the flags, but I don't think an earth based telescope will be able to see if the flag has fallen over. More trivia: Since there is no wind on the moon, each flags has a rod to make the flag stand out. As they opened up the flag, Armstrong and Aldrin accidentally bent the rod, giving the illusion that the flag is waving in the breeze. Subsequent astronauts deliberately bent the rod to achieve this "traditional" effect.
ljd1947 Oct 10, 2009	Flags are flown at half mast only on board ships on land their flown at half staff
BeanSC Aug 04, 2010	I have to admit I thought the answer was the flags in the Iwo Jima sculpture in Washington DC! Well done.
bluemage Aug 04, 2010	Sorry... no love for this "brainteaser" from me... Since when does U.S. law apply to the moon? Since when are astronauts military? Why would we accuse the people who erected the flag of anything? (Just because they erected it does not mean they are responsible for taking care of them). And I wouldn't call a flag "on display" if its all the way on the EFFIN' MOON and we're not even sure if they are still standing.
funny12321 Aug 04, 2010	haha i got this wrong but it was a good teaser
patiencewithaP Aug 04, 2010	Great teaser...well thought out and very informative! Even if I didn't get it right
sunnybonghits Aug 04, 2010	Seems more like trivia than a brain teaser, but cool nonetheless. Cheers
auntiesis Aug 04, 2010	I didn't even come close. I was thinking Iwo Jima, and places like that. I need to review my History.
craniac Aug 04, 2010	I thought of Iwo Jima too, but that's just one flag.
trewq Aug 04, 2010	i didn't even think of the moon! i also thought arlington cemetery.. great teaser!!