Marshall Islands

Did you know?

• 🏝An island country in Micronesia located near the equator, consisting of 29 coral atolls and 5 isolated islands.
• 🏳️What does its flag mean? The blue background represents the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. The orange stripe represents courage, wealth, and the Ralik (sunset) chain of atolls. The white stripe symbolizes peace, brightness, and the Ratak (sunrise) chain of atolls; the expanding width of the stripes represents growth and vitality. A 24-pointed star represents the 24 electoral districts of the country, with the 4 longer points representing the cardinal directions and the Christian cross.
• 👙Origins of the bikini: The modern swimsuit was named 'bikini' in 1946 after Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where the US conducted nuclear tests, because the designer hoped it would create an 'explosive commercial reaction'.
• 🪵Traditional stick charts: Marshallese navigators historically created ingenious stick charts made from coconut frond ribs and shells to map wave patterns, ocean swells, and island locations without modern instruments.
• 🏝️Low average elevation: With most of its land barely 2 meters (6.5 feet) above sea level, the Marshall Islands is one of the nations most vulnerable to rising sea levels.