Fascinating Flag Facts

On the surface, a

flag

is just a piece of material, but it is a powerful symbol that can represent millions of people and, ideally, should reflect their ideals, beliefs, values ​​and culture. Therefore, having a good one can be incredibly important. So what makes a great

flag

? A good starting point might be the 5 basic principles of flag design from the book Good Flag, Bad Flag by Ted Kaye - 1 - Keep it simple. A flag should be simple enough that a child can draw it from memory. 2 – Use meaningful symbolism. Like I said, a flag could represent millions of people, so it's important that they can identify with it. 3 - Use two or three basic colors from the "standard" color set: red, white, blue, green, yellow and black. 4 - Without labeling or stamps.

Flags are meant to be seen from afar, writings and seals cannot be read or recognized from afar. And 5 - Be distinctive or related. Flags must be instantly recognizable and distinct from other flags. Any similarity should be for the purpose of showing connection. While these guidelines are by no means the only way to design a great flag, most of the best flags follow them, at least in part. For example, the Estonian flag, one of my favorites, is generally considered a very well designed flag. While it may look quite boring, just 3 horizontal bands...their greatness becomes evident when we look at the symbolism behind them.

The colors of the flag imitate the winter landscape of the country itself. The blue sky, the black jungle and the white snow. It is not entirely unique, since there is actually another country that also does the same: Ukraine. The flag of Ukraine is blue and yellow. Blue for the sky and yellow for the wheat fields of the country. Now, one thing these guidelines don't mention is: form. Almost every country in the world uses a rectangular flag, with the most common being a 2 by 3 ratio. There are actually two countries that use a 1 by 1 ratio... that is, a square flag: Switzerland and the City from the Vatican.

Of course, there is a country that likes to be completely different. Nepal is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular. Its shape can be described as a “double pennant”, basically two triangles, which is an important part of the flag's symbolism. It is believed that originally the triangles were used to symbolize the Himalayas, thus representing the geographical location of the country. The modern official interpretation is that the triangles represent Hinduism and Buddhism, the country's two main religions. The sun and moon depicted on the flag symbolize longevity, with the hope that Nepal will last as long as the celestial bodies themselves.

Although it is not a country, there is another flag that is not a quadrilateral and it is the flag of the American state of Ohio. The flag's designer, John Eisenmann, described the shape as "a forked or fork-tailed triangular flag corresponding to the shape generally known as the 'cavalry guidon' or 'broad pennant'"...whatever it is what that means. The flag was originally designed to represent the Ohio Pan-American Exposition Commission in 1901, but was officially adopted as the state flag the following year. Another country flag that is unique from the rest is Paraguay. Its flag has red, white and blue horizontal bands with the country's coat of arms in the center.

However, what is unique about this flag is that the seal switches between the front, the "obverse," and the reverse, the "reverse." This is the only national flag that is like this... but it is not the only flag in the world. Once again, there is an American state that shares this trait. The Oregon flag, which breaks virtually every rule of good flag design, also has two distinct sides. The obverse has the state seal, name and date, while the reverse has a beaver. Now, instead of turning a flag upside down, how about we turn it upside down? Well, that's exactly what you're supposed to do with the Philippine flag during times of war.

The flag's design is horizontally symmetrical, so flipping it simply changes the blue at the top with the red at the bottom. Blue represents peace, truth and justice; while red symbolizes patriotism and courage. The flag also has white and yellow of course, bringing the total number of colors to 4, but I think you'll agree that even though it has more than the recommended 2 or 3, it's still a good flag. In fact, another of my favorite flags uses all six standard colors: South Africa. However, one country is definitely going too far. The flag of Belize uses… I don't even know how many colors.

It has at least 4 shades of blue, maybe 3 shades of green... and aside from the color rule, 2 of the other 5 rules have been completely broken. Fun fact: Belize is the only country whose flag has humans on it! Then there's that... Another country that went a little overboard with color, Dominica, has seven different colors: green, yellow, black, white, red, purple and brown. Dominica is actually the only country in the world whose flag contains the color purple...unless we count the small amount of purple in the flag of Nicuargua whose coat of arms has a rainbow...which I don't.

But by far the best color-related fact is that of the Jamaican flag. Jamaica is the only country in the world whose flag does not have any of the colors red, white or blue. Instead, it has green and black with a gold solitaire. Green represents the land and the lush vegetation of the island; gold represents the wealth of the country as well as a golden sun; and black represents the strength and creativity of its people, used to overcome difficulties. If you are now thinking “wait, there is another country: Mauritania”… that is no longer the case. The country recently changed its flag.

Originally green with a gold star and crescent, two red bands were added along the top and bottom of the flag in 2017, leaving only Jamaica without red, white or blue. So the Jamaican flag is unique... although some flags are quite the opposite. The best example of this would be the flags of Chad and Romania... which have basically the exact same flag. Romania had the flag first, being originally adopted in 1867 and then adopted again in 1989. In the middle, the flag featured the Romanian coat of arms in the middle. Speaking of coats of arms, this flag is also very similar to the flag of Andorra.

If we only add the coat of arms of Andorra, we have its flag, also a blue, yellow and red tricolor. Another example of this is the countries of Monaco and Indonesia. Two countries that couldn't possibly be more different, but have the exact same flag: half red, half white. In this case, Monaco had the flag first, having been in use since 1881, based on the Royal House of Monaco. Indonesia adopted the flag in 1945 after its independence. Monaco was not happy about this and complained about the use of an identical flag... but they were apparently ignored. To make matters worse…add a moon and some stars and you have the flag of Singapore; or turn it over and you will get the flag of Poland.

Far from being different, these flags. There were actually two other countries whose flags were exactly the same, but they have since changed. Both Haiti and Liechtenstein used a horizontal blue and red flag. Completely identical. This was not discovered until the opening ceremony of the 1936 Olympic Games, where the coincidence was first noted. Liechtenstein added a crown to the top left of its flag to distinguish it from that of Haiti. Haiti also added its coat of arms in a white square in the center of its flag. Now, there are several “groups” of flags that have several characteristics in common, particularly color.

This refers to Rule 5, which states that flags must be distinct unless “related.” An example of this is the many countries in the Arab world that use some combination of red, black, green and white. Several use the exact 4 colors. These are known as "pan-Arab" colors, and originate from the Arab revolt of 1916. Each of the colors is believed to represent an Arab dynasty from history. Although the flag was actually designed by a British diplomat, the colors remained, as several Arab states used the colors in their national flags after independence. Other examples of this include the horizontal red, white and blue flags in and around the Balkans, the Pan-Slavic colors, which are based on the flag of Russia.

There are also the various African nations that use green, yellow and red in their flag. This is used as a tribute to Ethiopia, which for the most part managed to remain independent throughout the European colonial period. If we stay in Africa, there is a country that used more than just colors as inspiration for the design of its flag. The Liberian flag is obviously based on the American Stars and Stripes flag. Both the flag and constitution of Liberia are based on the United States, because Liberia was founded by African Americans in the period leading up to the American Civil War.

Many of the country's founders were actually former slaves. This is a good example of making the flag's inspiration immediately obvious while still being different enough from the original. Now, while the country itself has a good flag, unfortunately the same can't be said for the county flags of Liberia... which are just... well, I'm at a loss for words, really. But as terrible as these flags are, at least they're different, so I'll give them that. The same cannot be said for Libya's flag prior to 2011. Until then, the country had an entirely green flag... of a single color. Just green, nothing more.

Fortunately, they changed their flag and now have a much more distinctive flag, using the pan-Arab colors mentioned above. For a country to change its flag is usually a very important decision, since the flag is the symbol of the nation. For this reason, in 2016, New Zealand held a two-part referendum to decide whether or not to change theirs. The main motivation was the inclusion of the Union Jack on its flag, a reminder of its colonial past. Thousands of new designs were introduced, including the fantastic "laser kiwi" flag. But after the final flag was chosen and pitted against the current flag, the current flag won, so no change occurred.

Similarly, Fiji, whose flag also features a Union Jack, also intended to hold a referendum to change its flag. Several potential new designs were proposed, but after the country won the rugby gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, the referendum was cancelled. This was due to an eruption of national pride at the victory and the entire country rallying around the current flag. Changing it seemed inappropriate. The change of national flag is usually a rare event... but not so much for one country, Afghanistan. The country changed its flag no less than 18 times during the 20th century! Since then, it has been changed 4 more times, and the current flag has been in use since 2013.

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, which country has had the flag used continuously for the longest? i.e. What is the oldest flag in the world? From all indications, it seems like Denmark. The country holds a Guinness World Record for its flag, although it only lists the date as 1625. However, it may well have been in use for much longer. Legend has it that a Danish flag fell from the sky during a battle in 1219, turning the tide from a losing position to a victory. While this is probably false or exaggerated, it is still very possible that the flag was used back then and potentially has been the country's flag for 800 years.

The flag has a red field with a white Nordic cross. Today, the Nordic cross is used by 5 different countries. In addition to Denmark, there are also Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. One of these flags that is especially interesting is that of Norway. This is because it is actually possible to make several other world flags using sections of the Norwegian flag... I'll show you what I mean. If we take the blue, white and red part here, we can make the flag of France. Likewise, from the horizontal part we can make the flag of the Netherlands. We can also make the flag of Monaco, which of course also means Indonesia, and as the inverted colors are right below, Poland too.

If we're not too strict with the proportions, we can use the Nordic cross to make the flag of Finland, and probably the hardest one to spot... the flag of Thailand, making a total of 8 country flags in 1! Flags are something I've wanted to make a video about for quite some time and I'm glad I finally did. If you share my interest in vexillology, you might want to check out a great audiobook I listened to called “Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags.” This is another audiobook by Tim Marshall, the author of Prisoners and Geography that I recommended in my last video.

I listened to this audiobook using Audible, the largest selection ofaudiobooks and audio entertainment, today's video sponsor. The audiobook is divided into 9 different chapters about all kinds of different flags, from the American Stars and Stripes to the Union Jack and the flags of fear, freedom, and revolution. Right now, for a limited time, you can get 3 months of Audible for just $6.95/month. That's more than half the normal price. Visit audible.com/wonderwhy or text Wonderwhy to 500-500. The audiobooks are yours even if you decide to cancel them, and you can exchange them if you don't like the one you chose.

Unused credits accumulate from month to month. Again, it's audible.com/wonderwhy or text Wonderwhy to 500-500. And as always, thank you very much for watching and we'll see you next time.