# Best and worst state flags in North America **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694 "2001-06-21T21:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/61 "2001-06-24T22:02:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > I dunno, I grew up in **Ohio** and I always felt ripped off by the swallowtail design. All the other states had REAL flags, and ours looked like something you flew off the back of a motorboat. Since I was born in **Ohio** and have lived there more than any other state besides **Mississippi** , maybe you won’t take offense to this statement. Everyone knows that Mississippi recently voted on a flag that incorporated the Confederate Flag (you can get technical, but that is what we call it). And speaking of technicalities, we didn’t have a state flag before the vote (ask **Saint Zero** for details). For that reason we were given another flag to choose. I voted for the old flag, partly (not totally) because the new flag although not swallowtail, still looked like something to fly behind a boat. I was glad to see **Uke Ike** make the same comparison that I’d made for that type of flag. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/62 "2001-06-25T01:24:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Lot of Wyoming shaped stuff out there, too … > > How do you know it’s not Colorado shaped, huh? \*\* Turn it sideways and it’s Saskatchewan shaped. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/63 "2001-06-25T02:49:35Z")
It’s worth noting that many of the “Seal on a Sheet” State Flags are regimental colors from the Civil War. Typically a regiment would have two flags, a National Colors (the US flag with stars and stripes) and a second flag that was particular to the regiment. In the Regular Army the regimental colors were a sheet colored according to the branch or arm of the service, blue for infantry, yellow for cavalry, red for artillery, and an eagle with the national shield on its chest and a ribbon in its beak. On the ribbon was the regiments name, e.g., “Twelfth Infantry Regiment.” In the State regiments the regimental colors often were a sheet of the branch color with the state seal instead of the eagle that appeared on the regimental colors for the Regular Army units, and a ribbon that listed the regiment’s name, e. g., “Seventy-Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.” While the “Seal on a Sheet” State Flags might not have much emotional significance for us, they meant a lot to Northern veterans who were middle aged men at the turn of the last century. These were the flags that they had marched behind and fought under in a war that decided whether the nation would continue to exist. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/64 "2001-06-25T02:49:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Lot of Wyoming shaped stuff out there, too … > > How do you know it’s not Colorado shaped, huh? \*\* Because Colorado isn’t really a perfect rectangle, like Wyoming is. The western border has a little jog. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/65 "2001-06-25T05:19:55Z")
First, as a Georgian, let me make the obligatory “I hate the new flag too” statement. Now, as to this list: What were the criteria for including these flags for consideration? It’s not “North America,” because it includes American Samoa, Micronesia, et al. but does not include the Mexican states. And it’s not “United States and territories,” because it includes the Canadian provinces and territories. I guess, more simply put, I’m just wondering where Mexico is. Does its states not have flags? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/66 "2001-06-25T05:48:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess, more simply put, I’m just wondering where Mexico is. Does its states not have flags? Apparently they basically don’t: [Mexican states’ flags?](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/mx-.html#noflag). Hmmm…maybe we Georgians should have just tried the “Mexican solution”. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/67 "2001-06-25T06:48:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > BTW. I have heard that Peru is considering changing their flag because it is too close to the Gay Pride rainbow flag. > > The flag of [Peru](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/pe.html) doesn’t look anything like the [Gay Pride](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/sex-rb.html) flag to _me_.\*\* [Here](http://eurogay.co.uk/queernews/0101/inca.html) is a story about the possibility of redesigning the [Inca flag](http://www.eskimo.com/~whitby/perumap.html). ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/68 "2001-06-25T07:21:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\*Now, as to this list: What were the criteria for including these flags for consideration? > > It’s not “North America,” because it includes American Samoa, Micronesia, et al. but does not include the Mexican states. > > And it’s not “United States and territories,” because it includes the Canadian provinces and territories.\*\* I think they were going for North America generally, and felt obliged to include far flung US possessions such as American Samoa. I’ll grant them the leeway of excluding Latin America, since the nearest country, Mexico, doesn’t even have state flags. Likewise, I don’t feel too bad about ignoring Carribean islands, which are a confusing hodgepodge of overseas colonies and independent nations, and you can wiggle a bit on whether they’re even part of North America. But it was a crime to leave out the flags of [Greenland](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/gl.html) and [St-Pierre-et-Miquelon](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/pm.html). Each is pretty sharp, and each is clearly a territory on the North American landmass, although separate from the mainland. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/69 "2001-06-26T05:01:53Z")
I live in New Hampshire, and I love almost everything about it, except the flag (seal on a sheet). That’s particularly bad because the alternatives are so obvious and so attractive. Everything else in NH - signs, license plates, the state quarter, the state emblem, souvenirs, etc.- has one of two images on them, either the Old Man of the Mountain or a moose. Also, while most people seem to be against having any text on the flag, we are proud of our state motto, “Live Free Or Die”, and it’s short enough to fit. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/70 "2001-06-26T05:08:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > I guess, more simply put, I’m just wondering where Mexico is. Does its states not have flags? > > Apparently they basically don’t: [Mexican states’ flags?](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/mx-.html#noflag). > > Hmmm…maybe we Georgians should have just tried the “Mexican solution”. \*\* The “Mexican Solution” would also have involved giving up quite a bit of sovereign power. Mexican states aren’t nearly as powerful as U.S. states within their own borders. Nevertheless, teachers still tell kids to find the state flag of various Mexican states. I usually print out the webpage listed above and tell the kid to tell his teacher to stick it. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/71 "2001-06-26T09:42:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dqa \* > **But it was a crime to leave out the flags of [Greenland](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/gl.html) and [St-Pierre-et-Miquelon](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/pm.html). Each is pretty sharp, and each is clearly a territory on the North American landmass, although separate from the mainland.** Greenland’s is pretty sharp, I’ll agree. But St-Pierre-et-Miquelo’s flag is way too busy! Pick one design and stick with it, please… Greenland, of course, politically belongs to Denmark (although it has a considerable degree of home rule), and St-Pierre-et-Miquelo to France, which might explain why they weren’t considered. Geographically they belong to North America, but politically to Europe. Part of what strikes me as clever about Greenland’s flag is the way the colors show a connection to Denmark, but the design makes it clear that this is a separate, if not entirely independent, nation. Many other Nordic territories and regions continue to use the Nordic cross, with their own colors, and the result is that it can be difficult to remember which is which. Greenland’s flag, and the [Sami flag](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/saa.html) for that matter, stand out among a sea of crosses when the Nordic flags are flown in a group. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/72 "2001-06-27T02:57:36Z")
> [@](#): > > The “Mexican Solution” would also have involved giving up quite a bit of sovereign power. Mexican states aren’t nearly as powerful as U.S. states within their own borders. Well, I meant purely in a vexillogical sense. Besides, if you look at the [history of Georgia flags](http://www.fotw.ca/flags/us-ga3.html), the state–and I believe many other states as well–didn’t have any officially adopted flag until after the Civil War, at a time when the states were in fact much more “sovereign” than they are today. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/73 "2001-06-27T04:51:10Z")
Jumping in to say Ohio is my vote for the best. Us rebels : ) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/74 "2001-06-27T05:56:14Z")
I guess I am the only one who thinks that the Maryland flag is horrible. It’s way too busy. The California flag is simply the flag of the old Bear Flag Republic, a _very_ small and _very_ short lived independent nation from the 1850s. (It only lasted six months before the US government illegally filched Alta California from Mexico and shut down the tiny country, if I recall correctly.) I don’t care if the words lowered our flag’s ranking on the list, it’s historical. Besides, if we ever secede, we’re set, flag-wise. I liked the Canadian provincial/territorial flags I looked at, especially Nunavut. Very nice! Greenland is also classy. In the US, South Carolina’s is easily the best. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Rufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/75 "2001-06-27T05:56:22Z")
Like to cast a vote for one that I haven’t seen mentioned…Oregon. The fact that the flag actually has different designs on each side is unique, which gives it bonus points. Rufus ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/76 "2001-06-27T14:37:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyla \* > > … > > The California flag is simply the flag of the old Bear Flag Republic, a _very_ small and _very_ short lived independent nation from the 1850s. (It only lasted six months before the US government illegally filched Alta California from Mexico and shut down the tiny country, if I recall correctly.) I don’t care if the words lowered our flag’s ranking on the list, it’s historical. Besides, if we ever secede, we’re set, flag-wise. > > … > > \*\* Less than a month - June 14 to July 9, 1846. As soon as the US navy showed up, they raised the Stars and Stripes: [http://www.californiahistory.net/5\_PAGES/mexamwar\_revolt.htm](http://www.californiahistory.net/5_PAGES/mexamwar_revolt.htm) That account is chosen for brevity, and because it backs up the dates. It glosses over the rather interesting bit that the rebels who stormed Vallejo’s home met with an unexpected reception. Unknown to them, Vallejo was fed up with lack of support from the Mexican government, and reacted by basically saying “I’m with you guys” and throwing the doors open. No shots were fired. Of course, they still arrested Vallejo anyway. They let him go after a short interval, and he became an important political leader: [http://www.vom.com/bearflag/revolt.htm](http://www.vom.com/bearflag/revolt.htm) If somebody asks you which 3 states were independent republics before they joined the union, the more proper answer is “Texas, Hawaii and Vermont”. The Vermont Republic lasted for 14 years actually, before they were admitted as the 14th state. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/77 "2001-06-27T15:18:20Z")
Another Georgian checking in to say that the old flag had to go but the new flag sucks. This survey made the front page of the Atlanta paper, by the way. Maybe the legislature will take notice and go back to the drawing board. It could have been worse. When talk of changing the flag came up, I half expected the powers that be to slap a peach on a bedsheet. Thank God _that_ didn’t happen. (Though it may yet…) I don’t understand my native state’s fascination with the peach logo. Hell, South Carolina grows more peaches than we do. In fact, I’m not sure that I’ve ever even seen a commercial peach orchard in Georgia. Where are they? I vote for **South Carolina** ’s as the best flag. I have always loved that design, and see no reason Georgia couldn’t come up with something equally cool. Maybe we could borrow a rattlesnake from the old “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. **Maryland** ’s flag makes my eyes hurt. Look at it for five seconds and the after-image gets burned into your retinas. I can’t believe that abomination made the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2001, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/78 "2001-06-28T00:20:45Z")
Awright! ¡Muy bien, excelente! Puerto Rico came in very respectably in the top 10 (and believe me, if the existence of the poll had become widely known among the puertorrican cyber-community, we’d have matched the Texans in ballot-stuffing 🙂 ) PR plays on one of the vexillological rules – that if it looks like some other flag, there should be a real historic connection (in this case to Cuba, both islands struggling with Spain in the 1890’s, both frontlines of the Spanish-American war) and they should be clearly distinguishable (obviously-recognizable reversed colors and different proportions) I was one of the members of the general public who participated in the actual poll, and the final results, specially of the top and bottom brackets, were very close to my answers (xcept for something I’ll mention later on). > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\* > Maryland’s flag makes my eyes hurt. Look at it for five seconds and the after-image gets burned into your retinas. I can’t believe that abomination made the top ten. > \*\* Two elements that probably weighed heavily in the mind of the pro and amateur vexillologists: (a) it’s a proper heraldic pattern, and a historic one to boot (b) it’s instantly and unequivocally recognizable. There is _nothing_ you could mistake it for. Once somebody tells you “this is the flag of Maryland” you’ll recognize it on sight for the rest of your life. Remember that the original utility of a flag or ensign was as a way to identify your formation/ship in the middle of a battle. BTW the flag of the Marshalls, their legal independence date notwhitstanding for the sake of argument (along with Palau and the Federation of Micronesia), it looks to me to have a bit too much of a “corporate logo” feel to it. I put Hawaii in my top #10. jrd ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/79 "2001-06-28T18:36:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*and on a side note, we adore our state’s shape, too. > > Texas-shaped pasta, Texas-shaped cookies, Texas-shaped cobblestones… > > We have (I Think) the most recognizable shape in the union. maybe California would be next. \*\* **IMHO** **California** isn’t even close to second place and Texas is probably tied with several states for 1st place. One would be **Florida** and another **Alaska** (sorry I can remember when **Texas** was the largest state). Then **New York** and **Hawaii** (how could you get it mixed up with any other state?). Oh, **Idaho!** Come to think of it unless you are geographically retarded there are only a few that aren’t immediately recognizable. Some people could be confused between **Mississippi** and **Alabama** perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694/80 "2001-06-30T04:54:35Z")
Did I insult someone? **(besides Texas)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-state-flags-in-north-america/69694.md?page=5)