# Old Glory (duplicate thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057 "2002-12-07T00:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![squid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@squid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/1 "2002-12-07T00:29:01Z")
Sorry for the trick…just could not get any answers for my question. I understand that the 13 stripes on the American flag represent the “13 original colonies”…so why 50 stars? Seems like the 13 original colonies are hogging a lot of Old Glory’s space. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/2 "2002-12-07T00:31:49Z")
50 states, 50 stars. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/3 "2002-12-07T00:32:15Z")
First, welcome to your sixth post in two years. Second, bad form to “trick” people with thread titles. Thirdly, think hard about this one, there were 48 stars back when there were 48 states. Fifty stars will fit nicely in the blue field without crowding the stripes, while 50 stripes would look pink at a distance. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/4 "2002-12-07T00:32:41Z")
How many states are there now? This is something you could easily have searched for without any trickery. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/5 "2002-12-07T00:35:08Z")
And one thread per question will suffice quite nicely. ---
**Author:** ![squid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@squid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/6 "2002-12-07T00:41:04Z")
I realize there are 50 states! I am asking why aren’t there 13 stripes and 37 stars? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/7 "2002-12-07T00:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by squid \* > \*\* I understand that the 13 stripes on the American flag represent the “13 original colonies”. \*\* Well, this was not the original concept. When Vermont and Kentucky were added, a star _and_ a stripe were added for each one. But people soon realized that adding any more stripes than that would start to look stupid, while there was plenty of room for more stars. So they went back to 13 stripes, but continued to add new stars when new states were admitted. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/8 "2002-12-07T00:55:23Z")
Note to moderators: This question is posted twice with different titles: [old glory](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=148610) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/9 "2002-12-07T01:10:31Z")
Did you ever post this question and not get an answer? I can’t imagine that a thread titled “Why are there 50 stars on the US flag?” wouldn’t be answered within seconds. Posting misleading thread titles is highly frowned upon here and usually serves the opposite desired effect. The 13 colonies probably “hog so much space” on the flag because they were the ones that made the other 37 possible. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/10 "2002-12-07T02:20:19Z")
Ohio is sexier. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/11 "2002-12-07T02:27:34Z")
The stripes are definitely sexier, albeit in a subtle yet suggestive manner. In contrast, I’ve always found the stars to be overly blatant and even borderline slutty. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-glory-duplicate-thread/141057/12 "2002-12-07T05:37:00Z")
**squid** Do NOT repost questions. We frown on that. Don’t do that again. Do NOT use misleading titles for threads. We frown on that too. Don’t do that again either. I’ve changed the title of this one and I’m locking it. **DrMatrix** - General Questions Moderator