# Term for flags that look correct backwards, upside down, both, neither? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864 "2010-03-01T15:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/1 "2010-03-01T15:59:52Z")
Some flags only look correct when they are viewed from one perspective. The USA flag is an example of that. If it’s upside down or viewed from the backside it looks incorrect. But not all flags are like this. Some look proper when viewed from the backside. Some are correct even when upside down. And some are correct even if they are upside down and viewed from the backside. Is there a term to designate those types of flags which can be viewed correctly from multiple perspectives? For example, take a look at this picture [Flags](http://blogs.msdn.com/photos/wcsdkteam/images/original/Flags_01.aspx). The flag for France would be correct even if it was upside down but not when viewed from the backside. Germany would be correct when viewed from the backside but not if it was upside down. The flag for England is correct no matter how you look at it. The flag from Brazil only looks correct from one perspective. So something like: - USA’s flag is monoperspective - France’s flag is flippable - Germany’s flag is reversable - England’s flag is universal I’m wondering if there are official names for those types of designations. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/2 "2010-03-01T16:03:11Z")
The UK flag in your image is wrong. There actually is a “[right side up](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag#Specifications_for_flag_use)” for it: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The flag does not have reflectional symmetry, due to the slight pinwheeling of St Patrick’s cross, which is technically called the counterchange of saltires. Thus, it has a right side and a wrong side up. To fly the flag the correct way up, the broad portion of the white cross of St Andrew should be above the red band of St Patrick (and the thin white portion below) in the upper hoist canton (the corner at the top nearest to the flag-pole), giving the Scottish symbol precedence over the Irish symbol. This is expressed by the phrases wide white top and broad side up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/3 "2010-03-01T16:12:25Z")
I think he knows because he specifically mentioned England and not the UK. Canada’s flag is also symmetrical on a vertical axis, to mention another prominent one. [India’s flag](http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-flag.jpg) is symmetrical on a vertical axis, since the _chakra_ in the middle has its spokes at 10-degree increments starting from 0 degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/4 "2010-03-01T16:27:32Z")
You can do anything you like with Libya’s flag. If you wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/5 "2010-03-01T16:29:47Z")
Libya’s is not as easy to hang as Switzerland’s, which is vertically and horizontally symmetrical, and rotationally symmetrical through 90° turns since it is square. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/6 "2010-03-01T16:57:41Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Libya’s is not as easy to hang as Switzerland’s, which is vertically and horizontally symmetrical, and rotationally symmetrical through 90° turns since it is square. Diagonal flips as well, completing all the symettries of the square. The Confederate battle flag was intended to be square, and would also display all possible square symettries with a somewhat more involved design. It was often rendered as a rectangle, however. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/7 "2010-03-01T17:03:35Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Libya’s is not as easy to hang as Switzerland’s, which is vertically and horizontally symmetrical, and rotationally symmetrical through 90° turns since it is square. Regards the OP, these are the terms you’re looking for. They are geometry terms and not specific to flags. Vertically symmetric: symmetric w.r.t. a vertical line. Looks the same from the back (or in a mirror) Horizontally symmetric: symmetric w.r.t. a horizontal line. Looks the same upside down _and_ in a mirror (or upside down _and_ viewed from the back) Symmetric about the origin: Looks the same rotated 180[sup]o[/sup] (upside down). The U.S. flag is asymmetric. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/8 "2010-03-01T17:05:44Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Diagonal flips as well, completing all the symettries of the square. The Confederate battle flag was intended to be square, and would also display all possible square symettries with a somewhat more involved design. It was often rendered as a rectangle, however. Whoops. Excuse me - some of them would screw up the orientation of the individual stars. Alabama’s state flag would qualify, if made square, as it was apparently intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/9 "2010-03-01T17:20:27Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Libya’s is not as easy to hang as Switzerland’s, which is vertically and horizontally symmetrical, and rotationally symmetrical through 90° turns since it is square. Yeah, but you can do Libya with just one crayon. Well, if your paper is white you can do Switzerland too, but you have to be a lot more careful. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/10 "2010-03-01T17:30:31Z")
The [Ohio flag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ohio) almost has horizontal symmetry, but not quite, even though it has a very complex design. The four stars to the right of the O spoil the symmetry, because they would look different upside down. (The other 13 stars are symmetrical). ---
**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:** [March 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/11 "2010-03-01T17:41:55Z")
OTOH, we have Nepal, for which the shape of the flag has no axes of symmetry, not even considering the design on it: > **[Flag of Nepal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Nepal)** > > The national flag of Nepal (Nepali: नेपालको झण्डा) is the world's only irregular flag acting as both the state flag and civil flag of a sovereign country. The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons (or pennants), known as a double-pennon. Its crimson red is the symbol of bravery and it also represents the color of the rhododendron, Nepal's international flower, while the blue border is the color of peace. Until 1962, the flag's emblems, both the sun and the crescent moon, had h The article claims that it’s the only non-quadrilateral national flag. Offhand, I can’t think of any other flags that have non-symmetric shapes - as observed, the shape of the Ohio state flag is symmetric about the horizontal axis. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/12 "2010-03-01T17:53:10Z")
The flag of Mari El has vertical symmetry: > **[File:Flag of Mari El.svg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Mari_El.svg)** > > Original file ‎(SVG file, nominally 900 × 600 pixels, file size: 52 KB) > \[\[File:Flag of Mari El.svg|border|96x176px\]\] > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. … but it does not look the same “from the backside”. It’s a two sided flag - the obverse just has the stripes without the design. There’s a few two-sided flags, including Oregon, which I knew about: > **[Flags whose reverse differs from the obverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_whose_reverse_differs_from_the_obverse)** > > This article contains a list of flags for which the reverse (back ) is different from the obverse (front ). > It includes current as well as historic flags of both nations and national subdivisions such as provinces, states, territories, cities and other administrations (including a few that are not recognized by the United Nations or whose sovereignty is in dispute). > When the flag is that of a nation, the Subdivision column is blank ( — ). > The list below does not include flags for which the... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/13 "2010-03-01T18:31:10Z")
I’m a big flag fan, and I know of no terms specific to vexillology as to the different ways a flag could be displayed and still be correct. There are many flags that can be displayed “upside down” and no one would ever know: Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana and the Bahamas, to start with (not worth looking through any more of the alphabet). The flag of the Philippines is only flown upside down in wartime, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/14 "2010-03-01T21:24:51Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > The USA flag is an example of that. If it’s upside down or viewed from the backside it looks incorrect. > > [snip] > > The flag for France would be correct even if it was upside down but not when viewed from the backside. Surely all flags are meant to be viewable from either side. They are meant to be on a pole, flapping in the breeze, and the side anyone sees will depend on both where the observer is and on the wind direction. What is important (in some cases) is which edge of the flag is against the mast. I guess the convention in showing pictures of flags, is to depict them as they would appear with the mast to the left, but pictures are not actual flags. If you see an American flag flying with the field of stars against the mast but on the right, then what you see is not _incorrect_. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/15 "2010-03-01T23:34:32Z")
The poster child for hanging versatility is surely the Japanese flag. White background with red circle in the middle. It’d be pretty hard to hang that one incorrectly. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/16 "2010-03-02T00:32:13Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Surely all flags are meant to be viewable from either side. They are meant to be on a pole, flapping in the breeze, and the side anyone sees will depend on both where the observer is and on the wind direction. What is important (in some cases) is which edge of the flag is against the mast. I guess the convention in showing pictures of flags, is to depict them as they would appear with the mast to the left, but pictures are not actual flags. If you see an American flag flying with the field of stars against the mast but on the right, then what you see is not _incorrect_. Rather than viewing it from the backside, a better way to look at vertical symmetry might be that if the flag has it, you could attach the halyard to either side of the flag, and it would still be correct. “Meant to be viewable from either side” may be the reason there aren’t that many two sided flags. But there are some, such as Oregon’s. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/17 "2010-03-02T00:42:52Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Rather than viewing it from the backside, a better way to look at vertical symmetry might be that if the flag has it, you could attach the halyard to either side of the flag, and it would still be correct. “Meant to be viewable from either side” may be the reason there aren’t that many two sided flags. But there are some, such as Oregon’s. What about flags, such as Brazil’s, that have writing on them? Are they made double sided so you don’t see mirror writing? ---
**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:** [March 2, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-flags-that-look-correct-backwards-upside-down-both-neither/530864/18 "2010-03-02T01:00:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What about flags, such as Brazil’s, that have writing on them? Are they made double sided so you don’t see mirror writing? The flags of the world article on “Flags with different reverses” observes: > [@](#): > > We need to distinguish between two distinct phenomena: > > 1. Flags that have writing or (certain types of) pictures that are oriented in one direction. Common sense suggests that the back of such a flag should not just be a mirror image of the front, but only to get the orientation of the writing (or picture) right. I would not say that such flags have truly DISTINCT obverses and reverses, but only that the obverse and reverse are not, as most flags are, mirror-images of each other. Indeed, the main reason this isn’t done more often for flags with writing is probably cost. > > 2. Much more interesting and extremely rare are flags that have truly DIFFERENT images on their obverses and reverses, e.g., Oregon. Query: Is there a common historical pattern to such flags? Do they generally arise out of a compromise between two competing flag designs? Are there other explanations? > **[Flags with different reverses](https://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/FLAGS/xf-twos.html)** Of course, flags with writing on them are held to be bad design anyway: > **[Vexillology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vexillology#Principles_of_flag_design)** > > Vexillology (/ˌvɛksɪˈlɒlədʒi/ VEK-sih-LOL-ə-jee) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. > A person who studies flags is called a vexillologist, a person who designs flags is a vexillographer, and the art of designing flags is called vexillography. A hobbyist or general admirer of flags is called a vexillophile. > The word vexillology is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum (a kind of square flag which was carried by Roman ca... Doesn’t stop a large number such flags from being created.