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InfestedKerrigan

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4 hours ago, Ish said:

Lived in Oregon for four years now and have spent my entire lifetime learning useless trivia about geography, heraldry, and vexillology... So why am I only learning today that the State Flag of Oregon has two different sides?

And why are they both hideous?
 

image.jpeg.2253b6aaeddd4f018030462a9e0c1147.jpeg

None of the flags look very good. That's a flag thing.

As for not noticing the two biggest sides of a 3d object, that's on you. Maybe you failed a perception check. Maybe your passive perception is lower than you thought. Dunno.

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I do think the complexity of the Oregon Flag's Image and Colors shows the flag of a society that hasn't really ever been at war in an era where the flag was meaningful. It's a really hard to see flag in the dark and the image would hard to repair. And, as you say, the image would be hard to distinguish from a distance.

For historical context, the flag for Oregon, despite the printed year on the flag, has only been around since 1925.

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As it happens, I fell down an internet rabbit hole on this subject. Found out that there was a bill introduced in the legislature in 2013 for a new state flag. I greatly prefer this design!
 

image.thumb.jpeg.5df6a322a8ffcfd69fccb837c8ea25e3.jpeg
 

Much more visually distinctive! Currently, twenty-one other states have a flag that consists of “blue field with thing on it,” nineteen of those are “blue field with state seal on it.” Only one state makes yellow a dominate color.

This flag is also recognizable at a distance, no other state uses a bicolor design. 

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If we're only supposed to pull cords from outlets by the plug, why do they make the plugs taper away from the socket, and use slipperier materials for them as well? Gimme something to hold onto here!

Also, looking at state flags, fewer than half of them really seem distinctive. And for a significant number of those, it's just because they use different colours for the base field, which can only be extended so far. Collectively, they actually form a pretty good example of why the heraldic rules matter.

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Looking at them at thumbnail size was basically what I was doing to check recognizibility, too.

With some wind moving the flag around, Alabama/Florida, Mississippi/Georgia, and North Carolina/Texas could all be tough as well. Plus, as you mentioned, all the ones that are just blue field with state seal. Slovakia/Slovenia are the only pair of European flags I can see that might be as easily confusible.

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Of course, Slovenia and Slovakia both only adopted these flags about 25 years ago (give or take). Before that they were both still part of Czechoslovakia and used that flag... Most of the Slavic nations all share the red, white, and blue colors and a similar design lineage. I don't object to so many of the state flags designs being similar just because they are similar, it's that they're similar and visually bland.

 

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State Flag Adoption Dates

Hawaii: December 29, 1845
North Carolina: March 2, 1885
Alabama: February 16, 1895
New Jersey: January 15, 1896
Connecticut: September 9, 1897
Rhode Island: November 1, 1897
New York: April 1, 1901
Ohio: May 9, 1902
Maryland: November 25, 1904
Tennessee: February 3, 1905
Pennsylvania: April 24, 1907
Maine: June 16, 1909
California: February 3, 1911
Michigan: June 26, 1911
Colorado: December 4, 1911
Delaware: July 24, 1913
Missouri: September 4, 1913
Arizona: January 25, 1917
Indiana: May 31, 1917
Wyoming: March 4, 1917
Kentucky: March 26, 1918
New Mexico: September 18, 1920
Iowa: March 12, 1921
Vermont: April 17, 1923
Washington: August 25, 1923
Arkansas: March 16, 1924
Oregon: April 15, 1925
Alaska: July 6, 1927
West Virginia: November 6, 1929
New Hampshire: November 30, 1931
Texas: August 31, 1933
North Dakota: November 9, 1943
Virginia: February 1, 1950
Idaho: November 2, 1957
Kansas: September 22, 1961
Nebraska: July 16, 1963
Illinois: June 27, 1969
Massachusetts: March 21, 1971
Wisconsin: May 1, 1981
Montana: December 17, 1981
Minnesota: August 2, 1983
Florida: May 21, 1985
Nevada: July 25, 1991
South Dakota: November 9, 1992
Mississippi: February 7, 2001
Georgia: February 19, 2003
Oklahoma: November 1, 2006
Louisiana: November 22, 2010
Utah: February 16, 2011

C'mon, don't pretend you are surprised I would have a list of exactly that.

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11 hours ago, Ish said:

State Flag Adoption Dates

Hawaii: December 29, 1845
North Carolina: March 2, 1885
Alabama: February 16, 1895
New Jersey: January 15, 1896
Connecticut: September 9, 1897
Rhode Island: November 1, 1897
New York: April 1, 1901
Ohio: May 9, 1902
Maryland: November 25, 1904
Tennessee: February 3, 1905
Pennsylvania: April 24, 1907
Maine: June 16, 1909
California: February 3, 1911
Michigan: June 26, 1911
Colorado: December 4, 1911
Delaware: July 24, 1913
Missouri: September 4, 1913
Arizona: January 25, 1917
Indiana: May 31, 1917
Wyoming: March 4, 1917
Kentucky: March 26, 1918
New Mexico: September 18, 1920
Iowa: March 12, 1921
Vermont: April 17, 1923
Washington: August 25, 1923
Arkansas: March 16, 1924
Oregon: April 15, 1925
Alaska: July 6, 1927
West Virginia: November 6, 1929
New Hampshire: November 30, 1931
Texas: August 31, 1933
North Dakota: November 9, 1943
Virginia: February 1, 1950
Idaho: November 2, 1957
Kansas: September 22, 1961
Nebraska: July 16, 1963
Illinois: June 27, 1969
Massachusetts: March 21, 1971
Wisconsin: May 1, 1981
Montana: December 17, 1981
Minnesota: August 2, 1983
Florida: May 21, 1985
Nevada: July 25, 1991
South Dakota: November 9, 1992
Mississippi: February 7, 2001
Georgia: February 19, 2003
Oklahoma: November 1, 2006
Louisiana: November 22, 2010
Utah: February 16, 2011

C'mon, don't pretend you are surprised I would have a list of exactly that.

I think that I love you in a mostly platonic fashion.

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12 hours ago, Ish said:

State Flag Adoption Dates

Hawaii: December 29, 1845
North Carolina: March 2, 1885
Alabama: February 16, 1895
New Jersey: January 15, 1896
Connecticut: September 9, 1897
Rhode Island: November 1, 1897
New York: April 1, 1901
Ohio: May 9, 1902
Maryland: November 25, 1904
Tennessee: February 3, 1905
Pennsylvania: April 24, 1907
Maine: June 16, 1909
California: February 3, 1911
Michigan: June 26, 1911
Colorado: December 4, 1911
Delaware: July 24, 1913
Missouri: September 4, 1913
Arizona: January 25, 1917
Indiana: May 31, 1917
Wyoming: March 4, 1917
Kentucky: March 26, 1918
New Mexico: September 18, 1920
Iowa: March 12, 1921
Vermont: April 17, 1923
Washington: August 25, 1923
Arkansas: March 16, 1924
Oregon: April 15, 1925
Alaska: July 6, 1927
West Virginia: November 6, 1929
New Hampshire: November 30, 1931
Texas: August 31, 1933
North Dakota: November 9, 1943
Virginia: February 1, 1950
Idaho: November 2, 1957
Kansas: September 22, 1961
Nebraska: July 16, 1963
Illinois: June 27, 1969
Massachusetts: March 21, 1971
Wisconsin: May 1, 1981
Montana: December 17, 1981
Minnesota: August 2, 1983
Florida: May 21, 1985
Nevada: July 25, 1991
South Dakota: November 9, 1992
Mississippi: February 7, 2001
Georgia: February 19, 2003
Oklahoma: November 1, 2006
Louisiana: November 22, 2010
Utah: February 16, 2011

C'mon, don't pretend you are surprised I would have a list of exactly that.

I said see the flags sorted by, not a wall of text. Gah! -_-

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19 hours ago, Ish said:

Of course, Slovenia and Slovakia both only adopted these flags about 25 years ago (give or take). Before that they were both still part of Czechoslovakia and used that flag... Most of the Slavic nations all share the red, white, and blue colors and a similar design lineage. I don't object to so many of the state flags designs being similar just because they are similar, it's that they're similar and visually bland.

 

Oh, yeah, I assumed there was some reason for most of the ones that are similar. Several of the state flags I mentioned, for instance, are clearly just simplifications of the US flag, so of course they're similar.

Similar and boring is unquestionably worse, tho.

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On 12/21/2019 at 9:46 PM, Ish said:

State Flag Adoption Dates

Hawaii: December 29, 1845
North Carolina: March 2, 1885
Alabama: February 16, 1895
New Jersey: January 15, 1896
Connecticut: September 9, 1897
Rhode Island: November 1, 1897
New York: April 1, 1901
Ohio: May 9, 1902
Maryland: November 25, 1904
Tennessee: February 3, 1905
Pennsylvania: April 24, 1907
Maine: June 16, 1909
California: February 3, 1911
Michigan: June 26, 1911
Colorado: December 4, 1911
Delaware: July 24, 1913
Missouri: September 4, 1913
Arizona: January 25, 1917
Indiana: May 31, 1917
Wyoming: March 4, 1917
Kentucky: March 26, 1918
New Mexico: September 18, 1920
Iowa: March 12, 1921
Vermont: April 17, 1923
Washington: August 25, 1923
Arkansas: March 16, 1924
Oregon: April 15, 1925
Alaska: July 6, 1927
West Virginia: November 6, 1929
New Hampshire: November 30, 1931
Texas: August 31, 1933
North Dakota: November 9, 1943
Virginia: February 1, 1950
Idaho: November 2, 1957
Kansas: September 22, 1961
Nebraska: July 16, 1963
Illinois: June 27, 1969
Massachusetts: March 21, 1971
Wisconsin: May 1, 1981
Montana: December 17, 1981
Minnesota: August 2, 1983
Florida: May 21, 1985
Nevada: July 25, 1991
South Dakota: November 9, 1992
Mississippi: February 7, 2001
Georgia: February 19, 2003
Oklahoma: November 1, 2006
Louisiana: November 22, 2010
Utah: February 16, 2011

C'mon, don't pretend you are surprised I would have a list of exactly that.

I thought it's crazy that Mississippi decided to incorporate a blatant anti-United States symbol this century

But then I dug a little deeper and it was only readopted in 2001. The original design was adopted in 1894 but repealed in 1906. They technically had no state flag for 95 years and failed to agree on a design in 2001 so they just settled on the old anti-U.S. (but pro 13 colonies??), very confused design they had in 1894.

So if that struck anyone else as wildly out of touch, that's the story behind it.

 

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On 12/21/2019 at 3:47 PM, Ish said:

Graphic of the flags of all fifty states...
Image result for us state flags

Flags of 53 European states... 

Image result for flags of europe

The European flags are all much more visually distinctive, even at this small size... I mean, can you tell the difference between Nebraska and New Hampshire? 

Mississippi and Hawaii are virtually indistinguishable as well.

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On 12/25/2019 at 3:24 PM, WestRider said:

The line about "Holy infant, so tender and mild" still works, tho. Just changes the meaning a little.

My favorite Christmas song lyric is

"A child, a child, shivers in the cold

Let us give him silver and gold".

 

How about, instead of "making it rain" in the stable, you use those precious metals to buy a [big bad swear word]ing blanket? Do you know any parents on the planet who tuck their kids in with gold bullion? How wise are these douchebags kings men?!

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13 hours ago, Munkie said:

My favorite Christmas song lyric is

"A child, a child, shivers in the cold

Let us give him silver and gold".

 

How about, instead of "making it rain" in the stable, you use those precious metals to buy a [big bad swear word]ing blanket? Do you know any parents on the planet who tuck their kids in with gold bullion? How wise are these douchebags kings men?!

Yeah, that one has always bugged me, too. Some firewood, maybe? Some food for the parents so they can take better care of the kid?

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