June 14, 2011

Happy Flag Day!

On this date in 1777, the US Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States, which narrowly beat out other contenders such as:
Stars and Polka Dots (too difficult to draw—those dots were all over the place)
Stars and Little Wigs (too trendy— good foresight on their part)
Stars and BIGGER STARS! (some stars were just too darned big)
Stars and That Snake in Segments (received no votes)
Stars and Bifocals (received only Benjamin Franklin’s vote)
and finally
Solid Green Field (stolen by Libyan spies)

I think they made the right choice. Stripes are so eternal.

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When I was in kindergarten, and had just learned the US Pledge of Allegiance, I recited the words very carefully as “And to the republic, for Richard Stands…” I had no idea who Mr. R. Stands was, but figured he must have been important, somehow. Now that I’m older, I know that it’s actually “And to the republic, for Richard Stantz…” which really clarified things.