Nepal is an outlier when it comes to flag shape, as it stands out from the norm (rather “two triangles stacked on top of each other”) since according to them: the flag represents Himalaya Mountains & both religions: Hinduism & Buddhism, also the red triangular flag has been a Hindu symbol of victory since the writing of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
That is in contrast to most countries flags as a majority are rectangular in their shape (no matter where from USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, Poland, etc.). I mean, why are most flags rectangle by default rather than being unique on using another shape? I mean, Nepal is the only country where a flag is designed from another shape that differs from a rectangle.
Historically, triangular shaped flags in South Asia were very common, since it was compact in size so the flag furled even with the lowest wind, thus making it visible over long distances. The flags of almost all states in South Asia were once triangular. Nepal has simply maintained its ancient tradition, while every other state has adopted a rectangular or square version in the European vexillological tradition.
Usual Nepal W
If the 🗿 was a country.
this is the Easter Island flag: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island#/media/File:Flag_of_Rapa_Nui,_Chile.svg
No chill
Worth noting that while the rest of the world uses rectangles, it’s not always the same dimensions.
The Swiss flag, for example, is explicitly square. If it’s not square, it’s actually the maritime version specifically.
Worth noting that while the rest of the world uses rectangles, it’s not always the same dimensions.
Very much this
Edit also whoever made that image couldn’t write “Finland”
It’s the land of the Finn’s.
This makes me irrationally mad. I want to think the ratio is some subtle reference to a date or holds some symbolic meaning. But deep down we all know it’s just what some random flag maker from hundreds of years ago thought looked good and then was copied and bastardized without much thought.
Edit: looking into it, it’s even worse than that. The USA uses 10:19 only by executive order in certain contexts but otherwise uses a bunch of random ratios. Some countries tried to approximate the golden ratio but the measurement drifted and they never bothered to fix it.
Haha, agreed.
Vexillologist can be… vexing.
I like to think they all kept increasing flag size because of the others being bigger
Given the age the nations, I’d say that’s not entirely unlikely. We Finns did do ours last, afaik.
Wikimedia Commons has flags organized by aspect ratio. Though the top link seems broken.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Flags_with_an_aspect_ratio_of_3:2
Indeed, Belgium for example has a uncommon 13:15 ratio
Probably because rectangles are cheaper and easier to mass manufacture. Even if your flag is hand-sewn, it is a lot easier to communicate “x by y” rather than a more complicated shape. And the purpose of a flag isn’t to be a fantastically unique and inspired piece of art - it is to be identifiable, and hopefully somewhat striking.
Not just mass-manufacturing - because of how they work, the rectangle is the default shape of cloth produced on any loom.
A shape like a right-angled triangle is pretty easy to produce from a square or rectangle, so if it was only that reason we would also see a lot of right-angled triangle shaped flags.
Could it be that the physics of the shape makes rectangles more resiliant as flags (as in, remaining at least partially intact) in the wind?
Or maybe it’s some Historical reason that boils down to some common origin of that shape as tradition?
Or maybe a bit of all including ease of manufacturing?
Maybe another thing worth considering is that rectangular flags are just bigger and easier to see than other shapes.
Also, maybe it just became “normal” to have square flags. The Romans conquered most of Europe, and they flew rectangular banners from their standards. Following the fall of the empire, the different parts of Europe were at war with each other for one and a half thousand years. I suspect all having had this original template, then the subsequent fighting / conquering / reconquering / reconquering, probably lead to this shape becoming normalised.
Somebody call Sheldon, we gots questions about flags.
Ohio has entered the chat
Coolest flag in the country. Except maybe Maryland or Minnesota
My fave is New Mexico’s:
Virginia flag has some powerful energy to it.
All flags should show some nip for sure
Have you looked at Nepal’s time zone? I just don’t think they realy care what other countries do.
Not even half hour increment ffs
Well shit, would you look at that. UTC +5:45
On a similar note, I’ve often wondered why almost all coins are round
Many old coins were stamped from blobs of metal; harder to create a perfect square than a mostly perfect circle.
Round coins are less likely to damage coin purses and pockets. No more complicated than that.
Then as technology has moved on, it has proven advantageous for coins to have constant radius so that coin-accepting machines don’t jam on an unfortunate rotation of points.
This is why even when coins aren’t round - thinking specifically of the British 50 pence and 20 pence coins, but there are others - they still have curved sides.
In Hong Kong, the coins have different size and shaped ridges so that people with vision impairments can more easily distinguish between them! I remember the five dollar coin being big and round, the one was round and thinner too, while the two was more bumpy. And although the paper bill for $10 is more common now, the ten dollar coin was small than the other dollars while being quite thick.
Many other countries have something similar, but I do like the HK coins personally. As a kid I always played around with them and sorting them by thickness, aligning their ridges (particularly for the $2 coin), etc.
And indeed, none are sharp for the reasons you mentioned. Most coins have ridges though, as those are used to tell if some of the coin was sanded off for the metal.
In india we used to have a paise which was a squircle
red triangular flag has been a Hindu symbol of victory since the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
What do you mean “since the time of”?. They were mythological fictional writings based on the area.
You mean since their writing?
It is argued that the powers they posses are mythological but the figures actually existed as kings and princes of that era. But there is no conclusive evidence of it as Indians in general were not great at recording their history and whatever they did record (which was still a lot) was kept in Nalanda which was burnt by invaders.
And Jesus and Allah are myths, you say?
Yes
Mohammed, not Allah
This made me wonder what the difference between a flag and a pennant is. Is it like all pennants are flags, but not all flags are pennants? The size? The shape? 🤔
Stands out from the norm with a nom.
