Flags! Logos for Countries!

In getting into the spirit of the Olympics, I decided to hold my own impromptu games concerning only the coolness of the flags. My decision making about the coolest flags out there are broken down by continent. I've had other flag exploration post ideas, like the pan-Arabic flags, the pan-African flags, or all the uses of the Danebrueg, but those will be saved for later, when I'm bored but want to look at pictures and talk about something else that doesn't really matter.

After seeing so many flags on the the 'Toob for these games, I got onto Wikipedia and decided the snazziest or most dramatic or dynamic looking flag for the continental groups of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the two Americas.

This was tough business, and there were some surprise victors. One of my favorites that didn't make the cut was Angola:

Black for the people and power, red for the blood shed, the gears of industry crossed by the machete of, uh, clearing jungle...this flag is all about power and kicks ass. It also has that communist look that stands out against other tribal or religious symbols. You know what? Fuck it. This is my pick for Africa. Forget the other choice I had (it was between Kenya and Seychelles, but RSA is pretty cool, too).

This next flag is definitely not on the list, but it's also one of my favorites. Too bad large swaths of the world cringe in anger at the sight of this naval ensign of wartime imperial Japan. In some spots, this is probably as despised as anything with the ancient swastika image is in the western world.

I think it's just dynamic as hell.

Okay, so getting on with it...

The winner from Europe was the little Balkan country of Macedonia:

The "Sun of Progress" seems like it's better suited for a central Asian country. It was so weird and eye-catching that I had to go with it. Scotland? Sure, the saltier is cool...France and Italy and Ireland going back and forth and the strange connection between Germany and Belgium demanding attention...but I went with this little know country, that was actually sued by Greece for choosing the name "Macedonia".

For North America I chose Barbados:

Along with having one of the cooler names in the world, the broken trident symbolizing the break from their colonial occupiers. It doesn't look like any other flag in the zone, the colors scream ocean island.

Next, for some reason the continent of Oceania is represented (uh...in no particular order) with this kick ass flag from the Marshall Islands:

The swooping lines representing the arcs of the rising sun and setting sun, and the star represents the archipelago surrounded by the blue of the ocean. Pretty sweet. It was designed by the First Lady of the Marshall Islands in 1979...bet that's a rarity.

From South America I have chosen, in a close competition, Guyana:

With the cool double triangle on the hoist side and the pan-Africa colors (strangely for So. America), this dynamic look is startling.

From Asia, I guess I went with a cheat, the elegant Hong Kong:

Cambodia's flag with Angkor Wat, or some other cool Wat, and the sweet Thai flag, proved too difficult to choose over the white petals over the red field.

Then I went out and got a little crazy. How about US states? I know that people who have state pride would probably choose their own state flag, and I realized that I'm no different. With my idea for my first tattoo notwithstanding, I tried to examine the flags objectively. I ended up with this constellation flag:

Yes, that's the Alaskan flag, with the Big Dipper and Polaris, or, Ursa Major and Polaris. Ursa major means "big bear" and Alaska has lots of big bears. I like the story behind the flag as well. After the land was purchased from Russia, they had been flying just the US flag. In 1927 there was a contest to design a new symbol for the territory, but it was a design contest for kids between 12 and 17. A 13 year-old native Alaskan of Aleut heritage named Benny Benson designed the winning entry, an entry that would eventually become the state flag. (Honorable mention to Ohio.)

Then I went and looked up some cool American city flags, and there are some doozies. Here's my pick, Wichita  Kansas:

I don't know, it just looks cool, like it could be the best use of red, white, and blue yet.

And then, since I couldn't resist, I've grabbed, like, the "Greatest Flag Ever" just for the end, like on the Fourth of July at the end of the show, they shoot up the wild ending. Tibet, people...Tibet:

It's got that cool Japanese "Rising Sun" look (I hear it was designed by a roving Japanese officer); it's got a Sol de Mayo, albeit faceless; it's got two snow-dragons; and it's got a taegeuk (that yin-yang symbol).

Sweet...