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> hoisted up a distress flag (likely an inverted Union Jack) This really feels like a needlessly invented detail. There are accepted signals for distress, and
by soneil 5y ago
> hoisted up a distress flag (likely an inverted Union Jack)
This really feels like a needlessly invented detail. There are accepted signals for distress, and you'd assume a lighthouse would be equipped for nautical signalling. Flying the union jack upside down is not one of them - it makes a very poor signal as it's easy to do accidentally and difficult to spot from a distance (or even up close, for all but the mostly keenly-eyed).
Just say a distress flag. It's a ball and square for those that know, and it's perfectly descriptive of its function for those that don't. Inventing further detail is jarring for anyone who can mentally picture what the union jack would look like inverted.
- ZoF 5y agoInverted union jack(any flag really) is a longstanding distress signal. It really wasn't that jarring of an aside, given this is someone who researched on the topic we might assume in good faith they have a reason for adding the detail tbh. It's a weird quibble.
- WastingMyTime89 5y ago> This really feels like a needlessly invented detail. There are accepted signals for distress, and you'd assume a lighthouse would be equipped for nautical signalling. Flying the union jack upside down is not one of them Flying a national flag inverted was indeed the more common way of signalling distress for centuries and was by far the most likely way a lighthouse would have done it around 1800. The Union Jack was only displayed in the top left of maritime flag at the time so it’s somewhat easy to see when the flag is inverted.
- bombcar 5y agoSome flags like the US one are easily identifiable upside down, but many nations have flags that are identical either way.
- jareklupinski 5y agoyea because of this sentence TIL that a Union Jack is not actually symmetrical if you look closely
- soneil 5y agoThat wouldn't be the Union Jack then, but a blue ensign (or whatever variation of the blue ensign Trinity House use). It is an odd quibble as another commenter put it - I guess being well-researched is exactly what makes pieces like this interesting, so I was struck by how easily an errant detail distracted me from that - especially one that could so easily have been omitted.