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> Without labeling, any flag could be from almost anywhere until you're told otherwise. True. But the flag of Illinois is rather less distinctive than many. T
by ggchappell 11y ago
> Without labeling, any flag could be from almost anywhere until you're told otherwise.
True. But the flag of Illinois is rather less distinctive than many.
The Illinois flag is basically the state seal centered on a while background. And the seal is a conglomeration of standard symbols. A very similar description covers the flags of 19 other states (background color varies, and often it's a shield instead of a seal): Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Because of the generic appearance, even people from the state who have some idea what the flag looks like might have trouble picking it out in a collection of U.S. state flags. So Kansas, Montana, Oregon, and Wisconsin took the same route as Illinois, adding the name of the state in large letters to the official flag design.
Now compare the state flag of Texas (pic: http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/tx-largeflag.png http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/tx-largeflag.p...). The design does not exactly scream "Texas" -- although there is that nickname: "the Lone Star State". But once you have a rough idea what it looks like, you can easily pick it out from a collection of flags from the U.S. and all over the world.
The same holds for the flags of Maryland (pic: http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/md-largeflag.png http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/md-largeflag.p...), Arizona (pic: http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/az-largeflag.png http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/az-largeflag.p...), Colorado (pic: http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/co-largeflag.png http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/co-largeflag.p...), and Alaska (pic: http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/ak-largeflag.png http://www.50states.com/images/redesign/flags/ak-largeflag.p...), to name a few.