Flag Trivia

Q. Who cut the American flag into pieces and was honored for doing it?
A. Robert Peary, who left pieces of the flag scattered at the North Pole.

Q. Is it ever appropriate to fly the flag upside down?
A. Yes, but only in an emergency. It means "Help Me, I am in Trouble!"

Q. What is done with worn or outdated flags?
A. Flags are used until they are worn out and then they are destroyed, preferably by burning.

Q. Francis Scott Key wrote the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the back on an envelope. What is the source of the music for it?
A. The music is from an old English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven."

Q. The American flag first flew over a foreign fort in what country?
A. Libya -- over Fort Derne, on the shores of Tripoli.

Q. A vexillologist is an expert in what?
A. The history of flags.

Q. "Shipwreck" Kelly (1885-1952) was famous for sitting for long periods of time. What did he have to do with flags?
A. He set many flagpole-sitting records. He sat for 49 days on one flagpole. He once estimated that he spent a total of over 20,000 hours sitting on flagpoles. Flagpole sitting was a craze started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1929.

 
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