National Flags Graded

[SeleucusNicator]

http://ahpc-jp30.st-and.ac.uk/~josh/flags/ratings.html

Apparently, Gambia has the best flag out of any independent nation, Brazil having the worse.

Well worth a browse. Some of the comments are great. (Spain particularly)

 

[Johann MacLeod]

it said blue and gold are bad colours(in reference to sweden), what the hell were they smoking?

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

United States
C+ 60 / 100
If one star is good, fifty must be just right.

Falkland Islands
D- 38 / 100
Worst UK colonial flag. Has a sheep on it. Actually, if you look closely, you can see that the sheep is riding on top of an island, which is riding on top of a ship. Also the stupid slogan is in English, and is a platitude.

Brazil
D- 35 / 100
Starmap original but atrocious. Worst flag of any independent nation state.

Guam
F 20 / 100
Name of country written on flag in ugly typeface. Notice that the M of Guam is larger than the other letters. I have given it this high a grade because it would actually make quite a nice tea towel.



!

 

[Margim]

I agree with his rating on Australia. 55/100. Colonial nonsense and too many stars.

Should be green and gold, with the southern cross only - and maybe a kangaroo instead of the union jack.

 

[Goober]

Canada: 10th down!!! YA!!!

And what does "Graven Images" mean? Couldn't figure that out. Some of those other flags are truly hideous, yuck!!!

 

[HighlandWarrior]

I think albanias should have a much higher grade.

Seychelles
C- 50 / 100
Urrgh... ohhh... feel sick...


haha.

 

[HighlandWarrior]

..

 

[HighlandWarrior]

graven images, images of "gods"?

 

[Vancouver 2010]

Originally posted by RealGoober
Canada: 10th down!!! YA!!!

And what does "Graven Images" mean? Couldn't figure that out. Some of those other flags are truly hideous, yuck!!!

Actually, 11th. But still good!

His definition of graven images:

Violations of rule 2a.

As far as Rule 2a goes:

Rule 2a: Do not put a picture of anything on your flag.

That's right: no pictures. Especially not of sheep (are you listening, Falkland Islands?) or parrots (this means you, Dominica!). Stylised logos based on representations are OK (Albania is pushing it) but representational art is out.

Y'see, I actually took the time to read the methodology behind the ranking.

 

[Drewcifer]

I have to disagree with them about Mozambique, automatic weapons on a flag are cool, especially an AK-47.

 

[stratego]

Nice design, but this star and crescent features a particularly bad astronomical impossibility.

 

[Evie]

Graven image means the flag has a picture of something and the picture isn't stylistic enough. As he mentions in Canada's case it's almost stylistic enough but not quite.

 

[Goober]

@ V2010 - I read the Methodology too, but now I understand. Been studying too much math, as my cat tries to type on the keyboard . . .

I was surprised at our ranking!!!

 

[amadeus]

China has too many stars? Gasp! Five! They're so disorienting!

This site doesn't do a very good job of grading.

 

[mazzz]

how did Liberia beat us!?

 

[Pongui]

I was surprised Canada got graded so highly, also. The leaf is too harsh to my eye. On the other hand, Greece's won condemnation as supremely "eye watering", though I personally find it very pleasant to behold.

Yeah, China's stars are fine, and they're situated dynamically without seeming unbalanced. Micronesia, on the other hand, with its four dainty stars centred in a sea of blue is beautiful BUT disastrous to maritime recognition, so fail.

Japan’s flag has the virtue of being easily represented by the most basic national dish of the country: a box shaped bowl of plain white rice, with one red pickled plum on top. I think officially it’s supposed to be a blood stain. Men designed it. The flag has its own private meaning in Japan among post-pubescent females, e.g. “on the flag”.

 

[slothman]

I still like Libya's. You can't go wrong with nothing but green. Of course Nepal's flag isn't even rectangular.

 

[Achinz]

Ditto too about the comment on the stupidity - Colonial nonsense and too many stars for Oz.

I think the Aboriginal or Koori flag has a distinctive identity:

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

How did Gambia beat Israel

Israel has a cool flag, but of course not as nice as Canadas

I agree that America's flag has far to many stars and stripes, but I have gotten use to it, so it isn't as bad as it use to be.

I loved all the civil war era flags from both sides though.

 

[amadeus]

I always thought the old South African flag was better than that ugly new one.