Badposter rates every country flag

[badposter]

I've been away from the cpmputer all day, so I'm posting this late.
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Flag of Belgium

Official flag (rarely used, has 13:15 proportions)

Spoiler

Part 1
Rule 1: The good thing about tricolors is that they can easily be drawn by a child from memory.
Rule 2: Sometimes, I copypaste, and sometimes I paraphrase. Today, I do the latter.

During the period of Austrian rule, a number of different flags were tried, until the Austrian Emperor imposed the Austrian flag. The population of Brussels was opposed to this, and following the example of France, red, yellow and black cockades began to appear; those being the colours of Brabant.[2] The colours thus correspond to the red lion of Hainaut, Limburg and Luxembourg, the yellow lion of Brabant, and the black lion of Flanders and Namur.[2]

On August 26, 1830, the day after the rioting at the Brussels Opera and the start of the Belgian Revolution, the flag of France flew from the city hall of Brussels. The insurgents hastily replaced it with a tricolour of red, yellow and black horizontal stripes (similar to the one used during the Brabant Revolution[2] of 1789-1790 which had established the United States of Belgium) made at a nearby fabric store. As a result, Article 193 of the Constitution of Belgium describes the colours of the Belgian nation as Red, Yellow and Black instead of using the order shown in the official flag.[3]

On January 23, 1831, the stripes changed from horizontal to vertical and October 12 saw the flag attain its modern form, with the black placed at the hoist side of the flag.[2] It is suggested[by whom?] that the change occurred to more clearly distinguish the flag of Belgium from the Dutch flag (which also has three horizontal stripes) - especially important during naval battles. Some[who?] see the change to vertical stripes as a gesture of sympathy with the French, again clearly separating the Belgians from the Dutch.[2]

So this flag has both history and symbolism. Just a side note about all the lions in the description; look at the Belgian coat arms (this has nothing to do with flags, it's just a fun tidbit)

Spoiler

There are 24 lions in this coat of arms. Jesus. Or, should I say, Aslan?
And no, this flag has nothing to do with Germany's flag, which was adopted in 1919.
Rule 3: This flag uses black, yellow and red. Personally, I think this a great color combination.
Rule 4: This flags has neither text nor seals. It's a tricolor, but its color combination makes it not boring imo.
Rule 5: If you can't tell horizontal from vertical, or yellow from gold, or don't realize the two flags have different color orders, you could theoritically confuse the flaf with that of Germany. I doubt it, though.
Rule 2
Brabant Revolution (1789–1790)

Spoiler

This flag, like Germany's is and horizontal tricolors. However, this flag has a different color order than Germany's flag, and its yellow that (controversial opinion) looks better than Germany's gold.
1830–1831

Spoiler

Same as the above.
Rule 3
I love this flag. It's a tricolor, but it's not a boring one.
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Next time, shirtless guys.

 

[DragonFreak]

Black on yellow on red. Nice.

 

[Kerrigan]

the heck are shirtless guys doing on a flag

strange world we live in

 

[badposter]

the heck are shirtless guys doing on a flag

strange world we live in

It's true.
Flag of Belize

Part 1
Rule 1 Holy shit, look how complex this flag is. A child could not draw this flag from memory.
Rule 2: Look, there's no fucking way I'll write about all the symbolism on this flag. I'm copypasting.

British Honduras obtained a coat of arms on January 28, 1907, which formed the basis of the badge used on British ensigns. The coat of arms recalls the logging industry that first led to British settlement there. The figures, tools, and mahogany tree represent this industry. The national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo, meaning “Under the Shade I Flourish”, is written in the lower part of the coat of arms.
The flag is royal blue, with a white disc at the centre containing the national coat of arms held by a mestizo and a black man. The flag of Belize is the only country to have humans depicted as a major design element on its national flag, although the flag of Malta contains an image of Saint George on the badge of the George Cross, and the flags of British dependencies Montserrat and the Virgin Islands, and that of French Polynesia also depict humans. [1] The flag is bordered at top and bottom by two red stripes.

The colours on the flag are respectively those of the country's national parties, the People's United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (Belize) (UDP). The UDP, established in 1973, had objected to the original blue and white design, those two colours being the PUP's representative colours.
The two red stripes at the top and bottom were added to the original design at independence. The coat of arms was granted in 1907. Red stripes were added to denote the colour of the opposition party. The 50 leaves recall 1950, the year PUP came to power.

I don't flags colors should symbolize political parties. Politics change, and flags should be timeless. Right now, those two parties are the dominant parties in Belize, but what happens if 100 years from now one of both of those parties are irrelevant?
Rule 3: According to Wikipedia, this flag has 12 colors. Too many colors!
Rule 4: The flag has text and a complicated emblem. Bad.
Rule 5: At least this flag is distinctive. Name any other flag with shirtless guys.
Part 2
British Honduras (1919-1981)

Spoiler

It's a generic British colonial flag with two Union Jacks. And yet, I think it's better than the current flag. THAT's how bad I think this flag is.
Part 3
Unless you like shirtless guys, this flag is bad. However, some guy on Reddit has made various redesigns of the flag, which I think improve it.
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Next time, our first flag with Pan-African colors.

 

[Kerrigan]

Apparently Belize is a good vacation spot, but it has a terrible flag.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Benin (:DDDD)

Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw this flag from memory. I don't have anything else to say about this.
Rule 2: This is our first flag with Pan-African colors. Many African countries use this colors because those are the colors of Ethiopia's flag. The reason the countries use the colors of Ethiopia's flag is because, except for a brief Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941, Ethiopia is the only African country that has never been conquered. Many countries with those colors also have them symbolize something specific to the country. In Benin's case, yellow represents the savannas in the country's north, green represents the palm trees in the country's south, and red represents what red represents.
Rule 3: Even if I think African countries use the Pan-African colors (green, red and yellow) too much, I don't think the colors look bad.
Rule 4: No text and no seals. It's a simple flag.
Rule 5: Honestly, the only flags with Pan-African colors I can distinguish are that of Ethiopia, Ghana (due to the World Cup), the Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Principe, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. I think I'm gonna copypaste this in the future.
Rule 2
People's Republic of Benin (1975–1990)

Spoiler

This flag was adopted by an authoritarian dictatorship, and it's too dominated by green, but at least it's distinctive.
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Part 3
This flag, like most Pan-African ones, is boring in my opiniom.

 

[Kerrigan]

At least it's better than Belize's flag. Benin's may be boring, but Belize...

 

[badposter]

Flag of Bhutan

Part 1
Rule 1: A child would draw this flag enthusiastically, but he couldn't draw this flag perfectly. Look at all the scales on the dragon!.
Rule 2: I actually know jackshit about Bhutanese culture, which this flag features. Thanfully, Wikipedia exists:

According to The Legal Provisions of the National Flag of the Kingdom of Palden Drukpa as Endorsed in Resolution 28 of the 36th Session of the National Assembly held on June 8, 1972, and as restated in the Constitution of 2008, the yellow signifies civil tradition and temporal authority as embodied in the Druk Gyalpo, the Dragon King of Bhutan, whose royal garb traditionally includes a yellow kabney (scarf).[10] The orange half signifies Buddhist spiritual tradition, particularly the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma schools.[10] Druk, the Thunder Dragon, spreads equally over the line between the colors. The placement of Druk in the center of the flag over the dividing line between the flag's two colors signifies the equal importance of both civic and monastic traditions in the Kingdom of Druk (Bhutan) and evokes the strength of the sacred bond between sovereign and people. The white color of Druk signifies the purity of inner thoughts and deeds that unite all the ethnically and linguistically diverse peoples of Bhutan.[8][10] The jewels held in Druk's claws represent Bhutan's wealth and the security and protection of its people,[11] while the dragon's snarling mouth symbolizes Bhutanese deities' commitment to the defense of Bhutan.[12]

I thought they just liked dragons

Rule 3: Yellow, orange and white. Orange is not a commonly used color in flag, which is a shame because it can look good, as this flag shows.
Rule 4: The dragon too complicated IMO,
Rule 5: This flag, the Qing dynasty's, and Wales' all have dragons, but all their dragons look different.
Part 2

Spoiler

I prefer the current dragon, but I like the green.
Part 3
This breaks some rules. This, however, doesn't matter, as all flags with a dragon are automatically good.
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Next time, no beaches.

 

[DragonFreak]

Where has this flag been all my life????

 

[badposter]

Other flags with dragons on them:
Wales

Spoiler

Qing dynasty (China, took power in 1644, adopted flag in 1889, overthrown in 1912)

Spoiler

Somerset, UK

Spoiler

Puerto Madryn, an Argentinian town settled by Welsh people.

Spoiler

Flag of Macau from 1976 to 1999

Spoiler

Strzyżów County, Poland

Spoiler

 

[Pokemon DP]

Of course Poland has the dopiest dragon on their flag

 

[DragonFreak]

Oh yeah I knew about the Wales ones. All of them that looks like the end of a tail for the tongue is kind of...weird. For just many reasons.

Of course Poland has the dopiest dragon on their flag

Also this lol

 

[badposter]

Flag of Bolivia
State flag

Civil ensign (has no coat of arms)

Spoiler

Rule 1: A child could draw the coat of arms, but not the state flag, whose coat of arms is rather complex.
Rule 2: The red represents the country's soldiers, the yellow represents the country's mineral deposits (Bolivia is rich in minerals), and the green represents the country's fertility.
The coat of arms is too complex, so I'll copypaste its meaning:

The central cartouche has a border with ten stars in the bottom, which symbolize the nine Departamentos and the former province Litoral that was taken over by Chile in 1879, and the name of Bolivia in the top section. Within the border the silver mountain Potosí — recognized by a mine entrance — is depicted, with a sun rising above it, and with an alpaca standing next to a palm tree and some wheat. The alpaca stands on a plain that contrasts with the mountain. The mountain and its contrast with the plains are indicative of the geography of Bolivia. The llama is the national animal, related to the alpaca and the items next to it are symbolic of the resources of the nation.

Around the shield there are three Bolivian flags on each side. Behind these are two pairs of crossed rifles that symbolize the struggle for independence. Next to the muskets there are an axe and a red Phrygian hood, which is the symbol of liberty and freedom. The laurel branches are symbolic of peace, and the condor perched upon the shield is symbolic of a willingness to defend the nation and its liberty.

Rule 3: This flag's colors are red, yellow and green. Those are the Pan-African colors (colors which I do like). This flag, however, has nothing to do with Africa (obviously, since Bolivia is a South American country which is more influenced by indigenous and European culture); it was adopted in 1851, before Pan-Africanism really got popular.
Rule 4: The state flag has a complex emblem and text. The civil ensign does not break this rule.
Rule 5: Actually, even though this flag has Pan-African colors, it's distinctive. The only other flags which have Pan-African colors and are horizontal tricolors are those of Ethiopia, Ghana and Lithuania (a fellow non-African flag with Pan-African colors). Ethiopia and Ghana have stars that make their flags distinctive, and Lithuania's flag has a different color arrangement that, IMO, makes its flag look distinctive.
Part 2
1825–1826

Spoiler

I actually think looks good, though I think it'd be better without the wreath.
1826–1851

Spoiler

I like the way the colors are arranged, but I don't think many people do.
Part 3
I like the civil ensign. The state flag, on the other hand...
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Next time, a country with did not like the 90s

 

[badposter]

I won't post anything today for reasons (don't worry, it's not anything serious), sorry
Actually, I will post a flag today, but it's not the flag of a country. It's the flag of the Bolivian Navy.

For those that don't get the joke:

Spoiler

Bolivia is a landlocked country

 

[badposter]

Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Part 1
Rule 1: Even if a child couldn't remember the number of stars on the flag (I didn't know how many stars were on this flag until today), recognizabilty is more important than perfection
Rule 2: Bosnia and Herzegovina has had, to put it mildly, problems with nationalism, so this flag was designed by the UN in 1998 to be a flag that didn't favor Bosniaks, Serbs or Croatians. The flag has a triangle because the country is roughly shaped like one. The points on the triangle represent Bosnia and Herzegovina's three main ethinicities, and the stars represent Europe. The reason the stars in the top and bottom are cut is because the stars are meant to be infinite.
The reason flag has the colors it has is because Europe's flag also has blue and yellow and because, according to Wikipedia, blue, yellow and white are Bosnia's traditional colors.
Rule 3: Blue, yellow and white. This is a great color combination!
Rule 4: The triangle is a good example of maps on flags. It's roughly how the country looks like, but it's not exact and thus not complex (The only places allowed to have exact maps on their flags are Colorado, Wyoming, or any other place which is shaped like a basic geometric shape. I don't think there are many places shaped like that (Equatorial Guinea doesn't count, it has coastline and islands))
Rule 5: The yellow triangle is pretty distinctive imo.
Rule 2
Bosnia and Herzegovina has had a lot of flags in its history, but I'll only post one cause I'm tired.
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992 – 1998)

Spoiler

I usually hate coats of arms on flags, but I think this coat of arms is actually good, since it's a simple one. I understand why it was replaced, since it doesn't represent the non–Bosniaks in the country.
Rule 3
I like this flag's colors and the fact it has one of the better ways to put maps on flags.
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Next time, a country that is one of the most developed in Africa, but which is also unfortunately one of the hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

 

[DragonFreak]

I won't post anything today for reasons (don't worry, it's not anything serious), sorry
Actually, I will post a flag today, but it's not the flag of a country. It's the flag of the Bolivian Navy.

For those that don't get the joke:

Spoiler

Bolivia is a landlocked country

Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait.

Just....why do they have a nazy.....................

 

[Hobbes]

Oh oh, I know this! It originally was created to patrol rivers to prevent drug smuggling. Now, the not-at-all-brilliant Evo Morales claims it's the "patriotic duty" of the Bolivian people to regain access to the sea; therefore, the Navy, he claims, helps create "maritime consciousness". Fun fact, Bolivia celebrates a "Day of the Sea" in which they reclaim access to the sea every year.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Botswana

Part 1
Rule 1: The flag is simple enough that a child could draw it from memoey.
Rule 2: The blue represents rain, a valuable resource in Botswana, a desert country (Botswana's economy is mostly based on mining, however half of Botswana's population is rural) (Fun fact: Botswana's motto is "Pula", which means rain in Tswana, the language of the Tswana people, which comprise about 80% percent of Botswana. Botswana's currency is also called the pula. Botswana loves rain)
The black and white represent racial cooperation and were meant (more or less) as a fuck you to apartheid South Africa I like rain and dislike apartheid, so I like this symbolism.
Rule 3: Black, white and light blue. There's only one other flag in the world which has those colors (though the other country with those colors has a darker blue), and that's Estonia's, which is a great flag, just like this one.
Rule 4: This flag has neither text nor emblems.
Rule 5: I don't think this flag can be confused with any other flag. Only Estonia shares its flag colors, but its blue is darker, its stripes are egually sized and its colors are arranged differently
Rule 2
Colonial Botswana literally didn't have a flag. Botswana only got a flag on independence in 1966
Rule 3

It is one of the few African flags that utilizes neither the colours of the Pan-Africanist movement nor the colours of the country's leading political party

Its colors look pretty good too

 

[DragonFreak]

A great example of how a simple designed flag can look really good.

 

[badposter]

I apologize for the delay. It's been a busy day and I've got homework
Though no day should go flagless. Here's the flag of Lanús, a city in Argentina.

"Amazing"

 

[badposter]

Brazil is a huge country. It's bigger than the United States without Alaska, and thanks to it Portuguese is the most spoken language in Sout America, though not Latin America (remember, every other South American country except those in the sparsely populated Guianas has Spanish as its main language (though Guaraní is Paraguay's most spoken language, but 90% of Paraguayans also speak Spanish))
No, this has literally nothing to do with flags. I just thought this was interesting
Flag of Brazil

Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw the green and yellow parts, but I think the space given to draw the Ordem e Progresso is too small, and I don't think a child could memorize where the stars are, unless they're interested in astronomy.
Rule 2: This is one of the flags I have known the symbolism of since before I made this topic. Green represents the House of Braganza, which was the ruling house of Brazil from independence to November 15, 1889. The yellow represents the house of Habsburg, the house of Pedro II's (Brazil's second, longest lasting, and last Emperor) wife. In fact, even though the flag was adopted four days after the overthrow of the monarchy, the monarchy's colors were kept for national unity.
The symbolism for yellow and green isn't very interesting, but the symbolism for the flag is, imo, interesting an hell.
First let's talk about the Ordem e Progresso. This translates as Order and Progress. The leaders of the overthrow of the monarchy were rather influenced by the philosophical theory of positivism. Basically, Auguste Comte (one of the earlist positivists) had a quote

L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but

This translates as:

Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal

The star, just like the United State's, represent Brazil's states (and, just like the United States does, every time Brazil creates a new state, a new star is added to the flag). But not only that. The stars have exactly the same position they had in the night sky on Rio de Janeiro (Brazil's capital before 1960) on November 15, 1889, the date the monarchy was overthrown (Also, there's only one star over the curved band. This represents Pará, which has part of its territory in the Northern Hemisphere, though by this metric there should be four stars over the band, since the states of Amazonas, Roraima and Amapá also have territory in the Northern Hemisphere. But that's just nitpicking)
The stars on this flag also have different sizes (There's five different sizes for the stars, in fact). The sizes represent not only the sizes of the stars themeselves, but also the land area of the states they represent.
Also:

According to Brazil's national act number 5,700 of 1 September 1971, the flag portrays the stars as they would be seen by an imaginary observer an infinite distance above Rio de Janeiro standing outside the firmament in which the stars are meant to be placed (i.e. as found on a celestial globe). Thus Beta Crucis appears to the right of the constellation and Delta Crucis to the left, in mirror image of the way they actually appear in the sky

I love this flag's symbolism.
Part 3: Green, yellow, blue and white. This flag has good colors, imo
Part 4: The flag has text, and the fact that the way the stars are arranged, and the fact they have different sizes make the emblem rather complex imo.
Part 5: Yeah, this flag is pretty distinctive. I mean, how many flags have a star map, a rhombus and a positivist motto?
Part 2
Brazilian Empire (1822–1889) (Well, technically the Empire had three different flag, but the changes between flags were minor. This flag was actually adopted in 1889)

Spoiler

Meh. I prefer the current one.
Provisional flag of the Republic (November 15, 1889–19, 1889)

Spoiler

Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca (acting as provisional president of Brazil) vetoed the design, citing concerns that it looked too similar to the flag of another state

Hmm, I wonder which state he was talking about.../s
Part 3
This is one of my vexillological guilty pleasures. I know that this flag is pretty complex, and I understand why someone would hate it, I love this flag, mostly for its colors and its symbolism.
Bonus
For football (or soccer) fans (or just those who watched last World Cup), here's the flag of 7-1, made by a guy and Twitter and stolen by a Reddit user:

 

[badposter]

Flag of Brunei

Part 1: A child couldn't draw this flag from memory, due to the flag's rather complex emblem (also, I only learned this flag had hands the past month)
Part 2: The yellow represents the monarchy (Brunei is an absolute monarchy). The black and white,respectively represent the Sultan's two senior advisors, which are the Pengiran Pemancha (or Second Minister, who handles foreign affairs), and the Pengiran Bendahara (the First Minister, whose white bar is actually slightly thicker). I'm gonna copypaste the emblem's meaning because I can't handle anything more complex than simple colors:

The small swallowtail flag and parasol (payung ubor-ubor), regalia of the sultanate's monarchy,[1] have been the royal insignia since the creation of the emblem. (See also: chhatra, religious parasol)
The wings symbolise protection of justice, tranquility, prosperity and peace.
Below these is the crescent, a symbol of Islam, the state religion of Brunei.
On the sides, the upturned hands indicate the government's duty is to preserve and promotes the welfare of the citizens and to protect the people.
On the crescent, Brunei's national motto: “Always render service with God's guidance” (الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى).
On the banner (scroll), the state's name: Brunei Darussalam (بروني دارالسلام), literally “Brunei, the Abode of Peace”.

Rule 3: Red, yellow, black and white. This colors could look good, but the way the black and white are arranged make the flag look uneven imo.
Rule 4: This flag has a complex emblem and text. And remember, the text features the country's name in Arabic. This useful to Arabic speakers who know about Brunei but not about its flag. I don't think that's many people,
Rule 5: This flag is pretty unique, even without the emblem.
Rule 2:
Before 1906

Spoiler

I'm glad there's no longer any country which uses monocolors.
Protectorate of Brunei (1906-1959)

Spoiler

Better. It's still uneven, better
Rule 3
Definitely should go back to its 1906-1959 flag. Still, it's no Afghanistan or Belize

 

[badposter]

Flag of Bulgaria

Part 1
Rule 1: Tricolors are simple to draw.
Rule 2: Wikipedia doesn't say anything, so I had to recourse to flagspot.net (a good site, though its dwsign is 90s as fuck)

According to Fischer Weltalmanach '99, Russia, at the beginning of the 19th Century the only independent Slavic state, was the example for all Slavic states under Ottoman Turk and Austrian-Hungarian rule. These would be would be Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. In the Bulgarian flag, the blue stripe was replaced by the freedom color of green.

The flags in green, white and red colours were used by Bulgarian Legia (revolutionary organisation founded in Serbia by Bulgarian emigrants led by G. Rakovsky) in 1861-1862. The first white-green-red striped flag was made by S. Paraskevov and presented to Russian-Bulgarian troops (during the war against Turkey) in the Romanian town of Braila in 1877. It was a swallow-tailed banner. There was a lion and inscription "BULGARIA" in the centre (in Cyrillic characters). Now, the "banner of Braila" is kept in the War Museum in Sofia. The Bulgarian Constitution of 1878 confirmed this flag (but rectangular and without a lion).

I have no reason to distrust what Stefan Härtel and Victor Lomantsov. Please thank them, if what they're saying is right.
So basically, if Härtel (and Fischer Weltalmanach) are right, during independence Bulgaria used an adaptation of the Pan-Slavic (red, white and blue), except the blue was replaced by green (symbolizing freedom. Either Bulgarian nationalists or Fischer Weltalmanach like green. I, too, like green, and think it's good the flag isn't another Pan-Slavic tricolor.
Rule 3: White, green and red. It's not amazingly good, but it's not bad either.
Rule 4: Tricolors are tricolors.Tricolors have neither text nor emblems. Not much to say.
Rule 5: This flag, while similar to Hungary's, has a different color arrangment than Hungary's flag's (Having white at the top can make a tricolor distinctive imo)
Rule 2
Flag of Bulgaria (1944-1946) (The ОФ stands for Fatherland Front)

Spoiler

I was going to state the pros and cons on this flag, but:

The coup d'état of 9 September 1944 was accomplished by a combination of fascistic military forces and pro-Russian Stalinists and led to the abolition of monarchic rule

I dislike fascism and Stalinism. Fuck this flag
(The Communist added a boring coat of arms on the top left of the flag. I dislike coats of arms on flags)
Rule 3
Not the best flag ever, but at least it's simple and has OK colors.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Burkina Faso

Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple flag a child could draw from memory.
Rule 2: This flag was adopted after the 1983 coup that brought the communist Thomas Sankara into power. The red represents the revolution, the green the abundance of natural riches in Burkina Faso and the star is the guiding light of the Revolution. This flag, like Angola's is outdated, since communism in Burkina Faso ended after Sankara's overthrow and assasination.
Rule 3: Red, green and yellow. This flag uses the Pan-African colors, but it doesn't look like a generic Pan-African flag. Also, the colors look rather good imo,
Rule 4: The star is a good simple emblem. It's late so I'm writing this quickly.
Rule 5: This flag is a good example of similar but distinctive. It uses Pan-African colors but it looks different from other Pan-African flags.
Part 2
Upper Volta (1959-1984)

Spoiler

Upper Volta was, in fact a Frech colony, not a German one (the three stripes represent the three main tributaries of the Volta river: the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta. And no, the Volta River has nothing to do with Alessandro Volta)
Rule 3
It's a good Pan-African flag

 

[DragonFreak]

This was a few entries ago but I wish America had a cool latin phrase like Ordem e Progresso.