Most flags settle into a familiar grammar of stripes, stars and crosses. A few do not. The ones below stand out for their designs, their odd elements, or the peculiar stories behind their creation, and they are grouped by what makes them strange rather than by where they fly.
Flags that tell a story
Whale tales in the Caribbean
On the tiny island of Anguilla, the flag records a rebellion. Three orange dolphins in a circle on a turquoise background stand for endurance, unity and strength, set against a white and blue field with a Union Jack in the corner. The Union Jack is the island's colonial history; the dolphins are its spirited fight against being governed by Saint Kitts during the Anguillian Revolution of 1967.
The double-headed eagle of Albania
Albania's flag has a stark black double-headed eagle on a red field, an emblem with roots deep in the heraldic traditions of the Byzantine Empire. It was chosen for the sovereignty and courage of the Albanian people and their historic resistance against conquest. The eagle looks both east and west, which is a fair description of the country's position between Eastern and Western cultures.
Nature and natural phenomena
Nepal: mountains and moon
Nepal's flag is instantly recognizable for its non-rectangular shape, two stacked triangles rather than the usual rectangle. The crimson reflects the brave spirit of the Nepalese people and the blue border stands for peace. The upper triangle houses the moon and the lower one the sun, carrying the hope that Nepal will last as long as those two do.
River Gee County, Liberia
One of Liberia's county flags depicts something no other flag attempts: lightning. The flag of River Gee shows two hands shaking under a traditional hut, with a bolt of lightning striking down the middle. The imagery is vivid and heavily loaded, most likely with the powerful forces of nature set against human cooperation in the region.
Cultural representation
Bhutan's dragon
The flag of Bhutan puts a white dragon across a diagonal bicolor of yellow and orange. The dragon is a symbol of protection in Bhutanese culture, and the jewels in its claws stand for wealth. Yellow signifies civil tradition and the monarchy, orange the country's Buddhist spiritual tradition.
The diagonal cross of Jamaica
Jamaica's flag uses a diagonal cross to divide the field into four triangles of green, gold and black. Black is the strength and creativity of the people, gold the sunlight and natural wealth, green the hope and agricultural resources. Breaking away from vertical or horizontal divisions was itself a statement about national identity.
Flags with unique features
The Nepo La of Sikkim
Before its annexation by India in 1975, the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim flew a flag known as the Nepo La, which displayed a Buddhist khorlo, or prayer wheel, flanked by two dragons. The imagery sat on a royal yellow background, blending spiritual and secular authority in one design.
The Isle of Man: triskelion's legs
The flag of the Isle of Man may be the most peculiar in terms of symbolism. Three armored legs are arranged in a triskelion, a three-legged swastika. The design is thought to reflect the island's independence and resilience, running forward in all directions at once.