This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars

Long time beautiful nerds know that we have a thing for flags how they're made what they symbolize what makes a good flag and a bad flag. So with another

flag day coming up, today's story is about a flag that you're definitely familiar

with, one that we're probably long overdue covering on this show.

The Flag of the United States.

Actually, Roman, the story I'm here with today is less about the flag itself

and more about its origin story.

As reporter, Lizzy Peabody, she hosts a podcast for the Smithsonian that's like our spiritual

cousin, it's called Side Door.

Most Americans probably feel like they know the story of where our flag came from, and you might have learned this back in the fourth grade too, Roman.

The Betsy Ross story?

Yeah, I think people are probably familiar with the elementary school

version of the Betsy Ross story, but we're going to ruin that story and replace it with a better one.

Yes, but before we ruin it, let's do a quick recap because it might have been a few, I don't know, decades

since some of us were in elementary school. So Roman, I brought this picture

with me to refresh your memory. Yes, I between the drawing of Betsy Ross

in Schoolhouse Rock and this painting, my entire image of what

Betsy Ross is is from those two images and in this painting it's her sitting in this big poofy dress next to an open window.

There's like beautiful light pouring in.

And at the bottom of the painting, it reads,

Birth of our nation's flag.

Yes.

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