Weird History: 23

Grand Old Flag

From this one, you will learn why there are only thirteen stripes on the flag as well as the stars.

When Vermont (March 4, 1791) and Kentucky (June 1, 1792) came into the Union, Congress altered the standard flag of thirteen stars and stripes, to fifteen stars and stripes. In 1818 after Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and Indiana joined the Union, Congress knew that before long, the flag would resemble an oversized quilt if they kept adding stripes for each new state. They reverted back to the original thirteen stripes and simply added a star for each new state.

On A Side Note: Andrew Jackson was the first president to be handed a baby to kiss during his campaign. He refused to kiss the infant and instead, he handed the baby over to the Secretary of War and said, “You kiss the wretched little bastard!”