WELL WHO DOESN'T LOVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY? OHIO CELEBRATED ITS 212TH BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK... AND FOR THIS WEEK'S KNOW OHIO, WE WISH THE BUCKEYE STATE HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND TAKE A LOOK AT SOME THINGS THAT MAKE OHIO UNIQUE.
OHIO'S NAME ORIGINATED FROM THE IROQUOIS WORD 'OYO', WHICH MEANS GREAT RIVER.
OHIO BECAME A STATE ON MARCH 1, 1803 - THE 17TH STATE TO JOIN THE UNION.
KNOWN AS THE 'MOTHER OF MODERN PRESIDENTS', OHIO WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF SEVEN U.S. PRESIDENTS.
BUT CAN YOU GUESS WHAT MAKES OHIO TRULY UNIQUE? OHIO IS THE ONLY STATE TO HAVE A FLAG THAT LOOKS LIKE A PART WAS CUT FROM THE MIDDLE, CALLED A BURGEE. BURGEES ARE MORE COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH BOATING AND YACHTING. EVERY OTHER STATE FLAG IS RECTANGULAR.
THE SHAPE OF THE FLAG MAKES IT REALLY STAND OUT, BUT IT IS ALSO FILLED WITH SYMBOLISM.
ADOPTED IN 1902, THE FLAG FEATURES A LARGE BLUE TRIANGLE THAT REPRESENTS OHIO'S HILLS AND VALLEYS.
THE TRIANGLE IS POPULATED WITH SEVENTEEN WHITE STARS.
THOSE THAT ARE GROUPED AROUND THE CIRCLE REPRESENT THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL COLONIES. THE FOUR STARS FOUND AT THE APEX OF THE TRIANGLE COMBINE WITH THE STARS OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL COLONIES TO TOTAL SEVENTEEN.
REMEMBER, OHIO WAS THE SEVENTEENTH STATE TO ENTER THE UNION.
THE RED AND WHITE STRIPES REPRESENT THE ROADS AND WATERWAYS OF THE STATE. THE WHITE CIRCLE WITH A RED CENTER FORMS AN "O" FOR "OHIO" AND IS ALSO RELATED TO OHIO'S NICKNAME 'THE BUCKEYE STATE'.
AND A FUN FACT, THE DESIGN FOR THE CURRENT UNITED STATES FLAG WAS ACTUALLY CREATED IN LANCASTER, OHIO BY ROBERT HEFT AS PART OF A SCHOOL PROJECT. HE RECEIVED A 'B' MINUS ON THE PROJECT, BUT HIS TEACHER AGREED TO CHANGE THE GRADE AFTER THE U.S. CONGRESS ADOPTED THE DESIGN.
SO, WE WANT TO KNOW, IF YOU COULD CREATE A FLAG THAT WOULD REPRESENT AND DESCRIBE YOU, WHAT WOULD IT INCLUDE? LET US KNOW WHAT YOUR PERSONAL FLAG WOULD LOOK LIKE... WE'LL SHARE SOME OF YOUR IDEAS NEXT WEEK.