Almost everything we learn in grade school about the origin of the American flag is shakier than it seems. This episode traces the flag from the Continental Union Flag, which echoed the British East India Company flag, through the vague Flag Resolution of 1777, to Francis Hopkinson, who designed an early version and billed Congress a quarter cask of public wine.

We examine the Betsy Ross legend first presented by her grandson in 1870, the Empress of China voyage that gave America the nickname Flower Flag Country, the 15-stripe Star-Spangled Banner, and Captain Samuel Reid’s 1818 fix. We then cover Civil War flag mania, the Robert Heft myth, and the U.S. Flag Code, including reverse-facing patches, gold fringe conspiracy theories and the upside-down flag.

• Why the 1777 resolution created dozens of different star arrangements
• Why Congress refused to pay Hopkinson for his designs
• Why stripes were capped at 13 so the flag stayed readable at sea
• How the surrender at Fort Sumter turned the flag into a civilian symbol
• Why the First Amendment means the Flag Code cannot be enforced against private citizens