History of the Union Jack

How the Union Jack flag came to be.

[emperornuclear]

I’ve never seen a more straightforward video in my life.

[bl-rp]

I've never noticed that weird assymetry before.

[Klamath]

Fun fact: Flying the flag upside down inidcated that you were in need of help

[TheBeatKeeper]

I just discovered CGPGrey, and now I'm binge watching.

[dkamouflage]

DAMN IT!

This means the Union Jack I've had posted on my wall has been upside-down this ENTIRE TIME!

>_<

[grahambass]

For anyone wondering, the reason for the asymmetry is that the diagonal pattern is not a red saltire on a white field (like the part representing the English flag) but is a combination of the red Irish saltire and the white Scottish saltire. To prevent one from covering the other, they are each split in half in a rotationally symmetrical pattern.

In other words, the asymmetry exists to emphasize that the diagonal white pattern is a saltire itself and not just a field behind the red saltire.

[NWRTales]

England has St. George's flag
Scotland has St. Andrew's flag
Ireland has St. Patrick's flag
Wales' flag incorporates the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, along with the Tudor colours of green and white. The Welsh dragon does not appear on the flag because when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales was already united and annexed to England. 

[ThePCguy]

I love it. They don't even need a voice over.

[ahuhu]

Good news for OCDs: Notice that even if you look at the flag upside down (I mean physically rotate the flag not flipping it) there won't be any difference. That's because the flag is a rotational symmetry instead of a mirror symmetry (which I believe is a more interesting design than the boring mirror symmetry).

[feynstein]

In case anyone's curious, the music is Thatched Villagers by Kevin Macleod

[lasakau]

Welsh dragon actually has the invisibility cloak on, so you can’t see it on the flag

[TheVayeight]

I think the union jack needs the welsh dragon. Think of how awesome a flag with a dragon would look on it. Plus then my fellow americans would know what it is.
What is the union jack?
You know the flag with the dragon on it.
Ow that flag.
Ending ignorance with dragons.

[MrFrostys]

Man the music is so damn upbeat if I was drunk I'll start dancing to it.

[stopcoercingmeintousinggoo]

this is the shortest and to the point documentary on youtube well done :)

[tomsega]

It's amazing what a ubiquitous fashion symbol the Union Jack has becoming globally. Particularly here, in Japan, it's pretty much the most popular and likely symbol to see on a handbag or tshirt etc

[GNZOU]

I agree, even though I'm Welsh and love the fact that we're one of only two countries in the world to have a dragon on our flag, the union flag looks fine as it is.

Someone tried putting a dragon in the middle but it didn't look right.

[richardfrederick]

So it seems you know it's right side up when it's white side up.

[DuffPaddy]

Is it me or is this the greatest piece of music that has ever been created? It has everything!

[uallrite]

If Scotland leaves the United Kingdom and the Union Jack becomes an ugly overglorified England Flag with half a St. Patrick's Saltire, will Australia, New Zealand, hell even Hawaii and all those British crown colonies have to change their Union Jack on the top left hand corner of their national

[carlosimon]

Short and direct. A clear and simple explanation of the origins of the Union Jack flag.