This Day in History: Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

Aliens are probably cool: Psychologists think we would handle news of alien life pretty well

Social psychologists say that most of us would respond very well to alien life. In fact, we would greet these life forms with unadulterated enthusiasm and be generally happy with the introduction. These were the conclusions of a new, if not strange, study that was presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In it, researchers say that while many articles and novels have been written on how we would respond when (or if) we meet extraterrestrial life, no empirical analysis has ever been done on the subject.

There is something wrong with Feed URL