A State Flag That Holds Another Nation's Flag Inside It

Hawaii's state flag stands apart from the other 49 because it carries the flag of a foreign nation within its own design. The reason is Hawaii's history: it was a sovereign country before it became part of the United States, and very few states can say that. Its flag keeps that earlier chapter in plain view, in a banner that still flies over an American state. Anyone who looks closely at flags as design objects will find few on the national map with a more layered story.

With reporting from The Collector.