After its creation in the 1950s, the Diver Down flag quickly became the most common flag used by divers in the United States. However, it’s not part of the international code of signal flags, and many boats end up flying two flags when they have divers in the water—both the red and white Diver Down, and the traditional Alpha flag.

The core purpose of these flags is to let boats know that there is a diver in the water. When flown, both boats and divers have responsibilities: passing boats must not come within a certain distance of the Diver Down flag, and divers must remain close to it.

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I’ve been a Seattle Seahawks fan for a very long time. Let me rephrase that: I’ve been a Seattle Seahawks fan for an extremely lengthy and excruciating time. Jim Zorn, Steve Largent, the Kingdome, 1992’s two-win season, Bill Leavy—all indelibly burned into any Seahawks fan’s memory (whether we like it or not). We’ve been laughed at, made fun of, and looked down upon for decades.

But now all of that doom and gloom is behind us.

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Every year, Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4. This holiday commemorates the Declaration of Independence’s signing, a momentous act that separated the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776.

Although Congress determined that the colonies would become independent on July 2, the Declaration of Independence—a document explaining the decision—wasn’t made public and signed until the 4th, the day that’s become known as America’s birthday.

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The latest addition to Patriot Wood is a wooden Colorado state flag. We’re really pleased with how it turned out! This handmade wood flag is currently available in three sizes—check them out here.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE COLORADO STATE FLAG

Colorado’s current flag was designed and adopted in 1911. When it was originally adopted, legislature didn’t specify several important aspects—including the size of the “C” and the shades of red and blue. This caused variation in early Colorado flags, until the official description was updated to specify these aspects, first in 1929 and again in 1964.

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The Bennington flag’s recognizable design is well known—its telltale “76”, seven-point stars, and white outermost stripes have become iconic in American culture as a symbol of the American Revolution.

Bennington, a small town in Vermont, was a key location during the Revolutionary War—it held many necessary supplies and resources, like ammunition, draft horses, and cavalry.

During the summer of 1777, British forces invaded the region, intent on capturing these supplies. Unbeknownst to them, however, United States general John Stark and 1,500 militiamen were stationed there too. When the British entered the area, General Stark rallied his troops and led them to battle with the famous cry, “There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”

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