What would the flag look like if the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico became states?

There have been 50 states in the U.S. since Hawaii joined the union in 1959. We're all used to the number of stars increasing, but can you envision a scenario when they decrease?

Check out a larger view of this video of a data visualization called The N States of America: http://bit.ly/1to100  Learn about the science behind the viz created by Skip Garibaldi or try it out yourself at the bottom of the page.

 

A Few Future Flag Scenarios

What would the flag look like if the South seceded again? 39 Stars How would the flag change if a state like California fragmented in response to a double dip recession, drought and record deficits? 52 Stars

What if Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota decided to pledge their allegiance to the Maple Leaf? 47 Stars

Build Your Own Flag

Try the viz out yourself and check out this graphical history of the American flag via VizWorld.

[If the embed doesn't work, find the viz here: The N States of America

The images you just saw were altered specifically for this post. The originals come from Wikipedia and have either been released into the public domain or have no copyright restrictions.