The flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. It has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the Union Flag for most official purposes, although the Canadian Red Ensign had also been unofficially used since the 1860s and approved by a 1945 Order in Council. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to discuss these issues, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was chosen. It made its first appearance on February 15, 1965, a date now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags, usually containing the maple leaf motif in some fashion, have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1849:

Belgium introduced its first series of postage stamps, known as epaulettes (example pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaulettes_%28stamp%29

1862:

American Civil War: Confederate general Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed and ultimately unsuccessful assaults on the nearly impregnable Union position on Malvern Hill in Henrico County, Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Malvern_Hill

1874:

The Remington No. 1, the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholes_and_Glidden_typewriter

1999:

Legislative powers in Scotland were first devolved from the Scottish Office in London to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Canuck: 1. (Canada, US, informal, sometimes derogatory) A Canadian person; specifically (archaic), a French Canadian person; a pea-souper; also (obsolete) a Canadian person of other descent. 2. (ice hockey) A member of the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team belonging to the National Hockey League. 3. (skiing) Chiefly as Crazy Canuck: a member of the Canadian alpine ski team. 4. (rare) A thing from Canada. 5. (aviation, military, historical) The Avro Canada CF-100 fighter- interceptor aircraft, in use between 1952 and 1981. 6. (US, obsolete) A Canadian horse or pony. 7. (historical, rare) synonym of Canadian French (“the French language as spoken by Francophones in Canada”). 8. (slang) Synonym of Canadian English (“the variety of the English language used in Canada”) 9. (originally informal, sometimes derogatory) Of, belonging to, or relating to Canada, its culture, or people; Canadian. 10. (ice hockey) Of or relating to the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team belonging to the National Hockey League. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Canuck

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The most successful tempters and thus the most dangerous are the deluded deluders.   --Georg Christoph Lichtenberg https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georg_Christoph_Lichtenberg