Sicily

The Sicilian flag bears three legs in the shape of a triskelion which is supposed to represent the three corners of the island. From our perspective, it appears to be the end result of a genetic experiment gone awry. The flag was first adopted in 1282.

Isle of Man

Sicily was a trendsetter, at least as far as the Isle of Man is concerned. Its three-legged flag was adopted in 1932

North Caucasian Emirate

The North Caucasian Emirate existed only from September 1919 to March 1920. Belying its short lifespan, the country’s flag struck a decidedly optimistic outlook with its design that (presumably unintentionally) resembles a smiley face.

Måsøy, Norway

If you don’t know what is depicted on the flag of MÃ¥søy, Norway, you might pass it off as a poorly drawn bird head, a cartoonish hitchhiker’s hand, or a barely lit torch on a windy day. What earns its place on this list of strange flags is the fact that the image in question is a Hakapik. The Hakapik has two purposes: crushing a seal’s skull with the blunt end and dragging the carcass away with the hook.

Surely this design must be an ancient one, steeped in history and tradition, right? Sadly, it was adopted in 1984.

Antwerp, Belgium

The state of Antwerp, Belgium, takes the cake in terms of bad design. Admittedly, this writer is colorblind, but even so, the flag looks like a punk rocker threw up on it.

Nepal

The flag of Nepal gets kudos for its willingness to defy conformity. It is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular. The flag combines two single pennants.

Friesland, Netherlands

The official flag of the Netherlands province of Friesland looks like it was sponsored by cupcake manufacturer Hostess. The items that look like hearts are, in actuality, the leaves of a water lily and are known as pompeblêden.

Central African Republic

The flag of the Central African Republic was designed by its first president, Barthélemy Boganda, in 1957. The four horizontal stripes are supposed to signify the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, and the red vertical stripe symbolizes the shedding of blood. Something about the design, however, makes us think that it was designed by a committee and that one of the committee members refused to get with the program.

Bermuda

Given that Bermuda relies so heavily on tourism through the cruise ship industry, it is ironic that it is the only country to feature a sinking ship on its flag.

Zheleznogorsk, Russia

Zheleznogorsk, Russia was established in 1950 for the explicit purpose of making weapons-grade plutonium. The city’s existence was so secret that it would not show up on any official maps until 1992. The purpose of the community is captured in its flag, which shows a Russian bear ripping apart an atom.