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When many people are asked who created the American flag, their first answer is Betsy Ross, which may or may not be true. But as far as who designed the version of Old Glory we know today, there’s also a great deal of debate.
The story went that a 17-year-old designed a flag with 50 stars for a high school class in 1958. Despite there not being 50 states yet, Robert G. Heft claimed Alaska and Hawaii would soon enter the Union. Given a B-, Heft’s teacher told him he could improve his grade if the U.S. adopted his flag.
– Jacqueline Gualtieri, The 100 Companies