Elena Rossini ⁂

One of my favorite things about being a parent is that I'm constantly learning fascinating facts about the world - stuff that I normally would not be exposed to.

My child's current obsession? Drawing flags.

So yesterday I bought her a book about flags and we learned about the #Wiphala (her favorite flag in the book) - "a square emblem commonly used as a flag to represent some native peoples of the Andes."

Find out more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiphala

#TIL

Wiphala - Wikipedia

Apr 5, 2025 at 10:16amWeb
Show threadRodrigo PioApr 5, 2025

@_elena that's so true, we learn a lot from our little ones. My son is also a lot into flags, real and imaginary! He went as far as putting a page in his website that shows a random flag each day (he's 8 and this is his HTML, CSS and JavaScript code): https://randoms.neocities.org/random-flag

Thank you for sharing, he'll love to learn about this one, so unique!

Random Flag Widget

Show threadKailas IdavanmuzhiApr 5, 2025
@_elena and the real heroes are those who share that knowledge with the world.. Thanks @_elena for doing that :)
Show threadCode of Amor 💘Apr 5, 2025
@_elena read this as "one of my favourite things about being a pervert...." then had to re-read. I mean, both fine in their own right. 😁
Show threadJoannaCanFixITApr 5, 2025
@_elena "some native peoples of the Andes"
further down it mentions Aymara people, so not some, but at least one specific group. Very wired wording
Show threadTo #Flancia and beyond!Apr 5, 2025
@_elena love the Wiphala! Thanks for sharing widely. Its usage maps roughly to the [[Tahuantinsuyu]], the sphere of influence (to put it some way) of the Inca empire.
Show threadrobloblawApr 5, 2025
@_elena
That is objectively the best flag.
Show threadmcSlibinasApr 5, 2025
@robloblaw @_elena no doubts, The Best Flag! 💯
Show threadhanktank61Apr 5, 2025
@_elena Nice !
As pensioned volunteer, I did a museum-shift with a colleague last year. 20 klm North of Amsterdam.On a very quiet Sunday in winter.
A boy came in, we estimated him around 18 yr. Talking for 2.5 hours about his hobbies. One of them ¨flags".
Some villages in the area merged some years ago, called Zaanstad. One of the villages , Koog aan de Zaan, never had it's own flag, while the others had. The boy designed a flag, accepted by the local administration last year.
He was just 14:🙂
Show threadCraig MorganApr 5, 2025
@_elena if you've got a few minutes, @99pi.org did a great series of podcast episodes on flags, their origins and decoding them. Roman (the primary host) is a true fan … sample video here https://99percentinvisible.org/article/99-invisible-at-ted/ but there are loads of episodes related ...
99% Invisible at TED - 99% Invisible

I’m really excited to share with you the TED Talk I gave earlier this year at the main TED conference in Vancouver. It was so much fun to be on stage and I was so pleased the organizers encouraged me to perform the talk in the style of the radio show. I even got to

99% Invisible
Show threadFediThing Apr 5, 2025

@_elena

This is great! It looks like it would suit being woven?

Show threadStefan BohacekApr 5, 2025
@_elena This might just be my favorite flag as well, love it!
Show threadDavid JONESApr 5, 2025
@_elena "Fun with Flags!"
(In case you don't know, it's a recurring vlog that Sheldon hosts on the TV show Big Bang Theory)
Show threadnicolas ⁂Apr 5, 2025
@_elena There was this fun flag project done by my previous employer: https://flagstories.co 😊 Maybe some of the visualisations can be fun enough for your kid?
Flag Stories

a project by ferdio

Tumblr
Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂Apr 5, 2025
@nclm @_elena oh that's a cool project! Did you help with it?
Show threadnicolas ⁂Apr 5, 2025
@liaizon @_elena No that was before my time there! Actually how I got to know about them in the first place :)
Show threadAndy PiperApr 5, 2025
@_elena this gives me ideas for pen plotting...
Show thread@[email protected]Apr 5, 2025
@_elena honestly this is one of those things absolutely excited me about having kids. I was looking forward to the "why" questions. I know so many parents get annoyed, but I see it as an opportunity to learn more about the world as well and it's super exciting! Except when it's like:

Don't play with the toilet!
Why?
Because it's dirty and gross from pee and poo!
Why?
Because you pee and poo in there!

lol :-D
Show threadAbieMar 6
@_elena <3
Show threadLoïc DenuzièreMar 6
@_elena I found out about this one while watching a streamer play the strategy game Hearts of Iron. He was playing as Chile, conquering all of South America and liberating indigenous peoples along the way.