New Zealand Asked The Internet To Design Its New Flag

Ryan Grenoble
Updated
(Photo: )
(Photo: )

Government officials in New Zealand like to live dangerously.

At least, that's the simplest explanation for the country's "Flag Consideration Project," which has openly invited the Internet to submit alternative designs for New Zealand's national flag. The country will possibly vote on the new image in a referendum in March 2016.

That's right: New Zealand has asked the Internet to help it design a new national flag.

Despite the obvious risk inherent in outsourcing a large symbol of your country's national pride to a large group of strangers, most of the entries are -- surprisingly -- quite good.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Others, however, trend to the more delightfully weird end of the spectrum (including one flag that features a Kiwi -- a flightless bird native to New Zealand -- shooting lasers from its eyes).

We've collected some of our favorite entries below. Each one comes with a description written by the person who created the design:

Fire the Lazar

<blockquote>The laser beam projects a powerful image of New Zealand. I believe my design is so powerful it does not need to be discussed.</blockquote> Designed by: James Gray from Auckland
The laser beam projects a powerful image of New Zealand. I believe my design is so powerful it does not need to be discussed.
Designed by: James Gray from Auckland

Te Pepe

<blockquote>That feel when our eyes gaze upon the flightless and majestic rare-Kiwi bird is a classic icon of NZ's deep relationship with our ancestors, their spirit, land and culture. Te Pepe Tamariki, Te Papa Aotearoa.</blockquote> Designed by: David Astil from Waikato
That feel when our eyes gaze upon the flightless and majestic rare-Kiwi bird is a classic icon of NZ's deep relationship with our ancestors, their spirit, land and culture. Te Pepe Tamariki, Te Papa Aotearoa.
Designed by: David Astil from Waikato

Blue Sky Blue Sea

<blockquote>Blue sky, blue sea. K.I.S.B Keep it simple Bro!, everyone has a blue sheet at home they can cut up, Bam! 12 flags from one sheet. We will have flag saturation! everyonr can afford to fly one.</blockquote> Designed by: Phil Plunkett from Auckland
Blue sky, blue sea. K.I.S.B Keep it simple Bro!, everyone has a blue sheet at home they can cut up, Bam! 12 flags from one sheet. We will have flag saturation! everyonr can afford to fly one.
Designed by: Phil Plunkett from Auckland

Good Flag

<blockquote>Animals, nature, blah, blah, blah.</blockquote> Designed by: James Ireland from Auckland
Animals, nature, blah, blah, blah.
Designed by: James Ireland from Auckland

Happy Kiwi

<blockquote>Because it portrays that we are a nation of happy, harmless kwis.</blockquote> Designed by: Davy Lee from Auckland
Because it portrays that we are a nation of happy, harmless kwis.
Designed by: Davy Lee from Auckland

Snapper Quota Unicorn

<blockquote>New Zealanders are very interested in Snapper quota, and what better way to bring it to the people than this country's native bird - the Unihorned Kiwi bird.</blockquote> Designed by: Charlotte Drene from Canterbury
New Zealanders are very interested in Snapper quota, and what better way to bring it to the people than this country's native bird - the Unihorned Kiwi bird.
Designed by: Charlotte Drene from Canterbury

Red

<blockquote>Red is cool .... Looks fast and easy to make. Flys upside down and inside out.... Dragons and NInjas like red... </blockquote> Designed by: Phil Plunkett from Auckland
Red is cool .... Looks fast and easy to make. Flys upside down and inside out.... Dragons and NInjas like red...
Designed by: Phil Plunkett from Auckland

Nyan Kiwi

<blockquote>This flag combines the Southern Cross and colour scheme of our existing flag, with the rainbow design of the popular Nyan Cat meme. This design uses the Nyan Kiwi. The kiwi's colour represents our mixed race society, and its trail represents the colourful variety of cultures present in New Zealand society. The Nyan theme music could also be used as fresh, and simpler, national anthem.</blockquote> Designed by: Fosh from Wellington

Southern Kiwi

<blockquote>Bird accualy is kiwi. Is well known icon of our country and people. Also stars are southern cross and blue is pacific ocean. Where we're from and how we got here. </blockquote> Designed by: Aku A. from Waikato
Bird accualy is kiwi. Is well known icon of our country and people. Also stars are southern cross and blue is pacific ocean. Where we're from and how we got here.
Designed by: Aku A. from Waikato

Sheep and Hokey Pokey

<blockquote>This design represents all of NZ because we have lots of sheep and love hokey pokey ice cream. I even included the blue and red to keep all of you naysayers happy. Kiwi as bro.</blockquote> Designed by: Jesse Gibbs from Canterbury
This design represents all of NZ because we have lots of sheep and love hokey pokey ice cream. I even included the blue and red to keep all of you naysayers happy. Kiwi as bro.
Designed by: Jesse Gibbs from Canterbury

Bicycle of NZ

<blockquote>I believe it accurately represents the NZ people as hard working people from today on into the future.</blockquote> Designed by: James Ringwood from Auckland
I believe it accurately represents the NZ people as hard working people from today on into the future.
Designed by: James Ringwood from Auckland

H/T BBC

MOZAMBIQUE

Some world nations celebrate peace with an olive-branch design on their flags; others boast of bravery in war by showing swords or spears. But only Mozambique really pushes the envelope by including an AK-47 assault rifle, complete with bayonet, in its national emblem. A national contest was held in 2005 to design a replacement flag without the Kalashnikov, but so far the machine gun remains. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

KYRGYZSTAN

In Kyrgyz legend, the national hero, Manas the Noble, unified the land’s 40 tribes by waving a blood-red flag. Today’s red flag still has 40 rays on its sun design, symbolizing the different tribes, but the curved lines on the sun are something else: That’s supposed to be a bird’s-eye view of a yurt, the traditional tent in which Kyrgyzstan’s nomadic peoples make their homes. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

GRENADA

The circles and stars and triangles aren’t too unusual, but wait—what’s that yellow-and-red flame-shaped thing at left? That’s a clove of nutmeg, an important export of Grenada, once called the “Spice Island.” If you remember, raise of glass of eggnog next Christmas to the flag of Grenada. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>
The circles and stars and triangles aren’t too unusual, but wait—what’s that yellow-and-red flame-shaped thing at left? That’s a clove of nutmeg, an important export of Grenada, once called the “Spice Island.” If you remember, raise of glass of eggnog next Christmas to the flag of Grenada. Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo

IRAN

The flag of Iran looks like your traditional tricolor—until you check out the stripes a little more closely. What appears to be a nice design-y border between each stripe is actually stylized calligraphy reading Allahu Akbar (“God is Great”) 22 times, in two rows of 11. The numerology symbolizes 11/22, the Persian-calendar equivalent of February 11, the date of the 1979 Islamic revolution against the Shah. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

DENMARK

The world’s oldest state flag is also, if you believe the legend, the only one with a design drawn up personally by God. At the 1219 Battle of Lyndanisse, a Danish priest supposedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by praying for a miracle, after which this flag fell from the heavens and inspired the Danes to drive back their enemy Estonians. Today, all the Nordic flags have designs based on the Dannebrog of Denmark. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

NAURU

The flags of Cyprus and Kosovo both display outline maps of the borders, but only the tiny Pacific island of Nauru shows visitors how to find their country from space. The blue field is the Pacific Ocean, the gold stripe is the equator, and Nauru sits where the twelve-pointed star is: in the west of the ocean, just one degree below the Equator. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

NEPAL

The mountainous land of Nepal boasts the world’s only nonrectangular flag, which has its origins in two separate triangular flags—one displaying the sun and the other the moon—that it once flew one atop the other. The bright crimson background is meant to capture the petals on a red rhododendron, Nepal’s national flower. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>

TURKMENISTAN

Do you like Middle Eastern carpets? Sure! We all do. Turkmenistan is world-famous for the craftsmanship of its beautiful carpets, so the stripe at left on its flag is an intricate stack of five traditional medallions used in local carpet design. It’s the world’s only flag that wears a rug. <em>Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo</em>
Do you like Middle Eastern carpets? Sure! We all do. Turkmenistan is world-famous for the craftsmanship of its beautiful carpets, so the stripe at left on its flag is an intricate stack of five traditional medallions used in local carpet design. It’s the world’s only flag that wears a rug. Photo: Courtesy iStock Photo

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.