We have Betsy Ross to thank for our first official American flag. How she got the gig...

Betsy Ross has quite the claim to fame, creating our nations first official flag...

So how did she land that job? Friends in high places - of course. Not that Betsy had it easy, far from it. She was disowned by the Quakers, widowed three times and had seven daughters - two of whom died in infancy. But as good luck would have it, her pew in Philadelphia’s Christ Church was next to George and Martha Washington’s pew. A self-employed seamstress, Betsy was a whiz at embroidering Washington’s iconic ruffles to his shirts and cuffs. Naturally, Washington turned to Ross for help with the first flag. According to Betsy, George showed her his rough design with a six point star, to which she suggested her faster 5-point cut. He was impressed and she got the job.