COLUMBUS, Ohio - Upside down American flags are flying at demonstrations ... But what exactly does it mean? The upside down flag traces its origins to the sea, where sailors flew them as a ...

a federal law allows the American flag to be flown upside down as a “signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property” (e.g., a capsized ship in the middle of the ocean).

The flag was originally designed to unfurl grandly from a ship’s mast ... when reflecting on his adventurous 20-year career as an American merchant seaman who sailed to China, India, Gibraltar ...