It's A-OK (and patriotic!) to set your flags on fire today

Today's Flag Day, the one day a year when you're allowed to burn your old flags without fear of seeing your face plastered on the evening news. In ceremonies worldwide, tattered Stars and Stripes will be laid to rest in compliance with the U.S. Flag Code, which suggests that worn-out flags be "destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning" (firing up the grill and going down in a blaze of Old Glory doesn't qualify as "dignified"). If you're not confident you'll hold a respectable service, experts such as Marge Weiner of Richboro, Pa., collect shabby flags and give them proper retirements. "If it becomes damaged, call me," she says. "I always have flags in the trunk of my car."