=John Conway How should the resulting 51 stars be arranged on the "Stars and Stripes" flag?

OK, I'll bite: it doesn't seem particularly clever, but how does * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (51 = 7x9 - 3x4) strike you?

=Dan Asimov Further, can you define explicitly what "nicest" means?

I doubt it, but I could hazard a few obvious criteria that probably apply: 1. stars are subset of square or triangular lattice 2. bounding rectangle is "nearly square" 3. at least bilaterally symmetric Others? I'm curious to see how John's design pushes the envelope!