50 fun facts you might not know about America
For the Fourth of July, the Chicago Tribune and Tribune News Service offer these 50 fun facts that you might not know about America.
1. Why fireworks?
Chances are that you’re heading out to see some fireworks. President No. 2 John Adams was the first to come up with the idea. The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2 (we’ll get to that later), and the next day, an excited Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that this day would go down in history: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
2. July 2 or July 4?
The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776, but they didn’t get around to putting their John Hancocks on the document until two days later. So July 4 is our big holiday.
3. Alexander Hamilton sex scandal
If you’ve seen the smash musical “Hamilton,” you know that not everything that the Founding Fathers did was prim and proper. Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, was involved in one of the nation’s first sex scandals when he had an affair with a woman named Maria Reynolds. His admission of the affair ended his political career.
4. People could get a prescription for alcohol during Prohibition
Americans didn’t have to sneak into a speakeasy during Prohibition to get a drink. Many got their booze legally: by getting a prescription from a doctor and then buying their whiskey at a pharmacy. Alcohol had long been used as a medicinal remedy, making it sort of the medical marijuana of its day.
5. There was a president before George Washington
Before the first 13 states were bound by the Constitution, they operated together under the Articles of Confederation. And John Hanson of Maryland was elected as the first president of the Continental Congress.
6. We have an official national tree
In 2004 Congress declared the oak as the nation’s official tree.
7. Milk is the most popular state beverage
There’s no official national beverage, but among the 28 states that have an official beverage, 21 are going with a delicious glass of milk.
8. The U.S. ceded a town to Mexico in 1970
Most people think that the boundaries of the United States were set after Hawaii joined the Union in 1959. However, the U.S. and Mexico didn't settle an ongoing dispute about the Rio Grande border between the two countries until 1970. The Boundary Treaty of 1970 acquired certain areas near the river and in exchange ceded some land as well as the town of Rio Rico, Texas, to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The U.S. government ruled that any of the town's residents born in the city prior to 1972 could retain their citizenship.
9. The U.S. has the tallest mountain in the world
Mt. Everest is often touted as the world's tallest mountain, but it's only the tallest mountain above sea level. Measured from its underwater base, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is actually the world's tallest mountain. The inactive volcano stands 33,500 feet tall, nearly a mile taller than Everest.
10. Alaska has a longer coastline than all of the other states put together
Counting the state’s islands and mainland coast, it has more than 47,000 square miles of coastline.
11. Nine states have more cows than people
According to the 2016 U.S. Census of Agriculture, our population is 319 million people and 89.9 million cows, which is a 3.5:1 ratio, except in the nine states in which cows outnumber people: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. South Dakota has the biggest disparity, with 4.5 cows for every person.
12. Iowa has about 7 times more pigs than people
According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association, at any one time there are about 20 million pigs being raised in the state, vs. only about 3.1 million people.
13. People in Kentucky are outnumbered too
There are reportedly more barrels of bourbon in the Bluegrass State than there are people.
14. The Pentagon is the largest office building in the world
The iconic headquarters of the U.S. military has more than 6 million square feet of office space and covers 34 acres.
15. Andrew Jackson taught his parrot curse words
Poll the parrot had such a foul mouth that it had to be removed from the president's funeral because it was cursing too much.
16. Another presidential parrot
Andrew Jackson wasn’t the only president with a pet parrot. William McKinley reportedly had a parrot named Washington Post.
17. Harry S. Truman didn't have a middle name
The "S" in Harry S. Truman's name doesn't actually stand for anything because his parents couldn't agree. They chose the letter "S" as a compromise to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. This launched a debate among journalists as to whether a period should follow the "S" since it wasn't short for anything.
18. Thomas Jefferson may have invented the swivel chair
Among the inventions credited to our third president is the swivel chair. In fact, he reportedly wrote the Declaration of Independence in it.
19. The U.S. Postal Service still uses mules in Arizona
A small remote community of people living in the Grand Canyon still gets mail delivered by mule.
20. Kansas is flatter than a pancake
The terrain of the entire state of Kansas is actually scientifically proven to be flatter than a pancake. In 2003, three geologists compared a sample slice of the state to a pancake from IHOP under a laser microscope. With 1.000 being perfect flatness, the pancake scored 0.957, which the researchers described as "pretty flat." Kansas scored 0.9997, or “damn flat,” according to the scientists.
21. But Kansas isn’t even the flattest state; Florida is flatter
According to researchers, the Sunshine State is also the flattest state. The state’s highest spot is only 312 feet above sea level.
22. Oh, Ohio
Ohio wasn't officially admitted into the union until 1953. Back in 1803, Congress approved the state's constitution but neglected to adopt a resolution formally accepting it as the 17th state. A century and a half later, historians noticed the oversight, which was rectified by Congress and President Dwight Eisenhower.
23. Cleveland is a typo
The city's founder was Moses Cleaveland, and even today there's no consensus for why the letter A disappeared in the 1830s. Among the theories: A local newspaper editor dumped the A because it didn't fit on the masthead; an early map contained a spelling error; or store signs posted by brothers named Cleveland made residents think that was the city's correct spelling.
24. Whole lot of freshwater
There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the land mass of North and South America in one foot of liquid. The big lake holds as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined, plus three more Lake Eries, according to Lake Superior Magazine.
25. A slice is nice
The U.S. sells enough pizza every day to cover 100 acres. According to a Gallup poll, children ages 3 to 11 prefer pizza over all other food groups for lunch and dinner.
26. Count me in
Many Americans are eager to help out. About 70 percent of firefighters in the United States are volunteers, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
27. Civil War pension
The Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, but the U.S. government is still paying a veteran's pension from that war. Irene Triplett, the daughter of a Civil War veteran, collects $73.13 each month from her father’s military pension, according to U.S. News and World Report.
28. Pour me a shot, Abe
The only U.S. president to own a patent and a saloon was Abraham Lincoln. His patent was for a device to lift boats over sandbars. But, alas, his saloon was a failure, Reader’s Digest says. Good thing he went into politics.
29. Chew on this
Contrary to popular belief, the first president did not have wooden choppers. George Washington’s dentures were made of human and cow teeth, ivory and metal. Washington was fond of dark wines, though, which may have stained his dentures, giving them the appearance of being wooden.
30. John Quincy Adams liked to skinny-dip
President John Quincy Adams liked to skinny-dip every morning. According to his journal, he regularly took a long walk and a dip in the Potomac early each morning before returning home for breakfast.
31. Solar power
President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House, but his successor, Ronald Reagan, had them removed.
32. Checking in
It would take you more than 400 years to spend a night in all of Las Vegas’ hotel rooms, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says.
33. Traveling money
Only one-third of all existing $100 bills are in the United States, the Washington Post reports.
34. What are you saying?
The U.S. does not have an official language. Federal law does not declare English as our national, official language.
35. Big Apple indeed
More people live in New York City than in 40 of the 50 states in the U.S., according to the NYC Department of Planning.
36. Can it
More Spam is eaten in Hawaii than in any other state. Hawaiians devour 7 million cans a year.
37. Sweet time
There’s a desk full of candy on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The candy desk tradition was started in 1968 by California Sen. George Murphy, who kept sweet treats in his desk despite a no-eating rule on the floor.
38. Where did you come from?
An estimated one in 10 of us could be a blood relative to one of the 102 pilgrims who arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620, Reader’s Digest reports.
39. Give him an A
The current 50-star flag design was created by Robert G. Heft, an Ohio high school student, in 1958. His teacher originally gave him a B- but agreed to change the grade to an A after Congress accepted the flag design, according to the Library of Congress.
40. Presidents and states
There are eight U.S. presidents from Virginia. Only 21 states have been the home state of a U.S. president.
41. Statue of Liberty
The original title of the Statue of Liberty is “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The statue was a gift from France, and the American people built the pedestal that it stands on.
42. The White House
The White House wasn’t official titled that until 1901 when Teddy Roosevelt made the building’s common nickname an official moniker, according to the White House Historical Association.
43. Foreign-born presidents
Eight U.S. presidents were not born in the United States — it didn’t exist when they were born. President John Tyler was the first president born after the country became independent.
44. Patriotic to the end
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both signed the Declaration of Independence, died within five hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing.
45. Ohio vs. Michigan
Ohio once went to war with Michigan — and not just on the football field. The Toledo War of 1835 was a dispute over 500 square miles of land, including the town of Toledo. Militias from Ohio and Michigan confronted each other along the Maumee River, but reportedly the only injury was a single stab wound to the leg. The federal government settled the issue: Ohio got Toledo, and Michigan received the western Upper Peninsula.
46. The truth is out there
In 1973, three years before he was elected president, Jimmy Carter filed a report for a UFO sighting.
47. Mule story, bro
The Democratic Party’s use of a donkey as a mascot originated with Andrew Jackson using the image of a donkey on his campaign posters after opponents called him a “jackass.”
48. Laying down roots
The insect-eating Venus flytrap is native only to North Carolina and South Carolina.
49. American spirit
By law, bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be made in the United States, must be made from a grain mixture that is at least 51 percent corn, and must be aged in charred oak barrels.
50. Last supper
After John Wilkes Booth dined with his fiancee, Lucy Hale, and her mother, he took Lucy's hand and recited a line of Shakespeare, which was not unusual for the actor to do in normal conversation. Then he left to kill the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Booth's parting words at dinner, from "Hamlet," were: "Nymph, in thy orisons (prayers), be all my sins remembered."