40 facts and curiosities about the United States: history, geography, culture, cuisine, population and randomness (like a palace made of corn).
Know some facts and curiosities about the United States:
History of the United States
- The current United States flag was designed by Robert G. Heft as a school project during high school, in 1958, at the age of 17. He got a B- and his professor promised to increase his grade if Congress accepted the flag design. Heft’s project was not only chosen, but also adopted by the 1959 presidential proclamation.
- New York was the first American national capital, from 1785 to 1790. The city played an important role in establishing a new government after the defeat of the British and the Treaty of Paris, which ended the United States War of Independence , post-American Revolution.
- Before being New York, the famous American city was already called New Amsterdam. The name was chosen by the Dutch who chose to settle in Manhattan. “New York” did not appear until the end of the 17th century, more specifically in 1664, when the British took over the colony during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and named the city in honor of the Duke of York, who later became King James II from England and James VII from Scotland.
- Possibly the most iconic symbol of the United States, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France in 1886. What few know is that three years later the United States presented France with a smaller version of the Statue, which is still today on the Pont de Grenelle in Paris.
We are a family owned and operated business.
Statue of Liberty on the Pont de Grenelle in Paris, France.
- Another important symbol of American independence, the Liberty Bell, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was manufactured in London, in the same place where the famous Big Ben was born. Whitechapel Bell Foundry produced both bells and is one of the oldest private manufacturers in the world.
- Throughout history, there have been countless Americans responsible for inventions that have changed the world, for example, the transistor, the lamp and the cell phone enhanced by Martin Cooper.
- Another American invention: the internet! During the early 1960s, the United States Department of Defense awarded contracts for packet network systems. ARPANET was the first computer network to be developed. So they say that the United States invented the internet.
Education in the United States
- The United States has approximately 5,000 colleges and universities. Together, they award more than 2 million degrees a year, according to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics).
- In the famous world ranking of Timed Higher Education, the United States occupies 14 of the top 20 positions. In the list of the best reputations in the world, the country’s universities are in 13 places in the top 20. The United States is still the largest educational power in the world.
- The number of women enrolled in US universities (9.41 million) is greater than that of men (7.34 million) according to the Statista website in 2017. The first American university to train women was Oberlin College, and the graduates were Mary Caroline Rudd, Mary Hosford and Elizabeth Prall in 1841. The institution also made history by forming the first African American woman in 1982, Mary Jane Patterson.
- There are currently 60 colleges for women only in the United States (and only four for men only).
- Fourteen of the 25 largest sports stadiums in the world belong to college football teams. When it comes to books, Harvard University has the largest academic library in the world , with 15.8 million volumes.
Harvard Library reading room.
- Three-quarters of Princeton University alumni marry people who also graduated from university.
- With each edition of the Olympic Games, at least one different student from Stanford University has won a medal since 1908.
- Forty percent of the Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry, Medicine and Physics in the United States since 2000 were immigrants. The country forms some of the most brilliant minds in the world!
United States Geography
- The United States is the world’s fourth largest country in area and third in population. In 2013, a population of more than 315,500,000 was estimated.
- The country is made up of 50 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Rhode Island, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio , Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- Each US state has separate state laws, with its own constitutions, governments and courts. This means that something can be law in one state and not in another, like the death penalty, for example.
- Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 and is the largest state in the United States by land area. However, it is not connected to the mainland – it is in western Canada.
- In addition, Alaska has by far the longest coastline of any country in the country. Its coastline stretches for 10,686 kilometers.
- One more curiosity about Alaska: in the state, there is a small town called the North Pole that embraces the Christmas spirit like no other place, thanks to its name. You can visit Santa Claus in his cave, see the elves at work and drive down Santa Claus Lane. Who knew that the “North Pole” is in the United States?
- What is curious is that Christmas was illegal in the United States until 1832, considered an old pagan holiday.
- Eighty percent of Nevada’s land is owned by the American government. They are reserved for wildlife refuges, forests, conservation areas, monuments, national parks, etc. The private portion is made up of desert, abandoned mining towns, isolated farms and mountain ranges.
- Hawaii is a beautiful volcanic archipelago made up of several islands, each with its own name. It is the only American state composed exclusively of islands.
Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is the capital of Hawaii.
- The United States and Russia are just 3.8 kilometers away. In the middle of the Bering Strait, between Alaska and Siberia, the two countries have an island each, divided by the International Date Line, just 3.8 kilometers from each other.
North American population
- In practice, the national language is English. Although laws institutionalize the English language as a requirement for naturalization in the country, there is no federally official language. Spanish is the second most common language and also the most widely taught language in schools.
- Freedom of speech and press: known as “The land of the Free” (or something like the Land of Freedom), Americans have the right to express themselves freely in the press and in speech.
- Other nicknames for the United States: Land of Dreams and Land of Opportunities! The American dream proposal is internationally famous. It is no coincidence that the country has the largest number of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.
- In general, Americans love physical activity and are excellent sportsmen. This is very evident in the Olympic Games: the United States is the country that has won the most Olympic medals in the world. At the Winter Olympics, Norway is ahead; however, when combined with the number of Summer Olympics, the United States is unbeatable.
- The United States also leads the music and film industry. Most of the great world stars were born in the country: Elvis Presley, Metallica, Eminem, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Madonna, Nirvana, Bruno Mars, Guns n ‘Roses, Bon Jovi, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Marvin Gaye, Tupac and Frank Sinatra, just to mention a few. A cradle of fame, isn’t it?
Cooking in the United States
- Despite the fame of fast food, pizza in the United States is more popular than hamburgers. According to the pizza business organization, approximately 100 acres of pizza are sold every day in the country – or 3 billion units!
- Speaking of fast food: McDonald’s is one of the largest employers in the country. It is estimated that one in eight Americans has already worked or will be employed by the chain at some point, according to Fast Food Nation. In fact, several celebrities have worked at McDonald’s before fame, such as Rachel McAdams, Jay Leno, Sharon Stone, Macy Gray, Shania Twain, James Franco Seal and even billionaire Jeff Bezos, president and CEO of Amazon.
- Sixty percent of Americans order food or order a takeaway meal at least once a week.
Food to go : Most Americans eat out at least once a week.
Randomness about the United States
- According to energy consumption statistics in 2014, total world consumption was 539 billion British thermal units (BTU) – a non-metric energy measure equivalent to 0.2929 Watts, used in the USA and the UK. The United States consumed about 98 billion BTU, that is, almost 18% of the world’s total energy consumption, a figure considered extraordinary.
- The state of South Dakota has the only Corn Palace in the world. Yes, Mitchell Corn Palaceis an attraction entirely decorated with corn! Built in 1892, the palace receives more than 500,000 visitors each year.
Panel made entirely of corn at Mitchell Corn Palace, South Dakota.
- Although used worldwide, GPS – a global positioning system – is owned by the American government and controlled by the US Department of Defense. This means that they can turn it off at any time. In fact, before, before it became a free civilian use, it was a military tool. In a context of war, the United States can revoke the availability of GPS.
- Having an American passport means having the freedom to travel all over the world. United States citizens are entitled to enter 116 countries without the need for a visa. In another 44, they get a visa already in the foreign country.
- Kingda Ka is still the tallest roller coaster in the world, located in the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey. It is 139 meters high – equivalent to a 40 meter building – and the journey lasts 56 minutes. (But it’s not the fastest: Formula Rossa, in Abu Dhabi, reaches 240 km / hour.)
- George Washington oversaw the construction of the White House, but he was not the first American president to live in it, but John Adams and his wife. Beginning in 1792, it only became a presidential home in 1800. Since Adams, every family living in it has made some kind of change, renovation or addition.
- According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each American produces an average of 2 kilos of garbage per day. Considering the national population, the total number is 635,029,318 kilos. All. The. Days!