The United States is the greatest country in the world, or at least that's what we like to tell ourselves. In reality, it has a spectacular yet flawed past, and no matter how many grade levels of American history we're forced to take, we never really seem to know it all. This Ask Reddit thread delves into some spectacular facts about the history, natural history, and political landscape of our great nation. And no matter how patriotic you are, I'm willing to bet that you haven't heard all of these before.
People around the world, and Americans too, love to talk about how overweight we are. And yes, compared to many other developed countries, especially in Europe, we are quite a big people. But believe it or not, we don't even crack the top 10 when it comes to obesity rates. Perhaps we should cut ourselves a little more slack than we do.
We are also a car-dependent country, but surprisingly, the biggest state is the one with the lowest percentage of people who drive to work. It turns out that as a place full of small towns and dangerous weather, cars just aren't always the best mode of transportation for people in Alaska. Check out those, and 20 other cool American facts right here.
1
Over half of the population lives within 50 miles of the coast.
2
Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.
3
Arizona does not recognize Daylight Savings time (DST). However there is a Navajo reservation in Arizona that does recognize DST. However there is a Hopi reservation inside the Navajo reservation in Arizona which does NOT recognize DST. HOWEVER there is a smaller Navajo reservation inside the Hopi reservation inside the bigger Navajo reservation in Arizona that does recognize DST!
4
The United States is the native habitat of Venus Flytrap plant, specifically the Wilmington, NC area.
5
Before Grover Cleveland was president he was a lawyer. His partner at his firm had a baby girl. Grover bought that little girl her first stroller. Eighteen years later he married that little girl.
6
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500 is so large, you could fit the following locations inside its grandstands: The Wimbledon Campus, Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby track), Vatican City, Yankee Stadium, the Roman Coliseum, and Rose Bowl Stadium. At the same time.
7
In World War 2, German U-boats made it to the East Coast. Many times.
8
The Washington Monument is capped with an aluminum tip, due to the fact that when the monument was built, aluminum was more valuable than gold.
9
There are more people living in California than there are living in all of Canada.Canada: 35.16 million California: 38.33 million.
10
The largest air force in the world is the US Air Force, the second largest is the US Navy.
11
The U.S. doesn’t even crack the top 10 of the world’s most obese nations.
12
Hawaii and Texas used to be countries. Their state flags are the same as their country's flag. California and Vermont were also short-lived nations.
13
After the U.S. and Russia, ONE American ballistic missile submarine is the 3rd largest nuclear power in the world.
14
Three of the five oldest rivers in the world are located in the US.
15
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, co-authors of the Declaration of Independence, both died on July 4, 1826 -- the 50th anniversary of the document's adoption. They died hundreds of miles apart. Jefferson died first, but Adams didn't know it. Adams' last words were something like "Jefferson survives."
16
About 65% of US firefighters are volunteers.
17
“Native Americans sold the island of Manhattan to the colonists for $24 and got ripped off.” That isn't actually true! The native Americans didn't live there and convinced settlers they owned it and to pay for it. They did and took off with the $24.
18
Holding your hand on your heart for the pledge of allegiance is not the original tradition. We used to hold our right hand fully out-stretched, pointed towards the flag, with our hand held flat. You can guess why that was changed.
19
There was once a war between Michigan and Ohio over who would claim the Toledo Strip. There was one shot fired, and no fatalities.
20
The highest recorded temperature in Alaska is higher than the highest recorded temperature in Hawaii.
21
The U.S. is one of only two countries, (NZ being the other), where pharmaceutical companies can advertise directly to the consumer.
