Fun Facts and Trivia About the United States!
These facts contain some little-known and curious facts about the United States and its history! Feel free to read and enjoy them all. All facts have been taken from various sources and have been checked for accuracy as much as possible.
Some of Ghandi's ashes are at the Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades near Los Angeles. These were the only ashes allowed outside of India when he died.
In 1919, Boston had a molasses disaster. 2 million gallons of crude
molasses burst from a tank and pushed its way through the neighborhood
and city. It killed at least 21 people and took weeks to clean up.
The "largest" city in the United States is Juneau, Alaska. It covers about 3,000 square miles. That's larger than the state of Delaware. In case you are wondering, Jacksonville, Florida is the largest in the lower 48 at just over 800 square miles.
The California grizzly bear is the state's official animal. However, in 1953 when it was named, it had already become extinct. The last known California grizzly to have been seen was killed in 1922.
Venus Fly Traps only live in the wild in the Carolinas and nowhere else in the world.
Francis Scott Key, who penned the Star Spangled Banner, was a practicing lawyer. His sister, Anne Key, married Roger Brooke Taney, who later would be the Chief Justice that gave the decision in the Dred Scott case.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was originally named Michael, like his father. When Jr. was 5, dad changed both their names to Martin.
Amelia Earhart designed her own line of clothes that were sold all over the United States.
Degas, the great French painter, lived in New Orleans for one year, 1872-1873.
Calvin Coolidge had 2 pet racoons.
There are no poisonous snakes in Maine.
President James Garfield devised an original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and piblished it in 1876. He once taught math at Hiram College.
Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital. He is the oldest ex-president.
President William H. Taft had quite a second career. 9 years after his presidency, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Harding. Taft was also the first president to submit a national budget and set a precedent by doing so.
Gen. Robert E. Lee married a relative of George Washington, Mary Ann Randolph Custis. She owned a plantation called "Arlington." They lived there 30 years until Gen. Lee resigned his commission to avoid fighting against his home state. The Lees vacated the property in 1861. Union troops occupied it and 200 acres were set aside to bury fallen Union soldiers. Today over 250,000 war dead are buried there. Now of course, it is known as Arlington National Cemetery.
The only black sand beach, in the continental United States is Black Sand Beach in California.
A mechanical engineer invented a device in the 1870's to oil train wheels while the train kept running. It was called a lubricator. He made several others for various machines. His name was Elijah McCoy, and imitators followed. These imitations did not work as well, and people coined the phrase, "The Real McCoy" to denote the originals. What is so amazing about this fact? He was born to a runaway slave family. That's right, The Real McCoy was an African-American!
A town called Terminus was founded in Georgia in 1837 because it was the end of a railroad line. This town was made into Marthasville in 1843. What is this "town" called today? Since 1845 it has been called Atlanta, of course.
The original bell, now referred to as the Liberty bell, was cast in London and came to this shore in 1752. It cracked a month later and was recast twice. The time and place of the current crack is actually unknown.
Contrary to many people, no star on the flag is specifically representing any one state. In fact, no law exists as to how they are even to be arranged.
A redwood tree in California has been dubbed the Tallest Living Thing. It is about 367 feet high and resides in Montgomery Woods State Reserve. It is now taller than the previous "Tallest" tree because it was damaged a storm and is now about 10 feet shorter.
July 4, 1776, is the "official" date when our country was born, but actually was not one country until 1788. (We'll let you find out why!)
Martin Van Buren was the first president born in America after it declared its independence from England. So, he was actually the first president born in the United States, the country.
