You might think you know America, but not until you heard of all of these weird facts about the land of the free and the home of the brave. Some are odd tidbits, some are geographical anomalies, and some are head scratching truths — but all are a little on the weird side.
So, here we go with 10 really weird facts about America (in no particular order, because a non-countdown is kinda weird).
1. Mount Rushmore is named after a New York lawyer
Gutzon Borglum sculpted Mount Rushmore, but it was named after New York City lawyer, Charles E. Rushmore, who visited the area on multiple occasions from 1884-85. He was visiting on business and became friends with prospectors living there. He rather admired the rocky formation (not yet carved to depict presidents) and asked the men if it had a name. They said it didn’t, but that they would call it Mount Rushmore after him. It turns out they weren’t kidding.
2. Ohio did not become a state until 1953
Although Ohio’s boundaries and constitution were approved in 1803, Congress forgot to pass a formal resolution admitting Ohio as a state. Realizing this oversight when preparing to celebrate 150 years as a state, congress introduced a bill to be admitted into the Union with a catch: The bill effectively recognized Ohio as a state retroactively, dating back to 1803. This time, they didn’t forget to pass the bill.
3. There is a mail system underneath NYC streets
In the late 1800’s, postal workers could sometimes take all day to deliver mail from the downtown location to the uptown location. So, the post office installed an expensive mail tube system under the city. Workers would put mail in pneumatic tubes and it would travel via compressed air at a speed of 35 miles per hour to uptown and vice versa. The overall journey took about 20 minutes.
Of course, the tubes are still there in NYC, about 4 feet under certain streets, but for many reasons the post office halted the service in the 1953 — the same year Ohio became state! — partly because it was too expensive to maintain. It had been in operation in New York for over five decades.
4. There has never been an only-child who became US President
Strange but true: Every U.S. president is either a sibling or half-sibling. In other words, the number of presidents who were an only-child is zero.
5. The USA has its own Mulan
Deborah Sampson presented herself as a man, so that she could fight in the American Revolution. She actually got away with this for two years until she was wounded and the doctor who helped her realized she was a woman. After her secret was out, she was honorably discharged from the military, and she later went on a year-long speaking tour about her adventures.
6. There is one spot in the USA that defies gravity
The Mystery Spot is in California and was discovered by George Prather in 1939 when his compass went haywire near the spot. If standing, you will be at such an angle that everyone will think you’re falling over. You can visit this tourist attraction today and if you do then, yes, you will lean like Michael Jackson in Moonwalker.
7. England used to send British America its convicts
For decades in the 18th century, England sent America what are called Convict Ships, ultimately totaling over 50,000 convicts that Parliament happily shipped out to the Americas. There are some stories of convicts ending up on farms where they were forced to work only for them to run away.
So, when England later referred to American revolutionaries as criminals, then maybe they only had themselves to blame.
8. There are 600 miles of unexplored caves in Kentucky
Of all the places, Kentucky is a labyrinth of mazes.
A part of the appropriately named Mammoth Cave National Park, there is an estimated 600 miles of caves that have yet to be fully explored, and that’s in addition to the 420 miles of caves that has been explored and is what the park is named after.
9. USA wanted to drop a nuclear bomb on the moon
In the 1950’s, there was a secret plan known as “Project A119.” It was mostly a plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon to learn more about astrogeology. It was also designed as a show of force, as us Earthlings would be able to see the explosion without assistance from a telescope.
The plan was abandoned in favor landing on the moon instead as it would show the world what America is capable of without utterly destroying our moon.
10. America as we know it was saved by a pirate
French-born smuggler turned pirate, Jean Lafitte, created a pirate colony called Barataria, in Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. During the War of 1812, he joined forces with future U.S. President, General Andrew Jackson, who knew that Lafitte represented their best chance to win the Battle of New Orleans partly because of Lafitte’s knowledge of what was essentially his home terrain. He also had capable men ready to fight.
Lafitte utilized his men and his strategy wisely, tilting the scales in the favor of the Americans who defeated the British in the battle.
If the British took New Orleans, the war could have easily ended differently. The pivotal victory was, incredibly, because of pirates.
President James Madison responded by pardoning Jean Lafitte and his men of their many piracy related crimes.
Published: Jun 3, 2024 05:04 pm