Think you know everything about the USA? Think again. From quirky state laws to little-known historical moments, America is full of surprises. In this third installment of our fascinating fact series, we bring you 50 more intriguing nuggets that highlight the strange, the proud, and the just plain unexpected corners of American culture, geography, and history. Whether you’re a trivia buff or just curious about the country’s lesser-known side, these facts are sure to entertain and enlighten.
Missed the earlier parts? Catch up here:
1 Homegrown Rice Dominates U.S.
About 80% of the rice consumed by the United States is produced domestically.
2. The IRS provides specific tax filing guidelines in the event of a qualifying dependent being kidnapped.
3. If Bronx High School of Science were a country, it would rank 23rd in the number of Nobel Prizes earned. Remarkably, it has produced more Nobel laureates than 45 U.S. states.
4. In some regions of the United States, people have long painted their porch ceilings a specific shade of blue-believed to ward off evil spirits, haints, and ghosts. As a result, all major paint companies now offer this color, such as Sherwin-Williams’ SW9063 “Porch Ceiling.”
5. The United States Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy actively supported and influenced the film Top Gun: Maverick to portray the military positively and boost recruitment and retention.
6 Army Employs Most U.S. Musicians
The United States Army employs more musicians than any other single organization in the country.
7. During the Great Depression, many U.S. towns created their own currencies, known as “scrip,” because the national currency was so scarce that people couldn’t afford basic goods.
8. Interestingly, more ethnic Norwegians live in the United States than in Norway itself.
9. On average, Americans lose their virginity at 17 years of age.
10. Each year in the United States, walk-in freezer accidents cause the deaths of around 60 people.
11 iPhones Dominate Teen Market
According to a survey done by investment firm Piper Sandler in 2023, 87 percent of American teens owned an iPhone, and 88 percent expected it to be their next phone.
12. When warned of a potential missile launch against the United States, the Pentagon and Strategic Command war rooms have just one minute to brief the president, who then has approximately six minutes to decide whether and how to respond.
13. In the United States, a 16 oz. box of spaghetti can legally contain up to 450 insect parts and nine rodent hairs.
14. The U.S. federal witness protection program boasts a 100% success rate-provided participants strictly follow the program’s guidelines.
15. Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as “Angola,” is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. It operates its own radio station, TV station, magazine, fire department, sugarcane fields, market gardens, and herds of cattle and horses.
16 New Mexico Adds “USA”
New Mexico stands out as the only U.S. state to include “USA” on its license plates, specifically to prevent confusion with the country of Mexico.
17. Many U.S. states have filial responsibility laws that legally require adult children to support their sick or impoverished parents.
18. The IRS requires U.S. taxpayers to report taxable income from illegal activities, including earnings from selling drugs, accepting bribes, or even the fair market value of stolen property.
19. In 2023, seed companies across the United States accidentally mixed up pepper seeds, causing gardeners nationwide to grow the wrong varieties-a blunder now known as “Peppergate.”
20. Roughly one in every eight workers in the United States has been employed by McDonald’s at some point in their lives.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Bus Tragedy Reshaped Safety Laws
Kentucky enforces the strictest school bus safety standards in the United States-for example, requiring nine emergency exits. This regulation followed a tragic 1988 school bus crash, where a fire killed 27 trapped children and adults. The bus, built in 1977, had only two exits and ran on flammable gasoline stored in an unprotected tank.
22. Due to the ongoing territorial dispute between Canada and the United States over Machias Seal Island, anyone born on the island receives dual citizenship claims from both countries.
23. North America-and the United States in particular-experiences the world’s most extreme weather, averaging over 10,000 severe thunderstorms and more than 1,000 tornadoes annually.
24. In 1960, the United States alone generated 40% of the entire planet’s GDP.
25. Texarkana refers to two separate towns bordering one another, one in Texas and the other in Arkansas, that share the same name. Although governed by two different state laws, they function in many ways like a single community. Uniquely, their courthouse is the only one in the United States built directly on a state border.
RE: Fact #34 (America Says ) – The Philippines is an English speaking country – in many cases we have better grammar than most Americans – and we mostly pronounce the letter Z as “zee”, not so much as “zed”.
RE: Fact #38 (1916 List: Cancer, Murder, Gluttony) – Here’s the rundown of the 20 problems in the article: millions of single people, more divorces, fewer babies, tons of infant deaths, lots of kids with disabilities, rising rates of mental illness, huge numbers of people with drug and alcohol problems, way more murders than any other country, tons of money wasted on preventable illness, stress through the roof, desk jobs, overeating without exercising, obesity, weak bodies, poor health, organs failing early, tons of deaths from disease, too many deaths from infections, skyrocketing cancer rates, terrible teeth and eyesight, and 15,000 suicides a year. Think about it: in 1916, 15,000 out of 102 million people died by suicide, but in 2014, that number was 42,773 out of 318.9 million.
RE: Fact #47 (Screwworm Eradicated with Science) – That’s why border agents are so strict about food – they’re not worried about your goodies, but about the creepy crawlies that might be hiding in them.
RE: Fact #6 (Army Employs Most U.S. Musicians) – I figured Starbucks hired the most musicians.
RE: Fact #18 (Illegal Income? IRS Still Cares) – Maybe they’re saving that for later, to nail some big-time crooks on tax stuff.
RE: Fact #29 (Gage Beats “Gauge” at USGS) – During a semester in college long back, we did a lab on stress gauges, and our prof used both spellings—gauge and gage—all over the place. It was super frustrating trying to decide which one to use in my report!
RE: Fact #31 (U.S. Sets Oil Output Record) – The US actually gets more oil from Canada than all the OPEC countries put together! People think it’s Saudi Arabia, but it’s really our neighbors to the north.
RE: Fact #40 (U.S. Has Only 10 Fjords) – So?
RE: Fact #12 (Six Minutes to Nuclear Decision) – They’ve pretty much thought of everything like that already. The president’s already decided what he’ll do in most situations, especially that one.
RE: Fact #19 (Peppergate Ruins Gardens Nationwide) – I got a load of jalapeños, and ended up with way more spicy wax peppers than I wanted.
RE: Fact #26 (1994 Cup Most Profitable Ever) – Soccer’s been around in America for ages, but it’s really exploded in popularity lately. It’s become one of the fastest-growing sports, and by the end of 2022 it was the fourth most popular, way up from sixth place just a couple of years earlier. It’s still behind the big domestic leagues, though.
It was hugely popular before the Depression, but it fell apart because the leagues couldn’t get along.
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
RE: Fact #22 (Island Birth Grants Dual Citizenship) – Basically, nobody lives there except for two lighthouse keepers who swap out every month.
RE: Fact #18 (Illegal Income? IRS Still Cares) – There’s no specific law that says illegal income isn’t taxed, but all income is generally taxed, so that includes illegal stuff. However, there *is* a law (IRC 280E) that says you can’t deduct drug trafficking expenses from your taxes, except for the cost of the goods.
And for those wondering if the IRS rats people out to the cops, check out IRC 6103.
RE: Fact #15 (Angola Prison Runs Own Town) – Reminds me of a classic Southern town, complete with its own plantation. It’d be great if they could get some volunteers to help out in the fields.
RE: Fact #25 (Texarkana: Two States, One City) – It’s not like a town or city is just one local government area.
This town’s actually split between two.
Big cities usually have a bunch of different local governments running them.
RE: Fact #46 (Quake Made People Question Florida) – Yeah, the South in the 1880s… a real hotbed of science and, uh, normal stuff.
RE: Fact #49 (U.S. Balanced on a Pin) – Sure, you’ll find a pinhead in the US Government, easy peasy.
RE: Fact #26 (1994 Cup Most Profitable Ever) – They played it in stadiums way bigger than usual—like, two or three times the size of other places. That was the least they could do, honestly.
RE: Fact #42 (Ohio Became State… in 1953) – That’s wrong. Ohio became a state in 1803, after Congress passed the Enabling Act in 1802. Congress didn’t usually issue a fancy declaration of statehood back then. Ohio just got one later, in 1953, for a special occasion – it wasn’t actually required.
RE: Fact #3 (Bronx School Outranks Nations) – Wow, Class of ’69! No Nobel for me, haha. But this post is cool.
RE: Fact #44 (States Have Official Fossils) – So, Minnesota doesn’t have an official state fossil! Wow, that’s embarrassing.
Edit: Actually, the MN DNR site says the Giant Beaver’s the state fossil, but I’m not sure if it’s been officially approved by the state government.
RE: Fact #11 (iPhones Dominate Teen Market) – That whole green versus blue bubble debate seems totally American. I’d never heard of it until I saw it on a tech forum recently. It’s crazy.
RE: Fact #42 (Ohio Became State… in 1953) – Some folks use this to back up some pretty wild political ideas. For example, they think income tax is illegal because it wasn’t voted on by the states.