Inspiration

50 Strange But True Facts About the U.S.

The United States is a massive country, and even though it's not quite 250 years old, its 3.8 million square miles offers plenty of history. Did you know the Liberty Bell has a typo on it? Or that there are more bourbon barrels in Kentucky than humans? Check out these little nuggets of information, plus 48 other surprises, quirky sites, and just plain cool facts about the U.S. of A.

By Caitlin Morton

September 7, 2017

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More people live in New York City than in 40 of the 50 states. Source: NYC Department of Planning
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Oregon is the fastest-speaking state in the U.S. Mississippi is the slowest. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

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The word “Pennsylvania” is misspelled on the Liberty Bell. Source: National Science Foundation
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There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover all of North and South America in one foot of liquid. Source: NOAA Minnesota Sea Grant

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There's a town in Washington with treetop bridges made specifically to help squirrels cross the street. Source: National Park Service
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In 1872, Russia sold Alaska to the Unites States for about 2 cents per acre. Source: Britannica

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You can get a unicorn hunting license from Michigan's Lake Superior State University. Source: Lake Superior State University
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It would take you more than 400 years to spend a night in all of Las Vegas's hotel rooms. Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Courtesy Cherry Point Farm & Market
Western Michigan is home to a giant lavender labyrinth so big you can see it on Google Earth. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
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There’s an island full of wild monkeys off the coast of South Carolina called Morgan Island, and it's not open to humans. Source: WSAV News 3

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There's enough concrete in the Hoover Dam to build a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York City. Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
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Arizona and Hawaii are now the only states that don't observe daylight savings time. Source: Reuters

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Airlines sell all their unclaimed baggage to a store in Scottsboro, Alabama, that resells everything. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
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Boston has the worst drivers out of the nation's 200 largest cities. Kansas City has the best drivers. Source: Allstate America's Best Drivers Report 2017

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Kansas produces enough wheat each year to feed everyone in the world for about two weeks. Source: National Association of Wheat Growers
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There’s a Darth Vader "gargoyle" on the National Cathedral in D.C. Source: Washington National Cathedral

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Oregon's Crater Lake is deep enough to cover six Statues of Liberty stacked on top of each other. Source: National Park Service
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Of more than 2,500 National Historical Landmarks, only two can (willfully) move: San Francisco's cable cars and New Orleans’s St. Charles streetcar line. Source: The New Orleans Advocate

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The Empire State building has its own zip code. Source: Empire State Building
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President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House, but his successor, President Ronald Reagan, had them removed. Source: New York Times

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There are more than 70 streets in Atlanta with some variation of the name “Peachtree.” Source: Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
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The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office has its own quirky gift shop called Skeletons in the Closet. Source: Skeletons in the Closet

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The Library of Congress contains approximately 838 miles of bookshelves—long enough to stretch from Houston to Chicago. Source: Library of Congress
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If Texas were its own country, it would have the 10th largest GDP in the world. Source: Newsweek

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At 46 letters, Massachusetts’s Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg has the longest place name in the U.S. (even though it's based on a joke). Source: Conde Nast Traveler
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In 1922, a man built a house and all his furniture entirely out of 100,000 newspapers. The structure still stands today in Rockport, Massachusetts. Source: Britannica

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The entire Denver International Airport is twice the size of Manhattan. Source: Denver International Airport
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One sunrise in Maui is so popular, you have to pay to see it. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

-Dant-
In 1893, an amendment was proposed to rename the country to the "United States of Earth." Source: National Constitution Center
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A highway in Lancaster, California plays the “William Tell Overture” as you drive over it, thanks to some well-placed grooves in the road. Source: YouTube

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You can visit the "future birthplace" of Star Trek's Captain Kirk in Riverside, Iowa. Source: City of Riverside official website
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The total length of Idaho's rivers could stretch across the United States about 40 times. Source: National Wild and Scenic Rivers System

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The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been on fire for 55 years. Source: Conde Nast Traveler
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Utah is the happiest state in the U.S., followed by Minnesota. Alabama and West Virginia rank as the unhappiest states. Source: Conde Nast Traveler

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The one-woman town of Monowi, Nebraska is the only officially incorporated municipality with a population of 1. The sole, 83-year-old resident is the city's mayor, librarian, and bartender. Source: Country Living
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The entire town of Whittier, Alaksa lives under one roof. Source: Conde Nast Traveler

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The number of bourbon barrels in Kentucky outnumbers the state’s population by more than two million. Source: Kentucky Distillers' Association
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Columbus, Ohio is home to an eight-foot, nearly naked statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Source: The Wall Street Journal

Courtesy NPS
Montana's Glacier National Park has a canine "bark ranger" that helps herd wildlife away from high-traffic areas. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
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Many states have official state foods, but only Oklahoma has an official state meal: Squash, cornbread, fried okra, barbecued pork, grits, biscuits, sausage and gravy, corn, strawberries, chicken-fried steak, black-eyed peas, and pecan pie. Source: Oklahoma Historical Society

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You can watch more than 100 ponies swim to Chincoteague Island every year in Virginia. Source: The Washington Post
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In 1943, the temperature in Spearfish, South Dakota jumped 49 degrees in two minutes (-4°F to 45°F), one of the most drastic changes on record. Source: National Weather Service

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The world's tiniest park is in Portland (naturally), measuring a mere two feet wide. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
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The inventor of the Ouija board lived and died in Baltimore; his tombstone stands as a reflection of his achievement. Source: The Baltimore Sun

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The biggest signature in human history belongs to Texas farmer Jimmie Luecke. The two-mile landmark can be seen from space. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
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South Florida is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist in the wild. Source: National Park Service

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There are around 5,000 commercial airplanes flying over the United States at any given time. Source: Smithsonian
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Only one-third of all $100 bills are actually inside the United States. Source: Washington Post

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In Colma, California the dead outnumber the living by nearly 1,000 to 1. Source: New York Times
The smallest county in the U.S., Kalawao County on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, is also a leprosy colony where a few former patients still live. Source: Condé Nast Traveler
Most of the village of Kalaupapa, seen from above

More people live in New York City than in 40 of the 50 states. Source: NYC Department of Planning

Oregon is the fastest-speaking state in the U.S. Mississippi is the slowest. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

The word “Pennsylvania” is misspelled on the Liberty Bell. Source: National Science Foundation

There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover all of North and South America in one foot of liquid. Source: NOAA Minnesota Sea Grant

There's a town in Washington with treetop bridges made specifically to help squirrels cross the street. Source: National Park Service

In 1872, Russia sold Alaska to the Unites States for about 2 cents per acre. Source: Britannica

You can get a unicorn hunting license from Michigan's Lake Superior State University. Source: Lake Superior State University

It would take you more than 400 years to spend a night in all of Las Vegas's hotel rooms. Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Western Michigan is home to a giant lavender labyrinth so big you can see it on Google Earth. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

There’s an island full of wild monkeys off the coast of South Carolina called Morgan Island, and it's not open to humans. Source: WSAV News 3

There's enough concrete in the Hoover Dam to build a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York City. Source: U.S. Department of the Interior

Arizona and Hawaii are now the only states that don't observe daylight savings time. Source: Reuters

Airlines sell all their unclaimed baggage to a store in Scottsboro, Alabama, that resells everything. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

Boston has the worst drivers out of the nation's 200 largest cities. Kansas City has the best drivers. Source: Allstate America's Best Drivers Report 2017

Kansas produces enough wheat each year to feed everyone in the world for about two weeks. Source: National Association of Wheat Growers

There’s a Darth Vader "gargoyle" on the National Cathedral in D.C. Source: Washington National Cathedral

Oregon's Crater Lake is deep enough to cover six Statues of Liberty stacked on top of each other. Source: National Park Service

Of more than 2,500 National Historical Landmarks, only two can (willfully) move: San Francisco's cable cars and New Orleans’s St. Charles streetcar line. Source: The New Orleans Advocate

The Empire State building has its own zip code. Source: Empire State Building

President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House, but his successor, President Ronald Reagan, had them removed. Source: New York Times

There are more than 70 streets in Atlanta with some variation of the name “Peachtree.” Source: Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office has its own quirky gift shop called Skeletons in the Closet. Source: Skeletons in the Closet

The Library of Congress contains approximately 838 miles of bookshelves—long enough to stretch from Houston to Chicago. Source: Library of Congress

If Texas were its own country, it would have the 10th largest GDP in the world. Source: Newsweek

At 46 letters, Massachusetts’s Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg has the longest place name in the U.S. (even though it's based on a joke). Source: Conde Nast Traveler

In 1922, a man built a house and all his furniture entirely out of 100,000 newspapers. The structure still stands today in Rockport, Massachusetts. Source: Britannica

The entire Denver International Airport is twice the size of Manhattan. Source: Denver International Airport

One sunrise in Maui is so popular, you have to pay to see it. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

In 1893, an amendment was proposed to rename the country to the "United States of Earth." Source: National Constitution Center

A highway in Lancaster, California plays the “William Tell Overture” as you drive over it, thanks to some well-placed grooves in the road. Source: YouTube

You can visit the "future birthplace" of Star Trek's Captain Kirk in Riverside, Iowa. Source: City of Riverside official website

The total length of Idaho's rivers could stretch across the United States about 40 times. Source: National Wild and Scenic Rivers System

The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been on fire for 55 years. Source: Conde Nast Traveler

Utah is the happiest state in the U.S., followed by Minnesota. Alabama and West Virginia rank as the unhappiest states. Source: Conde Nast Traveler

The one-woman town of Monowi, Nebraska is the only officially incorporated municipality with a population of 1. The sole, 83-year-old resident is the city's mayor, librarian, and bartender. Source: Country Living

The entire town of Whittier, Alaksa lives under one roof. Source: Conde Nast Traveler

The number of bourbon barrels in Kentucky outnumbers the state’s population by more than two million. Source: Kentucky Distillers' Association

Columbus, Ohio is home to an eight-foot, nearly naked statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Source: The Wall Street Journal

Montana's Glacier National Park has a canine "bark ranger" that helps herd wildlife away from high-traffic areas. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

Many states have official state foods, but only Oklahoma has an official state meal: Squash, cornbread, fried okra, barbecued pork, grits, biscuits, sausage and gravy, corn, strawberries, chicken-fried steak, black-eyed peas, and pecan pie. Source: Oklahoma Historical Society

You can watch more than 100 ponies swim to Chincoteague Island every year in Virginia. Source: The Washington Post

In 1943, the temperature in Spearfish, South Dakota jumped 49 degrees in two minutes (-4°F to 45°F), one of the most drastic changes on record. Source: National Weather Service

The world's tiniest park is in Portland (naturally), measuring a mere two feet wide. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

The inventor of the Ouija board lived and died in Baltimore; his tombstone stands as a reflection of his achievement. Source: The Baltimore Sun

The biggest signature in human history belongs to Texas farmer Jimmie Luecke. The two-mile landmark can be seen from space. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

South Florida is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist in the wild. Source: National Park Service

There are around 5,000 commercial airplanes flying over the United States at any given time. Source: Smithsonian

Only one-third of all $100 bills are actually inside the United States. Source: Washington Post

In Colma, California the dead outnumber the living by nearly 1,000 to 1. Source: New York Times

The smallest county in the U.S., Kalawao County on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, is also a leprosy colony where a few former patients still live. Source: Condé Nast Traveler

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