Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding at Madison Square Gardens may go down in history as one of the most star-studded and elaborate nuptials the city has ever seen. The event all but overshadowed America's 4th of July Independence Day celebrations.
Now that the confetti has settled, people are getting the chance to reminisce on years gone by in the land of the free and the home of the brave. But they're not just discussing the general historical facts that you'd likely find in a history text book.
Someone asked, "On Americas 250th anniversary what’s one crazy fact about its history you wish more people knew about?" and some of the answers might surprise you. Bored Panda has put together a list of the best responses for anyone eager to find out more about what makes the United States truly unique.
#1
The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.
83points
America might celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July but that's not actually the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Continental Congress voted to gain independence from Britain on the 2nd of July, 1776 and formally adopted the declaration two days later on July 4. It wasn't fully signed by all signatories until August.
Former president John Adams was so adamant that American independence should be commemorated on July 2, that he reportedly refused to take part in 4th of July celebrations throughout his lifetime.
#2
To date, the most decorated regiment by a wide margin was made of Asian Americans during WW2. During the time we treated them worst, they gave America the best it would ever get
Between 18k men, the 442 Regiment earned
*21 Medals of Honor (The highest military decoration in the United States)
*52 Distinguished Service Crosses
*588 Silver Stars
*22 Legion of Merit Medals
*15 Soldier Medals
*More than 4,000 Bronze Star Medals
*9,486 Purple Hearts (Earned by soldiers wounded or k****d in action)
*7 Presidential Unit Citations (The highest unit level award).
Between 18k men, the 442 Regiment earned
*21 Medals of Honor (The highest military decoration in the United States)
*52 Distinguished Service Crosses
*588 Silver Stars
*22 Legion of Merit Medals
*15 Soldier Medals
*More than 4,000 Bronze Star Medals
*9,486 Purple Hearts (Earned by soldiers wounded or k****d in action)
*7 Presidential Unit Citations (The highest unit level award).
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48points
#3
The Business Plot of 1933. This was when a bunch of wealthy right-wing business owners tried to plan a coup to overthrow Roosevelt and establish a f*scist regime. Their plot involved getting a half-million disillusioned WWI vets to create a paramilitary force to march on Washington.
To lead their effort, they approached Major Butler. Instead of going along with their effort, he acted as an informant. In 1934, he went before Congress and testified against the right-wing fascists.
It is important to note, however, that even though this was all found credible, not a single one of those right-wing wealthy fascists suffered any consequences.
So what we are seeing now isn't the first time we have faced wealthy right-wing fascists trying to overthrow the government. It's just the first time that they're succeeding.
To lead their effort, they approached Major Butler. Instead of going along with their effort, he acted as an informant. In 1934, he went before Congress and testified against the right-wing fascists.
It is important to note, however, that even though this was all found credible, not a single one of those right-wing wealthy fascists suffered any consequences.
So what we are seeing now isn't the first time we have faced wealthy right-wing fascists trying to overthrow the government. It's just the first time that they're succeeding.
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48points
America’s independence didn’t just happen overnight. There were many factors leading up to it, including a general fed-up attitude towards colonial ruler Britain and its insistence on slapping unfair taxes and policies on Americans, despite refusing to give them equal rights in parliament.
“Taxation without representation,” or being taxed without consent became a major sticking point and caused widespread unrest in the American colonies that eventually triggered the American Revolution.
#4
The Tulsa m******e. I didn't learn about in school, in fact I didn't learn about it until an episode of The Watchmen talked about it. Seems like something that every American should know about.
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39points
#5
You know the stories of early settlers fleeing from the European oppressors in favour of freedom of religion? Well they were our religious loonies. There's a reason why Americans have such a problem with religious fanatics, it's because they descend from those weirdos.
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38points
#6
Almost all of the original boundary stones for Washington DC are still in the same spot they were placed in 1790-91. Even the ones in Virginia that aren't part of DC any more. The city was originally a diamond shape, but everything west of the Potomac was returned to Virginia in 1846.
The stones are in all sorts of odd places, peoples yards, in the woods, one is in the middle of a street. The wiki page has pictures of the locations.
The stones are in all sorts of odd places, peoples yards, in the woods, one is in the middle of a street. The wiki page has pictures of the locations.
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30points
“The Stamp Act was the first direct tax levied upon the colonies, requiring a stamp to be placed on paper goods such as newspapers, legal documents, bills of sale, and diplomas,” explains the Boston Tea Party site. “This was followed by the Declaratory Act which ended the unofficial policy and ‘Salutary Neglect’ and reasserted Parliament’s political dominance in the American colonies. The Townsend Acts and Tea Act would follow.”
One of the main reasons Britain imposed taxes on American colonies was to fund its massive wars.
#7
Wilmington, NC, 1898. The only successful violent overthrow of a democratically elected government in United States history.
In the 1890s, Wilmington, North Carolina, was a thriving, majority-Black city governed by a biracial "Fusion" coalition of Black Republicans and white Populists. Furious at losing power, wealthy white Democrats orchestrated a sophisticated white supremacy campaign in 1898. They used heavily armed paramilitary groups, like the Red Shirts, alongside racist media propaganda to violently intimidate Black voters and manipulate the state elections.
On November 10, 1898, two days after the election, an armed mob of roughly 2,000 white men attacked and burned down the city’s Black-owned newspaper. The violence quickly escalated into a coordinated m******e in the streets, resulting in the m****r of an estimated 60 to 300 Black residents. Later that afternoon, the mob marched on city hall and forced the democratically elected mayor and biracial board of aldermen to resign at g*npoint, immediately replacing them with coup leaders.
Following the coup, prominent Black citizens and their white political allies were forced onto trains and permanently banished from the state. The newly installed regime used Wilmington as a blueprint to pass sweeping Jim Crow laws, including poll taxes and literacy tests, which effectively stripped Black citizens of their voting rights across North Carolina for generations. For over a century, the event was covered up and falsely framed as a "race riot" until a 2006 state commission officially recognized it as the only successful violent overthrow of a government in U.S. history.
In the 1890s, Wilmington, North Carolina, was a thriving, majority-Black city governed by a biracial "Fusion" coalition of Black Republicans and white Populists. Furious at losing power, wealthy white Democrats orchestrated a sophisticated white supremacy campaign in 1898. They used heavily armed paramilitary groups, like the Red Shirts, alongside racist media propaganda to violently intimidate Black voters and manipulate the state elections.
On November 10, 1898, two days after the election, an armed mob of roughly 2,000 white men attacked and burned down the city’s Black-owned newspaper. The violence quickly escalated into a coordinated m******e in the streets, resulting in the m****r of an estimated 60 to 300 Black residents. Later that afternoon, the mob marched on city hall and forced the democratically elected mayor and biracial board of aldermen to resign at g*npoint, immediately replacing them with coup leaders.
Following the coup, prominent Black citizens and their white political allies were forced onto trains and permanently banished from the state. The newly installed regime used Wilmington as a blueprint to pass sweeping Jim Crow laws, including poll taxes and literacy tests, which effectively stripped Black citizens of their voting rights across North Carolina for generations. For over a century, the event was covered up and falsely framed as a "race riot" until a 2006 state commission officially recognized it as the only successful violent overthrow of a government in U.S. history.
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28points
#8
Recent fact I have learned this last week from the African American History Museum is that the White House and other different historic buildings in DC were all built by slaves. It was common during construction to see slaves working as well as being transported and sold right in front of the White House. They had “s***e pens” CONNECTED DIRECTLY to the White House, that were built to keep the slaves together with no water or cover during heat. It was just like pig pens. It really shows that even our most patriotic monuments and historical areas are tainted. I feel that often slaves are mentioned in our reconstruction, but not many people know the extent or blatant mistreatment that our country endorsed in those times.
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23points
#9
So most people know the trivia fact that Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird but that's not exactly accurate. He was distressed that everyone else wanted the bald eagle and in a letter to ... I think it was to his sister? ... he said 'I'd almost rather have the turkey as the national bird, as silly as that sounds.'.
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20points
Americans may not all sit around scrolling through historical facts on Independence Day but many do love a good hot dog. In fact, Hawaii's Khon2 News reports that around 150 million hot dogs are eaten every 4th of July. To put it into perspective, the BBC reveals that's enough hot dogs "to stretch from Washington D.C. on the east coast of the USA to L.A. on the west coast more than five times."
And the obsession with hot dogs isn't confined to the 4th of July. “Americans eat an estimated 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” says Eric Mittenthal, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
#10
That in 1966, Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game for the Polk High School Panthers in the city championship game!
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20points
#11
The US Constitution is intentionally arranged in the order it is to show the branches’ importance.
The most powerful branch is supposed to be Congress. The weakest branch is supposed to be the Judiciary. The President and the executive branch fit right in the middle.
When the United States was created, the capital city was intentionally left out of a State; otherwise, that State could hold the whole Country hostage.
The most powerful branch is supposed to be Congress. The weakest branch is supposed to be the Judiciary. The President and the executive branch fit right in the middle.
When the United States was created, the capital city was intentionally left out of a State; otherwise, that State could hold the whole Country hostage.
18points
#12
TULSA RACE M******E.
Believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history, the bloody 1921 outbreak in Tulsa has continued to haunt Oklahomans. During the course of eighteen terrible hours on May 31 and June 1, 1921, more than one thousand homes and businesses were destroyed, while credible estimates of deaths range from fifty to three hundred. By the time the violence ended, the city had been placed under martial law, thousands of Tulsans were being held under armed guard, and the state's second-largest African American community had been burned to the ground.
Believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history, the bloody 1921 outbreak in Tulsa has continued to haunt Oklahomans. During the course of eighteen terrible hours on May 31 and June 1, 1921, more than one thousand homes and businesses were destroyed, while credible estimates of deaths range from fifty to three hundred. By the time the violence ended, the city had been placed under martial law, thousands of Tulsans were being held under armed guard, and the state's second-largest African American community had been burned to the ground.
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18points
#13
The preamble of the Constitution explains *why* we have the government we formed:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
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17points
#14
George Washington’s favorite drink was called a cherry bounce and it is really f*****g good
It’s a 1700s-era spiced cherry cordial that was a personal favorite of George Washington. According to his diary, he carried it with him on long journeys, including his presidential tour of the South in 1791.
It’s not just historical trivia—this stuff is delicious. It’s rich, fruity, and complex after aging, and it makes a great sipper or cocktail base.
Ingredients:
•1 quart brandy (VS or VSOP works great)
•1 lb fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
•¾ cup sugar
•Zest of 1 lemon
•1 cinnamon stick
•2–3 whole cloves
Instructions:
1. Muddle the cherries and sugar together in a large mason jar or wide-mouth bottle.
2. Add the lemon zest, cinnamon stick, cloves, and brandy.
3. Shake the jar every few days.
4. After steeping, strain through a fine mesh or cheesecloth. Bottle and store.
His wife Martha also had a great Rum Punch recipe he kept in a tureen near the entrance at Mount Vernon and have a ladle of it coming into the house.
It’s a 1700s-era spiced cherry cordial that was a personal favorite of George Washington. According to his diary, he carried it with him on long journeys, including his presidential tour of the South in 1791.
It’s not just historical trivia—this stuff is delicious. It’s rich, fruity, and complex after aging, and it makes a great sipper or cocktail base.
Ingredients:
•1 quart brandy (VS or VSOP works great)
•1 lb fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
•¾ cup sugar
•Zest of 1 lemon
•1 cinnamon stick
•2–3 whole cloves
Instructions:
1. Muddle the cherries and sugar together in a large mason jar or wide-mouth bottle.
2. Add the lemon zest, cinnamon stick, cloves, and brandy.
3. Shake the jar every few days.
4. After steeping, strain through a fine mesh or cheesecloth. Bottle and store.
His wife Martha also had a great Rum Punch recipe he kept in a tureen near the entrance at Mount Vernon and have a ladle of it coming into the house.
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17points
#15
That the Epstein files are damning to twump and his entire criminal class.
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17points
#16
Thomas Jefferson believed giant sloths were still alive in the West and instructed Lewis and Clark to be on the lookout for some.
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16points
#17
The story of the Conch Republic; when Key West, FL seceded from the U.S. and declared war on the U.S.
16points
#18
When they first announced the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House in Boston, nobody could understand what the soldier tasked with reading it was saying, so they had to make him stop and get a different guy.
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16points
#19
Lafayette was only 19 when he ignored the King of France’s request that he not depart for the colonies where he used his considerable wealth to help fund the Continental Army. He eventually convinced France to help the colonials in their fight for independence, which was the turning point for the Revolutionary War. 141 years later, US troops would arrived win France to give aid during WW1. Led by Colonel Stanford, the men visited Lafayette’s grave on July 4,1917 to announce “Lafayette, we are here!”.
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16points
#20
Morocco was the First Nation to recognize americas sovereignty. That is why I am cheering for them versus Canada today in World Cup.
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15points