Just because you live somewhere doesn’t mean you’re an instant expert on that place. Proof? Only 20 percent of Americans can name every state without looking at a map, and only seven percent can name the first four presidents in order.
The country’s history holds a lot of interesting secrets that the average person might not know. Here are some intriguing facts about America you never knew. They never taught this stuff in school!
The First Flag
The Red, White, and Blue has a long and complicated history. Most people learned from teachers that Betsy Ross sewed the first-ever American flag. It’s true that Betsy Ross could have been the person that made the first American flag, but it also could have been any of the other seventeen upholsterers working in Philadelphia at the time.
American history isn’t without ample drama. Dozens of people have fought to claim the prestigious title of the American flag designer, including Francis Hopkinson, a naval flag designer, and Rebecca Young, whose young daughter made the Star-Spangled Banner flag.
Born To Be President
If you were born in Virginia, you might have better odds of becoming president. Eight presidents were born in Virginia. This includes George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, John Tyler, Thomas Jefferson, William Henry Harrison, Woodrow Wilson, and Zachary Taylor. That makes Virginia the state where the most U.S. presidents were born and raised. Ohio comes in at a close second, with six presidents born in the state.
The Deadliest Job in the World
Ever wondered who has the deadliest job in the world? It’s not fishermen, truck drivers, or metalworkers. It’s the president of the United States. Nearly one in five presidents have died on the job. That’s close to a whopping 18 percent. Four were assassinated and four died of natural causes. And let’s not even get into the many sicknesses and injuries that have occurred in the White House.
Cows vs. People
There’s no doubt that corn outnumbers people in some Midwestern states (we’re looking at you, Iowa and Illinois), but one fact about America you never knew is that there are some states where cows outnumber people.
One-third of the American cow population (over 32 million cows) lives in the states of Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming. All nine of these states have more cow residents than human residents. That’s a whole lot of cows.