30 Bonkers Facts About The US That You Probably Didn't Know | 22 Words

If you were like me in high school, then you were a total history nerd who paid attention during class. Of course, that doesn't mean I retained much of what my teacher was telling me - high school was a long time ago. But history - and United States history, specifically - is fascinating and at times it can be flat-out insane.

A recent Reddit thread posed the question, "What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about the United States?" Let me tell you. The answers are quite interesting. And most of them I definitely don't remember from high school. If there's one place where history nerds can gather and geek out over bizarre and interesting facts, it's the internet.

Here are 30 facts about the United States that you've probably never heard before. Prepare to have your mind blown.

The Knox Expedition

The Knox Expedition where 60 tons of cannon and artillery were dragged for 300 miles, during three winter months, from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. This is considered a huge logistical feat and laid the pieces for us to win the Revolutionary War. Every time I don't want to wake up early to vote I think of this. - Justskimthetopoff Talk about motivation.

Oh, Canada!

In the first US constitution (the original not the current one), there used to be a provision that if Canada ever wanted to join the US, they could petition the US government and be granted immediate membership with no strings attached so long as they renounced the crown. It wouldn't even require a vote or be approved by Congress just instantly part of the US. - descendingangel87
Hey neighbor.

Camel Fail.

The US government attempted to use camels for military use, as the United States Camel Corps. It did not work out, partly because they didn't really understand how camels worked or how stubborn they can be. - NebulaMammal Free the camels!

Venus Flytrap

The United States is the native habitat of Venus Flytrap plant (specifically the Wilmington, NC area). - JustinHawleyz This fact calls for a Little Shop of Horrors watch.

Is this a riddle?

Texas has five of the 15 most populous cities in the US, but the total population of those five cities is less than that of NYC. - Grant_Helmreich Texas forever.

US National Parks

The US National Parks system would be approximately the 14th largest country on earth. - Melkorthegood Okay, yes.

A true ghost town.

The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has basically become a ghost town, with less than 10 residents remaining, due to a coal mine fire that has been burning underneath the town since 1962. One estimate says the fire could burn for ~250 years, and there's nothing they can do to put it out at this point. - Crispy_Banana_Dance
Now that's just insane.

People from Alaska love to walk.

Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work. - DjezjoplKinky You would think New York City might be, but NOPE. Alaska wins.

Many of our presidents have been in the military.

Out of the 44 Presidents of the United States, 32 have served in the military. - punter1414

Libraries > fast food.

The US has more public libraries than it has McDonald's franchises. - Portarossa Since libraries can't clog your arteries, this is probably a good thing.

A climate sampler.

I think the coolest thing about the US is that we have practically every climate/biome. -Temperate Forests all over -Subtropical forests in the south -Tropical rainforests and wetlands in Florida and Hawaii -Deserts in the Southwest -Mountains and glaciers in the Rockies -Temperate rainforest in the pacific northwest -Prairie both cold and warm in the midwest -Taiga, and tundra in Alaska -The Mediterranean on the West Coast -Coasts, beaches both warm and cold, lakes, rivers, high mountains, rolling hills, arctic temps, tropical temps - NorthDakotaExists The U.S. has it all.

The states love their songs.

Along with the national anthem, almost all states have state songs as well. Some, such as Massachusetts, have up to 7 official state songs. Some of them are divided into categories, such as state children's song, state ballad, state hymn, state poem, and even state cowboy song. The only state that doesn't have any official state song is New Jersey. - Setaflow What are you doing, New Jersey?!

Kentucky takes its bourbon seriously.

In the state of Kentucky, there are more aging barrels of bourbon than there are people and horses. - The_Ganner Honestly, it sounds like they have their priorities straight.

The cows will take over.

There are 4 times more cows in South Dakota than there are people. - schaumann When the cows decide to revolt against all of humanity, make sure you're not in South Dakota.

Clams live forever.

There are clams alive today that are older than this country. - Cheftard You've never heard the tale of the wise, old clam? You're missing out. (Just kidding, this tale doesn't exist).

Rugby champs.

The USA won the last ever Olympic gold medal for rugby in 1924 and are therefore technically still reigning champions. - WayfaringStranger30 Long live rugby.

New York City isn't all of New York...obviously.

New York City is just a VERY small part of the entire state that is New York. As someone from the way upstate area, it blows people's mind when I tell them that I'm closer to Canada than Manhattan. People who aren't from NY tend to assume that the entire state is just one big urban city. It's far from that. - chef_jojo

Everything really is bigger in Texas.

Texas' Constitution is 9 times longer than the US Constitution. - Succ_My_Meme Texas, you need to chill.

Hungry, hungry hippos?

The United States almost introduced hippos to Louisiana to fight an invasive water plant and a meat shortage in the early 1900s. The plan lost by 1 vote in Congress. - Shawn_Spenstar

Barbecue in North Carolina is no joke.

North Carolina here! We have two distinct types of barbecue! Lexington, a tomato based, and eastern, a vinegar based. They're both immensely popular and the kicker is: State law says neither one can be named as the official barbecue for the state! An actual law says so. - Shadeslayer738 Never come between a person from North Carolina and their barbecue sauce.

Next road trip?

Chicago is closer to Texarkana, TX than Texarkana, TX is to El Paso, TX (682 miles vs. 733 miles). - TRLK9802 Good to know!

Florida has an old, OLD city.

St. Augustine FL is the oldest city in America - founded in mid-1500s by the Spanish. - Tegrng

The U.S. has the oldest mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. - HoboGir Now those are some old mountains.

Pants were so not a thing.

John Quincy Adams was the first US President to wear pants to his inauguration. - AccordionORama John Quincy Adams - little known fashionista.

The U.S. is still super, super young.

The United States is younger than many pubs in Britain. - jakobako Well, when you put it like that...

Maine has quite the geographical claim.

Maine is the closest state to Africa. - Tactically_Fat Sure, Maine is known for their lobster, but they're also known for being the state closest to Africa.

Morocco knew what was up.

Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States. - indian_inside Thanks for looking out, Morocco.

California is getting crowded.

The population of California is larger than the population of Canada. - aidanadriana That would explain the horrible parking situation.

Will they ever finish I-95?

I-95 has been under construction since 1956. There is a section, supposedly finishing next week, that will complete the project. - SteveDonel The project is supposed to be completed on September 22, 2018. Fingers crossed?

Texas is huge.

Houston and El Paso are further apart than Paris and Berlin. - AgoraiosBum Should Texas become its own country? At this point, probably. Share this with your friend who loves weird facts!