American History Facts

The inventor of Vaseline ate a spoonful of the stuff every morning!

New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states where it is illegal to pump your own gas.

President George W. Bush is related to all other U.S. Presidents!

About 1 in 30 people, in the U.S., are in jail, on probation, or on parole!

Pocahontas appeared on the back of the $20 bill in 1865, making her the only Native American woman to be featured on U.S. paper currency.

It is illegal to purchase or consume Jack Daniel's Whiskey in the town in which it is produced!

It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.

Although African-Americans make up only 13% of the U.S. population, they accounted for one half of the estimated new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2004.

Thomas Edison held 1,093 U.S. patents during his lifetime—more than any other inventor until 2003!

President George W. Bush and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner are cousins!

Native Americans do not have to pay tax on their land.

The first American alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m.

The United States does not have an official language.

Richard Nixon liked ketchup on his cottage cheese.

George W. Bush was also the head of the cheerleading team in his high school.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

Spinach consumption in the U.S. rose 33% after the Popeye comic strip became a hit in 1931.

Cast iron skillets used to be the leading source of iron in the American diet!

Every U.S. president with a beard has been a Republican.

In 1659, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts.

203 million dollars is spent on barbed wire each year in the U.S.

The first coast-to-coast telephone line was established in 1914.

The last time American Green cards were actually green was 1964.

The first semi-permanent settlements appeared in Florida around 5000 B.C.