Tag: Independence day trivia

4th Of July — 2017

july 4thToday is the 4th of July, Independence Day in America.  And, like it or not, there isn’t a person on this planet who doesn’t have an opinion about America.  The Land of Milk and Money generates some pretty strong passion — for and against.  So here are a few facts about America that most people either ignore or forget to remember.

Every year, the US government gives $32 billion dollars in non-military foreign aid to the rest of the world.  That’s free money, folks — courtesy of the US taxpayer.  FYI, nearly one billion of that goes to free vaccinations for children all over the world.

Not to be outdone, individually, Americans donate 258 billion dollars — that’s $258,000,000,000.00 — to charity (domestic and foreign) every year.

There are more museums, art galleries and live theatres in the United States than there are in any other nation in the world.

Plus the US has more public libraries (read: free) than all the rest of the world combined.

There is more medical and scientific research conducted in the United States than in any other country.

Americans have won more Nobel prizes — in every category, except literature — than any other nation.

In 2016, the United States used less fresh water than it did in 1970 — which is a good trick, considering most of the world is going the other way.

In real terms, the United States generates more sustainable energy and uses more renewable energy than any other country on the planet.

There are more electric cars driven in the United States than in the next two countries, China and Japan, combined — most of them in California.

If California were a country, it would have the 8th largest economy in the world.

Every single weekend, the night life of New York generates more money than the GDP of 80 of the world’s poorest nations.

The poorest 5% of Americans are still richer than 68% of the rest of the world.

And finally, two of my favourites:

Officially, the United States, like the rest of the world, uses the Metric System.  (It was signed into law by President Ford in 1975.)  However, most Americans couldn’t care less what a few politicians in Washington DC do and still use gallons, pints, pounds, ounces, miles, feet and inches.

Originally, the President of the United States did not pick the Vice President.  Constitutionally, the Vice President was the person who got the second highest number of votes in the Presidential election.  Think about it!  If the Constitution hadn’t been amended, back in 1800, Donald Trump’s Vice President would be Hillary Clinton!

Happy Independence Day, America!

The 4th of July: Independence Day

Today is Independence Day in the US — the 4th of July.  It’s the perfect day to enhance our trivia knowledge of America.  Here are some odds and sods of information that will make you totally superior to other Canadians (or Americans, for that matter) who do not possess this specialized knowledge.  Enjoy!

Nearly 25% of all Americans have been on TV.

In Washington, DC, there are over 75 lobbyists for every United States senator.

At any given time, approximately 60,000 Americans are flying.

From space, the brightest thing on Earth is Las Vegas.  That’s why the aliens always show up there.

There are more cows in Montana than people.

There are more cars than people in Los Angeles.

If California was a separate country, it would have the 7th largest economy in the world.

The deepest gorge in the United States is not the Grand Canyon.  It’s Hells Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho and Oregon.

The Sears Tower in Chicago is so big it has its own ZIP Code: 60606.

Only 12 people have ever stood on the moon – all Americans.
The last time anybody checked, which was 2006, the United States gave – gave! – other countries $22.828 billion dollars in foreign aid.  That’s in a single year, directly from the US government, and not the Red Cross, Unicef, Save the Children or any other charity — including Bill Gates.

The United States is weirdly shaped.
Buffalo, New York, which is on Lake Erie directly south of Toronto, Canada, is further east than Jacksonville, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which are all on the Atlantic Ocean.

El Paso, Texas, is closer to San Diego, California than it is to Houston, Texas.
Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles, California.
Louisville, Kentucky is closer to Windsor, Ontario than it is to Memphis, Tennessee.
And Windsor, Ontario is actually south of Detroit, Michigan.

There are more hazelnuts grown in the Willamette Valley, Oregon than everywhere else in the world — combined.  In fact, Oregon produces 98% of the world’s commercial hazelnut crop.

The most popular tourist destination in the world is San Francisco.  Paris, France is #2.

Pocahontas was the first woman to appear on US currency.  Martha Washington was second.  Minnie Mouse (featured on the Disney five dollar bill) was third — but that doesn’t count.
As of today, the most widely recognized symbol in the world is the Coke — followed by Facebook, Pepsi and Google.

Finally, here are a couple of facts that could win you untold numbers of drinks in a bar.  Just remember to phrase them properly.

1 – How many states are there in the United States of America?  Most people (who aren’t dolts) and every reference book will say 50.  This is not true.  There are only 46 states in the U.S.A.   However, there are also four Commonwealths: Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts — which round the number up to an even 50.

2 – How many presidents were born in Kentucky?  Even the mighty Google tells us only one, Abraham Lincoln.  Nope, wrong again.  There were two: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis his Confederate counterpart during the Civil War.

To all my American friends: Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day Trivia

Several years ago there was a CBC television program called Talking to Americans.  The premise was to ask Americans leading questions about Canada so that they would demonstrate their ignorance of our country and look like jackasses.  The show was very popular.  Oddly enough there has never been an American TV program called Talking to Canadians.  This is probably because Canadians know and care a lot more about our southern cousins than they do us.  For example, most Canadians know that today is Independence Day in the US — the 4th of July.  It’s the perfect day to enhance our trivia knowledge of America.  Here are some odds and sods of information that will make you totally superior to other Canadians (or Americans, for that matter) who do not possess this specialized knowledge.  Enjoy!

Nearly 25% of all Americans have been on TV.

In Washington, DC, there are over 75 lobbyists for every United States senator.

At any given time, approximately 60,000 Americans are flying.

From space, the brightest thing on Earth is Las Vegas.  That’s why the aliens always show up there.

There are more cows in Montana than people.

There are more cars than people in Los Angeles.

If California was a separate country, it would have the 7th largest economy in the world.

The deepest gorge in the United States is not the Grand Canyon.  It’s Hells Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho and Oregon.

The Sears Tower in Chicago is so big it has its own ZIP Code: 60606.

Only 12 people have ever stood on the moon – all Americans.

The last time anybody checked, which was 2006, the United States gave – gave! – other countries $22.828 billion dollars in foreign aid.  That’s in a single year, directly from the US government, and not the Red Cross, Unicef, Save the Children or any other charity — including Bill Gates.

The United States is weirdly shaped.
Buffalo, New York, which is on Lake Erie directly south of Toronto, Canada, is further east than Jacksonville, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which are all on the Atlantic Ocean.
El Paso, Texas, is closer to San Diego, California than it is to Houston, Texas.
Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles, California.
Louisville, Kentucky is closer to Windsor, Ontario than it is to Memphis, Tennessee.
And Windsor, Ontario is actually south of Detroit, Michigan.

There are more hazelnuts grown in the Willamette Valley, Oregon than everywhere else in the world — combined.  In fact, Oregon produces 98% of the world’s commercial hazelnut crop.

The most popular tourist destination in the world is San Francisco.  Paris, France is #2.

Pocahontas was the first woman to appear on US currency, in 1863.  Martha Washington was second.  Minnie Mouse (featured on the Disney five dollar bill) was third — but that doesn’t count.

As of today, the most widely recognized symbol in the world is the Coke — followed by Facebook, Pepsi and Google.

Finally, here are a couple of facts that could win you untold numbers of drinks in a bar.  Just remember to phrase them properly.

1 – How many states are there in the United States of America?  Most people (who aren’t dolts) and every reference book will say 50.  This is not true.  There are only 46 states in the U.S.A.   However, there are also four Commonwealths: Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts — which round the number up to an even 50.

2 – How many presidents were born in Kentucky?  Even the mighty Google tells us only one, Abraham Lincoln.  Nope, wrong again.  There were two: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis his Confederate counterpart during the Civil War.

To all my American friends: Happy 4th of July!