1

Reagan: Breaking the glass ceiling

Image: Library of Congress

Although the numbers are still unequal, women occupy decision-making positions every day. They play an active role in political life, but that wasn’t always the case.

Ronald Reagan made a bold move for gender equality by nominating Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court in 1981. This historic decision marked the first time a woman would serve on the highest court in the country.

O'Connor’s nomination was a landmark moment for women’s rights, opening doors for future generations. Reagan’s choice was both strategic and symbolic, of course. It was a significant step toward inclusivity in the judiciary. Sandra Day O’Connor went on to serve with distinction, becoming a pivotal figure in many key rulings.

2

Johnson: A historic appointment

Image: Library of Congress

America has already seen a black president, but even that marked a significant turning point in history. However, Black men in such high government positions weren’t a reality until 1967 when Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the first Black Supreme Court Justice . In the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality in the U.S., this was a monumental step.

At the time, Marshall was already a legendary figure for his role in Brown v. Board of Education, and his appointment brought a powerful voice to the court. It was a clear signal of the administration’s commitment to racial justice. Marshall served on the court for 24 years! Talk about leaving a mark, huh?

3

Roosevelt: The star of the show

Image: Library of Congress

We can’t get enough of our TVs today, right? But this device was once an innovation, and one can easily imagine how surprising it must have been to see a president on screen for the first time!

In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to appear on television during the World’s Fair in New York.

It’s not that he had gone unnoticed, FDR was already a radio sensation with his "fireside chats," but the television debut marked a new era of presidential communication. This historic moment allowed Americans to not only hear but also see their president, making FDR an even more influential figure.

4

Adams: Picture perfect

Image: Library of Congress

People take pictures of everything, everywhere, all the time today. Photos are like our business cards on social media and even in our job profiles, but it wasn’t always like that. And John Quincy Adams was part of a photography milestone.

Adams wasn’t just a former president, he holds the prize for first presidential photography . In 1843, he became the first president to have his photograph taken, although it was after his term had ended. Before Adams, presidents were immortalized through paintings, but his photo brought a new sense of realism to how leaders were remembered. Was he, by any chance, the first influencer?

5

Hayes: A direct line to history

Image: Library of Congress

What would we do without our telephones? It’s like we can’t imagine our lives without them anymore, right? But have you ever wondered who was the first president to have a phone in the White House ?

In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes ushered the presidential residence into the age of technology by installing the first telephone. Of course, this was far from the smartphones we use today, but it was quite revolutionary at the time.

Fun fact: Hayes’s telephone had the number "1," a fitting symbol for such a groundbreaking moment. Only a few could actually get in direct contact with that line, but the step was taken anyway and history was made.

6

John Adams: Home sweet white house

Image: Library of Congress

While George Washington oversaw the construction of the White House, he never actually lived in it. It was John Adams who had the honor of being its first resident in 1800 .

Adams and his wife Abigail moved into the unfinished mansion, making history as the first Presidential Family to live in the iconic building. Despite the unfinished state of the residence, the Adams family’s presence made it the center of American politics. And of course, he was the first, but he was certainly not the last, as the tradition continues today.

7

Truman: Code name "general"

Image: Library of Congress

If you’re a fan of detective novels, you probably always thought that having a code name is super cool! Well, imagine being the first president with a code name!

Harry Truman made history as the first U.S. president to receive a Secret Service code name . Known as "General," his code name served as a security measure. Although now that you know it, it doesn’t seem so secretive or mysterious, right?

The use of code names has since become standard practice, used to protect presidents and their families. While the tradition of assigning code names has evolved, Truman’s "General" remains a nod to the early days of presidential security. It was just the beginning of a tradition that still exists today.

8

Coolidge: A father’s pride

Image: Library of Congress

Few moments in life are so beautiful as when a father’s eyes are filled with tears of pride for his child, don’t you think? Well, now think about that, between a president and his father!

In a unique and touching moment in U.S. history, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president by his own father. After President Harding’s unexpected death in 1923, Coolidge’s father, a notary public, administered the oath of office in their Vermont home.

This made Coolidge the first and only president to be inaugurated by a family member, creating a truly personal and memorable moment. This father-son moment added a deeply personal touch to the transfer of power, making it a memorable event in both their personal lives and American history.

9

Carter: Born in a hospital

Image: Library of Congress

When you think of a birth, you think of a hospital, right? However, that hasn’t always been the case.

Jimmy Carter holds the distinction of being the first U.S. president born in a hospital, on October 1, 1924. Before Carter, presidents were typically born at home, which was the norm for the times.

His birth at the Wise Clinic in Plains, Georgia, marked a shift toward modern medical practices. This milestone highlighted the changing nature of healthcare in America. Carter’s hospital birth was a small, yet significant, indicator of progress in our country.

10

McKinley: Cruising into history

Image: Library of Congress

Our last "first" is a bit crazy and you’ll see why in a minute: William McKinley became the first sitting president to experience the thrill of a car ride .

In 1899, he took a ride in a Locomobile steam carriage, a cutting-edge mode of transportation at the time. The car was driven by the inventor himself!

This ride was quite an oddity, and McKinley’s willingness to try it out showed his interest in new technology. Why is it crazy? Because no president drives their own car today! Regardless of how innovative and technologically advanced it may be!

1

Alaska is so big, it could fit Texas inside twice

Image: Paxson Woelber

Sure, everything’s bigger in Texas… but where does that leave Alaska? The Last Frontier spans about 663,000 square miles , while the Lone Star State covers roughly 268,000 square miles. So yes, you could comfortably fit Texas inside Alaska twice, and still have room left over for California.

2

You could stack 10 Washington Monuments inside the Grand Canyon’s depth

Image: Sonaal Bangera

At its deepest point, the Grand Canyon plunges more than 6,000 feet. That’s more than a mile of height, to give you an idea. To put that in perspective, the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument could fit inside the canyon roughly ten times from top to bottom.

3

The Statue of Liberty’s sandal is the size of a small car.

Image: A n v e s h

Have you ever paid attention to the Statue of Liberty’s feet? Yes, they are visible, right next to the broken shackles at her base. You can’t stand next to the feet, of course, but if you could, you’d see that each sandaled foot measures about 25 feet long , which is a bit over the length of a Chevy Suburban.

4

The Empire State Building was built faster than a modern kitchen remodel

Image: Kit Suman

Did you know that one of the most famous buildings in the world was pretty much speed-built? Construction took just 410 days , starting in 1930 and finishing in 1931. This rapid progress was possible thanks to prefabricated steel parts and a workforce of roughly 3,400 workers each day. Nowadays, your average kitchen renovation takes 6 months to a year.

5

If the Earth were the size of a basketball, the Moon would be a tennis ball 24 feet away

Image: Anne Nygård

This is a fun way to illustrate the relationship between our planet and its satellite. If Earth were the size of a basketball (about 9.5 inches in diameter), the Moon would be roughly the size of a tennis ball (about 2.5 inches).

But they would be a whopping 24 feet away, about the length of a stretch limousine (or a Statue of Liberty sandal). This scale model helps explain just how far apart and disproportionate they really are!

6

A single cloud can weigh as much as 90 elephants

Image: Volodymyr Dobrovolskyy

Clouds may not look heavy, but these giant beauties are surprisingly massive. Scientists estimate that an average fluffy cumulus cloud contains about 1.1 million pounds of water, which is roughly the weight of 90 adult African elephants .

7

You could fit 7 Yankee Stadiums inside the Mall of America

Image: David Vives

With over 5.6 million square feet, the Mall of America is one of the largest indoor spaces in the country . Imagine trying to meet your friends in just one of its 500+ stores!

The mall also features an indoor amusement park and an aquarium. To give you an idea, Yankee Stadium covers roughly 800,000 square feet. You could fit about seven of them within the Mall of America.

8

A hummingbird flaps its wings faster than a car engine runs

Image: James Wainscoat

Hummingbirds beat their wings between 50 and 80 times per second , roughly eight times faster than the revolutions per second of a typical V8 engine at idle. No wonder they have enough force to seemingly fly in place!

9

Comparing lightning bolts with defibrillator shocks

Image: chutipon Pattanatitinon

The energy in lightning bolts can vary, but it’s not uncommon for them to unleash 5 billion joules . Roughly, a biphasic defibrillator delivers about 200 joules in a single shock. And, to give you an idea, it takes roughly 50,000 joules to toast a single slice of bread.

10

Yellowstone sits on top of a supervolcano the size of Rhode Island

Image: Denys Nevozhai

You might have heard of Yellowstone’s supervolcano and how tourists leave mesmerized by the geysers, hot springs, and wildlife.

But the size of its caldera is even more astonishing: it stretches 20 by 45 miles , covering nearly 1,350 square miles. That’s roughly the same area as Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state.

11

Niagara Falls could fill an Olympic pool in less than a second

Image: Hadi Yazdi Aznaveh

A standard Olympic-size swimming pool holds about 660,000 gallons. Niagara Falls, however, pours roughly 700,000 gallons of water every second, meaning it could fill a pool in under one second, approximately 0.94 seconds to be exact.

If you were filling the same pool with a standard hose, it could take about 19 days .

1

McDonald’s

Image: Jurij Kenda

We’ll start with probably the most popular fast-food brand in the world. Few logos are as intently recognizable as McDonald’s "golden arches", to the point that they are present in virtually every single country in the world. But before it became an international behemoth, this fast-food chain began as a single restaurant in San Bernardino, California, founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald.

We could probably fill this entire article with McDonald’s fun facts, like how an astronaut smuggled a cheeseburger onboard a space shuttle. However, we’ll end this entry with the fabled Big Mac index: Since, as we previously mentioned, McDonald’s restaurants are virtually everywhere, economists have used the price of a Big Mac burger as a global indicator of each country's economic strength.

2

Burger King

Image: Alexis AMZ DA CRUZ

While Burger King is often and unfairly considered to be playing second-fiddle to McDonald’s, the truth is that this chain is definitively fast-food royalty. First founded as Insta-Burger King in 1953, this restaurant offers a selection of burgers, fries, and other delectable products.

Burger King is perhaps most well-known for its signature burger, the " Whopper ". Created in 1957, this iconic product was the very first of its kind, causing competing franchises to develop their very own signature burgers. The Whopper’s legacy resulted in Burger King proudly adopting the nickname "Home of the Whopper".

3

Taco Bell

Image: Ömer Haktan Bulut

You might be surprised to learn that Taco Bell , synonymous with one of Mexico’s most treasured culinary delicacies, was actually founded in America. Not only that: Did you know that the Bell in Taco Bell’s name comes from the founder’s last name?

When Glen Bell started his company in 1953, he didn’t know that this little taco stand would eventually grow into a massive chain serving over two billion satisfied customers each year. Taco Bell is known for a myriad of delicious meals, including its iconic "Crunchwrap Supreme".

4

Domino’s

Image: Miroslav Denkov

In 1960, brothers Tom and James Monaghan bought a small pizza chain close to Eastern Michigan University called "DomiNick’s". Little did the brothers know that they would turn this $1400 investment into one of the biggest pizza chains in the world , with approximately 15,000 locations all around the world.

Known for its 30-minute guarantee, Domino’s offers delicious and affordable pizza delivered with pinpoint accuracy. Over 60 years have passed since its founding, but this pizza chain remains a beloved American icon.

5

Wendy’s

Image: Batu Gezer

Who said that hamburgers need to be round? Wendy’s is a living testament that burgers will always be delicious, no matter what shape they are in. This iconic chain’s burgers are particularly famous for their two main characteristics: Their legendary square shape and the fact that their meat is always fresh and never frozen.

You might be curious as to who the titular Wendy featured in every restaurant is. Well, the restaurant’s founder Dave Thomas named it after his fourth daughter, Melinda Lou, who was known as "Wendy" from an early age. Not only that, Melinda’s likeness was used as the company’s logo, and she continues to serve as its official mascot.

6

KFC

Image: Aleks Dorohovich

Just like Dave Thomas modeling his company’s logo after his daughter, KFC chose to honor its founder by making him an instantly recognizable icon. After all, this iconic fast-food chain’s history starts with Colonel Harland Sanders’ will and determination to drive his family out of their humble beginnings.

In the 1930s, Sanders took the cooking skills he learned from his mother as a child and founded a small restaurant called "Sanders Court & Café". By the 1950s, he saw the potential that franchising provided and opened the very first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" in Salt Lake City. Nowadays, KFC operates thousands of locations all over the world, all of which serve the Coronel’s legendary chicken seasoned with his "11 herbs and spices".

7

Starbucks

Image: Athar Khan

We’ve been dealing with burgers and fried chicken for a while now, so how about a nice cup of Joe instead? While we were hesitant to add Starbucks to the realm of fast food, the truth is that this international company has grown into the world’s largest coffeehouse chain , all the while optimizing the process of delivering a hot and delicious cup of coffee to the hands of the consumer.

Founded in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks was named after a character from Herman Melville’s classic novel "Moby-Dick": In that sense, the twin-tailed mermaid that serves as their iconic logo was also inspired by Melville’s masterpiece. Starbucks is world-famous for its innovative drinks, including the revolutionary cold coffee brew known as the "Frappucino".

8

Subway

Image: Ola Mishchenko

If you are looking for a healthy yet equally accessible fast-food restaurant, then Subway is the place for you. This company was first founded in 1965 by friends Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck, hoping to save enough money to pay for medical school tuition. By the start of the new millennium, Subway became one of the world’s most profitable franchises, as well as one of the fastest growing.

Known for their world-famous slogan "Eat Fresh", Subway’s main appeal is the fact that you can select which ingredients you want in your sandwich. While products like the "B.M.T." or the "Italian Hero" keep their distinctive identity, being able to add your favorite flavors onto your sandwich truly provides a tailor-made customer experience.

9

White Castle

Image: Valeria Boltneva

While it might seem smaller compared to other international juggernauts in this list, White Castle holds the remarkable distinction of being the world’s very first fast-food hamburger chain . Just like many other restaurants, the humble beginnings of White Castle started in 1916 when a cook named Walt Anderson opened his first diner in a converted streetcar. Five years after that, Anderson partnered with Billy Ingram to found the very first White Castle restaurant in Wichita, Kansas.

Over a hundred years after this first location, White Castle is still a beloved destination for all burger lovers. Their most famous product is probably their iconic "sliders", complete with square patties and steamed onions.

10

Pizza Hut

Image: Alan Hardman

We’ll end with another pizza institution. Founded in 1958 by two Wichita State students, Pizza Hut locations are instantly recognizable by their distinctive architecture, which features a red rooftop resembling a hut. Moreover, while their pizza is certainly delicious, Pizza Hut holds the distinction of owning one of the most groundbreaking achievements in pizza delivery history.

While Domino’s prides itself on its 30-minute delivery policy, Pizza Hut holds the record of the very first outer-space delivery in history. In 2001, the company designed a vacuum-sealed pizza suitable to be delivered to the International Space Station. This interplanetary pie literally reached the stars, where it was happily enjoyed by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov.