AMERICAN ICONS

10 Surprising Facts About America's Most Iconic Monuments

Image: Luke Stackpoole

From the rugged cliffs of the Grand Canyon to the stoic majesty of the Statue of Liberty, America's cultural and natural landscape tells the story of a nation shaped by diversity, resilience, and innovation. These landmarks stand as testaments to human achievement and the magnificence of the natural world.

Join us on a journey to explore some of the craziest facts behind 10 of America's greatest monuments!

Image: Omer Nezih Gerek

Carved into layers of rock by the mighty Colorado River over millions of years, the Grand Canyon is proof of the breathtaking power of nature. Stretching 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep, this geological marvel is so intricate that it ends up creating its own weather - with temperature and humidity varying wildly between different points within the canyon.

Image: Guilherme Bustamante

A symbol of freedom and democracy, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed immigrants and visitors to the shores of New York Harbor since 1886. Standing 305 feet tall, Lady Liberty holds a torch of enlightenment and a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence. Curiously, it wasn’t always green. When it was first assembled, it displayed a stunning reddish brown due to its thin patina of copper. However, as years passed by, the copper skin oxidized and turned into the bluish-green we know today.

Image: Ronda Darby

Carved into the granite face of the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore features the sculpted heads of four iconic American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. This colossal tribute to democracy is one of America’s most famous landmarks, and it attracts millions of visitors each year, but did you know that the monument is far from finished according to its original plan? The project was prematurely halted in 1941 due to the death of Gutzon Borglum - its leading sculptor - but it was intended for the carved figures to be sculpted down to the waist.

Image: Lucas

America's first national park, Yellowstone, is a wonderland of geothermal features, with over 500 active geysers and hot springs. Designated as a national park by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, it is nestled in the vicinity of the Yellowstone supervolcano, experiencing nearly 3,000 earthquakes annually. It also boasts diverse wildlife, from grizzly bears to bison, roaming across its vast wilderness.

Image: Joseph Barrientos

Spanning the entrance to San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge is considered an engineering marvel and an iconic symbol of the City by the Bay. Opened in 1937, it stretches 1.7 miles long and stands a maximum of 746 feet above the water. Its distinctive "International Orange" color was specifically created for the bridge, ensuring visibility through the bay's frequent fog. Beyond its engineering feats, the Golden Gate Bridge has also become a cinematic icon, featuring prominently in dozens of films, further cementing its place in popular culture.

Image: Ernie Journeys

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Independence Hall is where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were debated and signed. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers visitors a glimpse into America's early beginnings. However, the historic building wasn’t always so revered. In 1816, it was almost demolished as part of a real estate development project, and the city of Philadelphia only intervened at the last possible moment, purchasing the entire block to prevent its destruction.

Image: Andy Feliciotti

Honoring the 16th President of the United States, the Lincoln Memorial is a neoclassical masterpiece located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Within the memorial’s marble columns, a towering statue of Abraham Lincoln seats majestically, overseeing visitors with solemnity. Interestingly, Lincoln's arms rest over representations of Roman fasces, an ancient symbol of power, both expressing his strength and authority and associating the monument with the imperial theme of the Washington Mall.

Image: Fudo Jahic

Carved by wind and water over millions of years, Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon located on Navajo land in Arizona. Known for its mesmerizing light beams and swirling sandstone formations, this natural wonder is a photographer's dream. But despite its serene appearance, Antelope Canyon demands respect and caution, as the same processes that created it are still active. During the monsoon season, swiftly rising water levels can flood the narrow passageways in a matter of seconds, and official tours are required to adhere to strict safety protocols.

Image: Emiliano Bar

An enduring symbol of New York City, the Empire State Building is considered one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in the world. Completed in 1931, the iconic skyscraper offers panoramic views of the city from its famous observation decks. Originally, it was designed to have a dirigible mooring mast, but only one airship ever docked at the skyscraper - and for only three minutes!

Image: Rikin Katyal

Straddling the border between the United States and Canada, Niagara Falls is a breathtaking cascade of water that attracts millions of visitors each year. While its natural beauty is unparalleled, Niagara Falls has also witnessed remarkable human intervention. Amazingly, during the summer of 1969, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers diverted the majority of the water away from the American side of the falls, halting the majestic spectacle for several months. This unprecedented action was undertaken to assess the effect of erosion on the submerged rock face, while providing a unique opportunity to study the geological processes behind the iconic waterfall.

Strange scales

10 weirdest units of measurement humans actually used

Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya

Measuring the world is a human necessity, and throughout history, we’ve used some truly strange units. From the height of a monkey to the speed of beard growth, here are 10 of the weirdest—and funniest—measures ever recorded. Not the most practical, but undeniably fun!

Image: Tim Mossholder

A beard-second is the distance a beard grows in one second, roughly 5 nanometers. The unit originated in physics as a playful way to express extremely small lengths.

Although humorous, it can actually be used to illustrate minuscule distances, and some textbooks and teachers use it to make abstract concepts more relatable.

Image: Sam Carter

In medieval Scandinavia, a sheephead was a unit of weight for butter and cheese, representing roughly 30–40 pounds.

Units like this emerged from agricultural economies, where livestock products were common commodities. Though forgotten today, historical accounting records show widespread use of animal-based measures for commerce.

Image: Toomas Tartes

Another humorous velocity unit is the furlong per fortnight: a furlong equals 220 yards, and a fortnight represents 14 days. This means one furlong per fortnight is about 0.000116 meters per second.

Mostly used as a joke among scientists, it highlights the sometimes absurd combinations of units that can arise.

Image: Syed Ahmad

In 17th-century England, a "monkey" was a unit of weight for Indian textiles, equal to roughly 7.5 pounds. The name likely came from playful trade jargon rather than any connection to the weight of an actual monkey.

It facilitated commerce between Britain and its colonies, and historical trade documents preserve its use in textile contracts.

Image: Artur Solarz

An old temperature scale, where 0°R marked the freezing point of water and 80°R its boiling point. Named after René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, it was widely used in France and parts of Europe until the early 20th century.

Though now mostly obsolete, Réaumur thermometers survive in antique collections and are still occasionally referenced in traditional cheesemaking guides.

Image: Stephan Frolov

A Scottish unit of land measurement, the "sheep’s eye" was said to be based on how far a sheep could see—roughly 30 meters.

This intuitive measure allowed local farmers to discuss land informally before precise surveying tools existed.

Image: Erol Ahmed

A gross equals 144 items, or 12 dozen. Traders historically used it for bulk counting and wholesale commerce. The term comes from the Old French grosse douzaine, meaning "large dozen."

Still common in packaging and manufacturing, gross is often a practical unit when large quantities are involved.

Image: Scott Webb

A British unit of weight, the stone is standardized at 14 pounds. It was traditionally used for weighing people and animals and is still in use in parts of the UK today.

While most of the world now uses metric units (and the modern imperial system in the US), the stone persists in Britain and Ireland as a traditional measure.

Image: Bernd Dittrich

A "smoot" equals 5 feet, 7 inches—the height of Oliver Smoot, a MIT student. In 1958, MIT students used Smoot’s height to measure the Harvard Bridge in Boston.

The bridge was humorously marked in Smoots with chalk during the experiment, and the unit stuck—today, the bridge still has "Smoot" markings.

Image: fred crandon

A barrel unit that varied by region, the hogshead typically measured 63 gallons for wine or 54 gallons for beer. Used as early as the 15th century, it helped standardize liquid trade.

The term’s origin is obscure, possibly a mispronunciation of "oxhead." Hogsheads were important for commerce in both colonial America and Europe.