The celebrated American graphic designer Paul Rand, who designed the logos for IBM, UPS, and ABC, once said, “Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” In our fast-paced modern world, logos are a perfect embodiment of this idea. They often say or portray very little on their own, but they nonetheless become vital symbols used to identify and promote companies.
Perhaps nowhere are logos more important than in the automotive industry, which has churned out some of the most instantly recognizable designs in the world. These emblems, displayed prominently on vehicles worldwide, often contain fascinating stories — stories that many of us have never heard, despite being very familiar with the resulting symbols. Here are the meanings behind the logos of five of the world’s most famous car manufacturers. — iconic emblems that provide a glimpse into automotive history.
In 1917, the aircraft engine manufacturer Rapp Motorenwerke was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), which most of us now know by its three-letter abbreviation. BMW retained some elements of the Rapp logo, including its circular shape and black outer ring. But in the center of the ring, the logo’s designers placed the now-iconic blue-and-white quadrants, the colors of which were taken directly from the flag of Bavaria, where BMW’s founding city of Munich is located.
Contrary to popular belief, the emblem wasn’t designed to evoke a spinning airplane propeller against a blue sky. This oft-repeated myth began with a 1929 advertisement promoting a new aircraft engine the company was developing, which featured an airplane with the BMW logo represented in its rotating propeller. While this myth fits with the company’s roots in aircraft manufacturing, it isn’t the real reason behind the logo — that honor stays firmly in Bavaria.
Audi’s distinctive four interlocking rings represent the 1932 merger of four previously independent automobile manufacturers. In 1932, Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer merged to form Auto Union AG, becoming one of the largest motor vehicle manufacturers in Germany. Initially, each ring contained the name and logo of one of the founding companies. In 1949, a simplified version of the Audi logo was introduced, with the name Auto Union affixed over the four rings. The lettering was later removed entirely, leaving us with the simple, clean, easily recognizable Audi logo we know today.
The history of Ferrari’s iconic prancing horse emblem (cavallino rampante, as it’s known in Italy) can be traced back to 1923, when Enzo Ferrari — the company’s founder — was still a competitive race car driver. After winning a race in Ravenna, Enzo met Enrico Baracca and Baracca’s wife, Paolina. They were the parents of Francesco Baracca, Italy’s top fighter pilot during World War I, who was credited with 34 aerial victories before he was killed in battle in 1918. He was known for having the emblem of a prancing black horse on his plane, and when Francesco’s mother met Ferrari, she suggested he use the logo on his cars.
When Ferrari founded his racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, in 1932, he took the suggestion, applying the prancing horse logo to the team’s race cars and later to the company’s luxury sports car. Ferrari wrote about the logo in his autobiography, “The horse was and remained black; I added the canary yellow background, which is the color of Modena’s gonfalon” — a gonfalon being a type of heraldic flag, and Modena being the city in which Ferrari was founded.
Porsche was founded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1931, but its logo wasn’t designed until the early 1950s, after the development of the first production Porsche model, the Porsche 356. The manufacturer, under the leadership of the founder’s son, Ferry Porsche, decided an impactful logo was needed. In 1952, Porsche’s head of advertising, Hermann Lapper, and designer Franz Xaver Reimspieß presented a logo that remains nearly unchanged to this day.
The design plays on Porsche’s history and birthplace. In the center of the emblem is a prancing horse on a golden shield, directly inspired by the Stuttgart city seal (the name of the city itself appears above the horse). Behind this central shield, and forming the rest of the logo, is a design based on the coat of arms of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which once claimed Stuttgart as its capital. While Porsche has made some minor adjustments over the years, the logo essentially remains the same as the original 1952 design.
Automobili Lamborghini was founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, after he decided to transition from manufacturing tractors to building top-of-the line sports cars. This change was accompanied by a new logo, featuring Lamborghini’s now-famous raging bull. The design was meant to represent more than just power, however. Ferruccio Lamborghini was born on April 28, 1916, making his astrological sign Taurus, which is symbolized by a bull. He took this to heart as both a personal and professional symbol, hence his desire to incorporate a bull into his company’s emblem.
Lamborghini was also a big fan of bullfighting. In 1962, shortly before founding the company, he visited the ranch of Don Eduardo Miura Fernández, a famous breeder of Spanish fighting bulls. This visit further inspired the logo that went on to adorn Lamborghini sports cars — and perhaps explains the aggressive posture of the bull on the resulting emblem.
Interesting Facts
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We’ve all been there: You walk into Walmart, Target, Costco, or BJ’s with a short list of essentials — maybe you need a greeting card, some dog food, and a pack of socks for your teenager. But by the time you reach the checkout, your cart seems to have magically filled itself with extra snacks, home decor, and that cool kitchen gadget you didn’t know existed but are now convinced you need.
Big-box and department stores are specifically designed to make us spend more than we intend. Retailers use a variety of clever strategies to encourage impulse purchases, extend our shopping time, and make sure we leave with more — much more — than just the necessities. While these tactics may seem subtle, they’re highly effective at boosting sales and emptying wallets.
Here are five of the most common methods stores use to get you to spend more money than you otherwise might.
Retailers don’t just randomly throw products on shelves — each section of a store is carefully planned to maximize spending. In big-box stores, essential items including dairy, bread, and meats are often placed at the farthest corners of the store, requiring customers to walk past dozens of enticing displays before reaching what they actually came for. Along the way, you may spot a tempting seasonal sale, a colorful endcap filled with limited-time snacks, or an eye-catching electronics display.
Additionally, store layouts are designed to keep you inside for as long as possible. Many retailers use the “decompression zone” — the first few feet inside the entrance — to transition shoppers into the store, making them more receptive to impulse purchases. This area is typically open and uncluttered and contains minimal signage to prevent sensory overload, preventing consumers from being immediately overwhelmed and lulling them into the optimal relaxed state of mind for shopping.
Wide aisles, bright lighting, and carefully placed promotional displays are all part of the plan to slow shoppers down, increasing the likelihood of adding extra items to their carts. Some big-box stores even place high-demand items such as batteries or phone chargers in less obvious spots so customers must search harder for them, passing even more tempting merchandise along the way.
Pricing strategies influence how we perceive value. One of the most common tricks is charm pricing, also known as psychological pricing — in other words, setting prices just below a round number. For example, a product priced at $9.99 instead of $10.00 seems cheaper in our minds, even though the difference is just a penny. This is due to the left-digit bias, the phenomenon in which our brains tend to focus primarily on the first number we see, because we read left to right.
Some stores also use something called “prestige pricing,” wherein higher prices make products seem more luxurious or desirable. Think about how high-end brands rarely end their prices in .99 — designer handbags and perfumes are often priced at round numbers such as $100 or $250, reinforcing their premium appeal.
Big-box and department stores carefullycraft their atmosphere to encourage shoppers to linger, which often means spending more money. Slow, relaxing music subtly influences customers to move at a leisurely pace, increasing the likelihood of impulse purchases. Strategic lighting enhances the appeal of merchandise, with warm, inviting tones making products appear more desirable, while spotlights draw attention to high-margin items including premium electronics, designer handbags, or seasonal must-haves.
Even scents come into play — some department stores use signature fragrances to create a sense of luxury, while big-box retailers might pump out the smell of fresh coffee or popcorn near their cafés to further tempt shoppers and make them feel more at home. Plush seating areas, stylish displays, and open layouts make browsing feel more like an experience than just a shopping trip. And the longer you stay, the more you’re likely to buy.
Loyalty programs may seem like just an easy way to save money, but they’re primarily designed toencourage repeat spending. Whether it’s a rewards credit card, a points system, or member-exclusive discounts, these programs create a sense of obligation and incentive to shop more frequently. In fact, research indicates members of loyalty programs generate 12% to 18% more revenue per year than non-members.
For example,Costco’s membership model makes customers feel invested in getting the most value out of their annual fee, leading them to shop there more often. Similarly,Target’s Circle program offers personalized deals based on shopping history, subtly encouraging customers to return for what feels like tailor-made discounts. These programs often increase spending by offering “rewards” that require additional purchases to redeem — and in doing so, you usually spend more money redeeming those rewards than you end up actually saving.
They Influence Us With Product Placement and Bundling
You may have noticed how expensive name-brand products are placed at eye level while cheaper alternatives are stocked on lower or higher shelves. That’s no accident; that’s product placement in action. Retailers strategically reserve prime shelf space for high-margin items, ensuring they catch customers’ attention first. Similarly, impulse-buy products including candy, magazines, small gadgets, and gift cards are positioned near checkout lanes, where shoppers are more likely to grab them while waiting in line.
Bundling is another sneaky tactic designed to increase spending. Department stores may display complementary items close to one another — e.g., handbags next to shoes or skincare products alongside makeup — to subtly encourage customers to buy more than they originally planned. Electronics departments modify this approach by bundling accessories with major purchases, making it seem logical to add an extra charger, case, battery, or warranty. These strategies work by creating convenience and perceived value, nudging shoppers toward higher spending.
Kristina Wright
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Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.
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The human body is a complex network of bones, sinews, tendons, organs, and muscles all working together to propel us through our daily lives, but it’s the latter member of this biological lineup that literally does much of the heavy lifting. More than 600 muscles spread across three muscle groups — skeletal, smooth (found in the walls of some organs), and cardiac — make up the human body, and this intricate system accounts for up to 40% of your total body mass.
With such a complicated system keeping you moving (it takes the coordination of more than 200 muscles just to walk, for example), the human muscular system is a treasure trove of head-scratching and awe-inspiring facts. Here are five facts that will make you better appreciate what your hundreds of muscles do for you every day.
You’re familiar with the body’s five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing) but there’s a little-known sixth sense provided by receptors in your muscles, tendons, and skin known as “proprioception.” The information sent by those receptors, once processed by the cerebellum, allows your brain to interpret the position of your body in space.
Impairment of this sense can affect even the most physically fit among us. During the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), U.S. gymnast Simone Biles famously experienced a condition known as the “twisties,” which is essentially a temporary impairment of a type of proprioception known as “air awareness” — basically your brain and body have a slight communication breakdown that results in the body no longer accurately sensing its position while airborne. Luckily, most of us don’t require gymnast-level attunement to our proprioceptors in our daily lives, but it goes to show how our muscles do much more than just physically move us from place to place.
People often say the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body, but that’s actually incorrect in more ways than one. First off, the tongue isn’t one muscle but a collection of eight muscles, each with an important role for talking, eating, and anchoring to the skeleton. And while it’s true a healthy tongue rarely shows signs of fatigue, its strength by volume is dwarfed by that of the masseter, known more commonly as the jaw muscle.
Working in coordination with other muscles located in the jaw, the masseter can deliver up to 200 pounds of force on the molars. While the gluteus maximus (aka your butt) is the largest muscle and the heart is by far the hardest working, no muscle singlehandedly delivers as much power as the masseter.
Although mammals are often referred to as “warm-blooded,” muscles actually provide up to 85% of the warmth in your body, because every time a muscle contracts, it produces heat. When your body gets cold, the brain’s hypothalamus first reduces blood flow to the skin while blood returning from your limbs enters deep veins. This helps entrap heat in the body for longer. But when this doesn’t quite do the trick, the brain then sends random signals to your skeletal muscles, causing them to contract and produce more heat to help warm your body — what we experience as shivering.
When you think of muscles, you may picture the elegant pulley system that is the bicep/tricep duo or maybe your heart, the primary muscle that makes life possible. However, there are many other hard-working muscles that fly more under the radar, and chief among them are the six muscles (per eye) required for human vision. These muscles make approximately three coordinated movements per second, which comes to about 100,000 such movements total per day.
So why isn’t our vision blurred due to all that constant movement? Well, it turns out our brains anticipate where we’re going to look and ignore the blurry movement it takes to move our eyes in those directions. People have long marveled at the ingenuity of the human eye, but it’s the surrounding muscles that truly enable us to take in the world around us.
Your Body Contains a Few Muscles That Don’t Do Anything
Human bodies are still an evolutionary work in progress, and this can be seen in the many vestigial (aka nonfunctional) muscles left over from our primate past. One example, the pyramidalis muscle in the abdomen, is believed to contract the thin band of connective tissue that runs down the front of your abdomen (known as the linea alba), but it’s no longer needed for that function — in fact, some people don’t have this muscle at all.
Another vestigial muscle is the palmaris longus, which stretches from the wrist to the elbow and is suspected to have aided our ancestors in their grip strength. Around 10% of people don’t have this muscle in either arm. And then there are the auricular muscles, which theoretically aid in the physical movement of our ears by changing the shape of the pinna, the ear’s visible outer portion. Our ancestors stopped using these muscles for that function millions of years ago, although 2025 research shows these muscles may still be handy when trying to distinguish competing sounds.
Interesting Facts
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Evolution is an incredible natural process, allowing all living things to gradually change and adapt to their surroundings. These adaptations are typically geared toward survival: becoming stronger, faster, more intelligent, more attractive, and so on. Those useful characteristics are then passed on to offspring and the process continues — albeit very, very slowly in most cases.
The animal kingdom is filled with many extraordinary creatures that have evolved remarkable adaptations, from the ability to thrive in extreme environments to senses that far exceed those of humans. Some of these animal abilities are as bizarre as they are impressive, so we decided to explore the strangest and most astonishing skills found in the animal kingdom, from resurrecting frogs to creatures that can survive in space.
Wood frogs are found in some of the chillier regions of North America, from Alaska to the boreal forests of Canada, and they’re also the only frogs that live north of the Arctic Circle. These little amphibians have developed an extraordinary ability to survive the freezing winters — an ability that very closely resembles resurrection.
To endure the subarctic winters, wood frogs have adapted to allow around 65% to 70% of their bodies to freeze solid. While frozen, they have no detectable vital signs: no heartbeat, breath, blood circulation, muscle movement, or detectable brain activity. To prevent permanent cell damage, they produce glucose that acts as a natural antifreeze to protect specific vital organs. Incredibly, they can remain in this semi-frozen state for up to seven months, acclimating to their frozen environment by freezing along with it. And when the temperatures rise once again, they happily hop on with their lives.
Mantis shrimp typically grow to about 4 inches in length. That’s certainly not an intimidating size, but when it comes to punching power, they are not to be messed with. Pound for pound, the mantis shrimp possesses the most powerful punch in nature. Their strikes accelerate at speeds comparable to a 22-caliber bullet, with each blow landing about 1500 newtons of force. This allows them to use their hammer-like clubs to smash through hard-shelled prey such as crabs and clams; they’ve even been known to smash through aquarium glass.
This punching power comes from elastic energy storage. The shrimp stores energy in its muscles while it cocks its club into position, then releases the compressed energy in a ferocious hammer blow. The punch is so fast and creates so much pressure that the shrimp actually vaporizes the water in front of it, creating small cavitation bubbles that emit bright light and produce temperatures of around 7,200 degrees Fahrenheit. (The surface of the sun, by comparison, is 9,930 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Imagine if your eyes were fixed in place and couldn’t move in their sockets. It would be quite difficult and arduous to take in the world around you, because you’d have to constantly move your head around to direct your eyes. This is a problem owls have had to work around. Their large eyes, which are more elongated than ours (making them more adept at night vision), are fixed in place by bony structures called sclerotic rings, making their eyes nearly immobile.
To compensate for this, owls have evolved the ability to turn their necks incredibly far in either direction. While this famous owl trait doesn’t allow them to turn their heads all the way around, they can rotate them 270 degrees, or three-quarters of a full circle, in either direction, as well as 90 degrees up and down. An owl’s vertebrae and vertebral arteries have become specially adapted to allow for such an extreme range of movement, which in other animal species — including humans — would cause all kinds of physical issues.
Hairy Frogs Break Their Own Bones To Use Them as Weapons
The hairy frog is also known as the Wolverine frog, and you’ll soon understand why. This peculiar frog grows to about 4 to 5 inches long, and its flanks and thighs are covered in tiny, hair-like projections that are actually modified scales, likely to help with oxygen absorption. Its most bizarre characteristic, however, is one of the strangest defensive mechanisms in the natural world.
When threatened, the hairy frog deliberately breaks its own toe bones, forcing the sharp, claw-like bone fragments through the skin of its toes to create formidable weapons (hence the reference to the X-Men superhero Wolverine, known for his retractable claws). The frog can then kick its foes to inflict painful lacerations. The triggered bones eventually move back into place on their own without any known retracting mechanism, and the toe wounds heal over — at least until the next time something makes the mistake of picking a fight with this remarkable and somewhat devious creature.
The Mimic Octopus Is the World’s Most Amazing Shapeshifter
The mimic octopus was discovered in 1998 off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and it’s perhaps no surprise that it took so long to spot them. These masters of camouflage not only change shape and color to match various objects and surroundings, but they can even mimic other species.
While most mimics in the animal kingdom can take on the characteristics of just one other species, the mimic octopus impersonates several, including lionfish, jellyfish, sea snakes, shrimps, and crabs, as well as small sponges and even tube-worm tubes. What’s more, this amazing shapeshifter can switch between mimicking other creatures rapidly. It chooses which form to take based on threat assessment, selecting whatever sea creature poses the greatest threat to the predator they’re currently facing. For example, if the octopus is about to be attacked by territorial damselfish, it mimics the banded sea snake — a common predator of damselfish.
Tardigrades Are the Animal Kingdom’s Greatest Survivors
Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are microscopic eight-legged animals that are the most resilient creatures known to science. These extremophiles can survive in conditions that would be instantly fatal to almost any other organism, including extremes of heat, cold, pressure, and radiation. They can even survive in the usually uninhabitable vacuum of space. Add to this the ability to go without food or water for 30 years, and you have one very tough little creature.
This incredible resiliency can largely be chalked up to two amazing adaptations. Their bodies contain a protein unique to the tardigrade called DSUP (short for “damage suppressor protein”) that protects their DNA from harmful radiation. They also possess an amazing survival trick called cryptobiosis: a state of inactivity triggered by dry environments in which the tardigrade squeezes all the water out of its body, retracts its heads and limbs, rolls up into a little ball, and becomes dormant. They can stay like this for years, only unfurling themselves and going on with their lives when conditions improve, making them the ultimate specialists in survival.
Tony Dunnell
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Tony is an English writer of nonfiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.
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Though they’re part of a single nation, the 50 U.S. states all have unique identities of their own. Some states are particularly renowned for their one-of-a-kind geological features, others are celebrated as the birthplace of notable past presidents, and one state is even home to the largest living organism on Earth. There’s so much history and culture to discuss, but we narrowed it down to one fascinating tidbit from each. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting facts from all 50 U.S. states.
The Alabama Constitution is the longest state constitution in the United States, exceeding 360,000 words at nearly 500 pages. This makes it more than three times the length of the next largest state constitution (Texas).
Alaska
Alaska’s Aleutian Islands cross over the 180th meridian, which separates Earth’s eastern and western longitudes. From a geographic perspective, this means some of the Aleutian Islands are located at the easternmost reaches of the Eastern Hemisphere while others are at the westernmost points of the Western Hemisphere. Thus, Alaska manages to contain both the easternmost and westernmost points of the United States.
Arizona
With the exception of the Navajo Nation located within its borders, the state of Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time. This has been the case since 1968, when Arizona made a permanent switch to Mountain Standard Time, no matter the time of year. It’s one of only two states that don’t observe DST; the other is Hawaii.
Arkansas is home to the only public diamond mine in the world, located at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. The park contains 37 acres formed around 100 millions years ago by volcanic activity, and visitors to the site can keep whatever diamonds they’re able to find.
California
The tallest tree in the world is located in California’s Redwood National Park: It’s called Hyperion and measures 380.8 feet tall. In order to preserve the surrounding terrain, the park intentionally keeps the exact location of the tree a secret.
Colorado
The Centennial State is home to the highest incorporated city anywhere in the United States: Leadville, which is located 10,152 feet above sea level. You’ll also find the highest incorporated U.S. town in Alma, Colorado, with an elevation of 10,578 feet.
Former Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso was the first woman — who wasn’t the wife or widow of a past governor — to be elected to the highest state office. She was first elected in 1974 and again in 1978.
Delaware
Delaware is appropriately nicknamed the “First State,” as it was the first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It ratified the document on December 7, 1787, predating Pennsylvania’s ratification by five days.
Florida
The Florida Everglades are the only place on Earth where alligators coexist in the wild with crocodiles. The sprawling wetland is also the only place in the United States where people can witness crocodiles in nature.
Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia, back in 1886. The syrupy mixture was originally sold at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where a historical marker currently stands denoting the birthplace of the popular beverage.
Hawaii
The Hawaiian alphabet consists of just 13 letters, half as many as the English alphabet. The letters are A, E, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, U, W, plus ‘okina, of which is often written as simply an apostrophe or single left quotation mark, and indicates a pause (more specifically, a glottal stop) in speech.
Idaho
Idaho is known not only for its local brand of potatoes, but also for the 72 types of precious and semi-precious stones that can be found within state lines. Many of these gems occur naturally only in Idaho, earning it the nickname the “Gem State.”
From 1885 until its demolition in 1931, the Home Insurance Building stood in Chicago, Illinois and was considered to be the world’s first skyscraper. The 10-story building stood 138 feet tall, making it the tallest building with an iron frame at the time. Two additional floors were added in 1891, bringing the finished height to 180 feet.
Indiana
The first major league professional baseball game took place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the Kekionga Base Ball Grounds. It was played on May 4, 1871, with the Fort Wayne Kekiongas defeating the Cleveland Forest Citys by a score of 2-0.
Iowa
Music legend Buddy Holly’s final performance took place at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 2, 1959. He, Ritchie Valens, and musician Jiles Perry Richardson Jr., better known as the Big Bopper, perished in a plane crash the following day just miles away. The event is now known as “the day the music died.”
While former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Texas, he and his family moved to Abilene, Kansas, when baby Ike was just one year of age, where he spent his formative years. The town is home to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, which includes both Eisenhower’s boyhood home and final resting place.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the entire world. To date, 426 miles of the cave have been explored — thanks in large part to Stephen Bishop, a former enslaved man and self-taught geologist, who hand-drew a map of the cave off-site from memory in 1842. Hundreds of miles more are still believed to be unexplored.
Louisiana
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is a 24-mile-long bridge that connects the city of Mandeville to the New Orleans metropolitan area. It’s the longest bridge in the U.S. as well as the world’s longest bridge to run continuously over a body of water.
Maine has a geographic makeup unlike any other state, with more than 4,600 islands located off its coast. This gives the entire state a total of 3,478 miles of coastline, roughly 50 miles longer than the coastline of the state of California.
Maryland
The Maryland State House is the oldest U.S. state capitol building in continuous legislative use, with the cornerstone laid back in 1772. It’s also the only state house to have served as the nation’s capitol, which was located in Annapolis from 1783 to 1784.
Two Olympic-level sports were invented in Massachusetts. The first is basketball, which was created by Springfield resident James Naismith in 1891. The other, developed in 1895 by a gym teacher named William Morgan, came to be known as volleyball.
Michigan
In 1835, Michigan and Ohio nearly went to war over the area that makes up modern-day Toledo. Michigan ultimately ceded control in exchange for the promise of statehood as well as for territory in what’s now known as the Upper Peninsula.
The Mall of America in Bloomington is considered the largest mall in the entire country. It opened back in 1992 and contains more than 5.6 million square footage of retail space, welcoming around 40 million visitors annually.
Mississippi
The capital city of Jackson, Mississippi, is built atop a dormant volcano located 2,900 feet below the city. It was discovered in the early 19th century and is thought to have been extinct for at least 66 million years, with the most recent eruption having likely occurred during the Cretaceous Period (145 million to 65 million years ago).
Missouri
Missouri contains the tallest monument in the U.S., the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The landmark opened in 1965 and is meant to commemorate St. Louis’ role in the 19th-century westward expansion of the United States. In 2018, the area was designated as Gateway Arch National Park, becoming the only national park in the United States to be located entirely within a city.
Montana is the only state that’s exactly one time zone wide; it’s located entirely within the Mountain Time Zone. The state’s western border runs along the Pacific Time Zone, while a chunk of its eastern border runs along the Central Time Zone.
Nebraska
Nebraska’s state government is unique for being the only unicameral legislature in the country. This means that while most states have two legislative chambers (for instance, a state house and state senate) Nebraska only has one. This explains why it’s also the smallest legislative branch in the country with just 49 members.
Nevada
According to figures provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, there are more than 150,000 hotel rooms located in Sin City. This is the highest number of any U.S. city and also puts it in the top five for the most of any city in the world.
On April 12, 1934, wind speeds of 231 mph were recorded atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. This was the fastest non-tornadic wind speed recorded anywhere in the world at the time, and today it remains the second fastest recorded wind speed in human history. (The fastest is 253 mph, recorded on Australia’s Barrow Island on April 10, 1996.)
New Jersey
The spaces on a standard American Monopoly board are modeled after locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Board game designer Charles Darrow sold the design in 1935 to Parker Brothers, who kept those locations while marketing it to a national audience.
New Mexico
In March 1950, Hot Springs, New Mexico, officially changed its name to Truth or Consequences. This was done in honor of a radio show of the same name, whose host promised to air a 10th-anniversary episode from any town that made the name change.
New York was the first state to require automobile license plates, implementing the rule for drivers in 1901. Many of the original plates were made of leather using DIY kits at home, and they often featured the owner’s initials in lieu of numbers.
North Carolina
The infamous pirate Blackbeard — whose real name was Edward Teach — met his demise off the coast of North Carolina in November 1718. His flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, had run aground and been abandoned earlier that year in what’s now known as Beaufort Inlet. The ship wasn’t rediscovered until 1996.
North Dakota
The town of Medora, North Dakota, held a fond place in the heart of President Theodore Roosevelt, who established Elkhorn Ranch 35 miles north of the city in 1884 when he was 26. The area is now home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and will be the site of Roosevelt’s presidential library.
Northeast Ohio is home to two prestigious halls of fame: the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, known for its distinctive pyramidal structure created by architect I.M. Pei., and the Pro Football Hall of Fame located in Canton.
Oklahoma
Cimarron County is situated at the westernmost tip of the Oklahoma Panhandle and is the only county in the U.S. that touches five states. This includes the rest of the state of Oklahoma, plus Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas.
Oregon
A colony of the fungus species Armillaria ostoyae located in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest is believed to be the largest living organism on Earth. Nicknamed the “Humongous Fungus,” the 2,384 acres of fungi that sweep through the state’s Blue Mountains were discovered in 1998.
The Philadelphia Zoo was the first public zoo in the U.S. The charter was originally signed in 1859, though progress was halted for 15 years due to the Civil War. The zoo finally opened its doors on July 1, 1874.
Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island, is home to the Touro Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the U.S. The building was dedicated in 1763 and continues to provide services for members of the local Jewish community.
South Carolina
Morgan Island, also called “Monkey Island,” is a private island located off the coast of Beaufort that’s home to more than 4,000 free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Around 1,400 monkeys were originally placed on the island in 1979 for research purposes, and the population has continued to grow since then.
Despite being located in the middle of the country, South Dakota actually contains more miles of shoreline than the state of Florida. This is due to the many lakes and rivers found in the Mount Rushmore State, including the 231-mile-long Lake Oahe reservoir.
Tennessee
Having first aired in November 1925, the Grand Ole Opry is the longest-running radio program in U.S. history. The show broadcasts live country music each week from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
Texas
With more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats calling it home, Bracken Cave — located near San Antonio — contains the world’s largest bat colony. Millions of bats also reside under Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge, which has become a popular tourist attraction for that reason.
Salt Lake City is the only state capital in the U.S. whose name is more than two words long. It actually used to be even longer, as it was originally called Great Salt Lake City before dropping the “Great” in 1868.
Vermont
From 1777 to 1791, Vermont existed as an independent entity known as the Vermont Republic. During that time, it became the first independent government entity in North America to ban slavery. It joined the U.S. as the 14th state in 1791.
Virginia
Eight U.S. presidents have been born in Virginia to date — the most of any state. The list includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, and Woodrow Wilson.
Washington
Though it’s recognized nationwide today, the first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. It wasn’t until 1972 during campaign season that then-President Richard Nixon signed a proclamation to make it a national holiday.
West Virginia
The New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel span bridge in the Western Hemisphere, measuring 3,030 feet long. In 2020, it became the focal point of the country’s newest national park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Wisconsin
The Green Bay Packers are the only publicly owned team in any of the four major U.S. sports leagues (the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). Ownership is composed entirely of shareholders, many of whom are local Wisconsinites who are also devoted fans of the franchise.
The majority of Yellowstone National Park, which became the country’s first national park back in 1872, is located in Wyoming. The park features popular natural attractions such as the Old Faithful geyser, the Grand Prismatic Spring, and bountiful wildlife.
Bennett Kleinman
Staff Writer
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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Some celebrity relatives are well known, such as Serena and Venus Williams or the Hemsworth brothers. But there are other cases where you may be surprised to discover that two famous figures are related. We’re taking a look at some of those unexpected cases here, including a global pop star whose aunt voices an iconic animated character and a film legend who once unknowingly portrayed his cousin on the silver screen. Let’s delve into seven pairs of celebrities you may not know are related.
Academy Award winners Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty are more than just two of the most accomplished actors to ever work in Hollywood — they’re also siblings. Shirley was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in 1934, and her younger brother Henry Warren came along three years later. They were raised in Richmond, Virginia, by Ira and Kathlyn Beaty, who presciently named their daughter after another famed actress: Shirley Temple.
Early in their acting careers, both Shirley and Warren changed their professional names, due in part to people mispronouncing their surname as “beety” instead of the true pronunciation, “batey.” After graduating high school, Shirley moved to New York City to pursue stage acting and changed her name to Shirley MacLaine — a stylization of her middle name. She was inspired to make the change while auditioning for the Broadway show Me and Juliet after a producer kept mispronouncing her birth name.
Warren, meanwhile, altered his surname from “Beaty” to “Beatty” in the late 1950s as he took on his earliest acting roles. Despite their lengthy careers, the siblings have never worked on the same film together, though they’ve always remained close and supportive of one another.
In the 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks stars as former children’s television host Fred Rogers. While doing press for the movie, Hanks was surprised to find out he and Rogers are real-life cousins.
This news was broken to Hanks during a red carpet interview with Access Hollywood, which informed Hanks that Ancestry.com had discovered the connection. As it turns out, Hanks and Rogers are sixth cousins who both descend from a German man named Johannes Meffert who was born in 1732.
The distant cousins never actually met before the TV host’s death in 2003. But Hanks did have the chance to meet Rogers’ widow, Joanne, who informed Hanks of another pleasant surprise — that he was her late husband’s favorite actor. Hanks’ embodiment of his late cousin’s legacy ultimately earned him another Academy Award nomination in 2020.
Credit: Tristan Fewings/ Getty Images Entertainment (left), Vivien Killilea/ Getty Images Entertainment (right) via Getty Images
Nicolas Cage and Francis Ford Coppola
Nicolas Cage was born in 1964 as Nicolas Kim Coppola, a member of the prolific movie-making Coppola family. His father was author August Coppola — brother to The Godfather writer and director Francis Ford Coppola. This also means Cage is the nephew of actress Talia Shire (sister to Francis and August), as well as the cousin of famed director Sofia Coppola (Francis’ daughter) and the cousin of actor Jason Schwartzman (Talia’s son).
At age 15, in a bid to enlist Francis’ help with his dreams of a film career, Cage said to his uncle, “Give me a screen test — I’ll show you acting,” only to be met with silence. Cage continued trying to make it as an actor, appearing in movies such as 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High under the name Nicolas Coppola.
However, he was purportedly ridiculed for having a famous last name, eventually opting to change it to dodge any further nepotism accusations. Nicolas chose “Cage” after Marvel character Luke Cage and composer John Cage, both of whom he looked to for inspiration.
Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis are both “scream queens” — actresses renowned for their iconic performances in horror films. Leigh appeared as Marion Crane in Afred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho, and Curtis portrayed Laurie Strode in various Halloween films. Their disposition toward horror flicks may have a genetic component, as Janet and Jamie are in fact mother and daughter.
Jamie Lee Curtis was born in 1958 to Leigh and actor Tony Curtis, though the pair were divorced soon after. Jamie Lee Curtis wanted to pursue acting from a young age, but Leigh insisted she go to college first, telling People magazine in 1994, “I didn’t want her to be just another kid in the business, because I’d seen so many who turned out unhappy.”
So Curtis followed in her mother’s footsteps and attended Leigh’s alma mater, California’s University of the Pacific. But the acting bug continued to bite: Curtis dropped out after one semester and booked a two-sentence role on a 1977 episode of Quincy, M.E. Around this same time, Leigh’s own acting career began to wind down. However, the mother-daughter duo still wound up appearing in two movies together, both appropriately within the horror genre: 1980’s The Fog and 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
George Wendt and Jason Sudeikis are two of the funniest men to ever grace the small screen. But they don’t just share a sense of comedic timing; they also share some of the same genes. Wendt’s sister Kathryn Sudeikis (born Kathryn Wendt) gave birth to Jason Sudeikis in 1975, making George Wendt Jason’s uncle.
Wendt is primarily known for portraying barfly Norm Peterson on the classic sitcom Cheers, whereas Sudeikis became famous as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live before going on to star in the widely acclaimed TV show Ted Lasso. The pair have never worked together onscreen, but Wendt has expressed his admiration for his nephew, calling him “such a great kid … so smart, so thoughtful” in a 2024 interview with the Still Here Hollywood podcast.
Lenny Kravitz and Al Roker are cousins, yet their public personas could hardly be more different. Kravitz became famous as a rock star known for rocking leather pants and wailing tunes such as “Fly Away” and “American Woman,” whereas Roker made a name for himself as a straight-laced TV weatherman and journalist. But they come from the same family tree, as was revealed on an episode of NBC’s Today in 2011.
Roker was born to Isabel and Albert Lincoln Roker in 1954. Kravitz was born 10 years later to NBC producer Sy Kravitz and The Jeffersons star Roxie Roker. But you have to go one generation back to find their familial connection: Their grandparents were cousins, making Lenny and Al second cousins once removed. Roker, in particular, enjoys discussing the fact he’s related to the musician, proclaiming on Today that “kids think it’s cool!”
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Sabrina Carpenter and Nancy Cartwright
Sabrina Carpenter is a globally renowned pop star known for the hit songs “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please.” But her astronomical rise to stardom is quite recent, coming decades after that of her famous aunt, Nancy Cartwright. While that particular name may not ring a bell, you’ve almost certainly heard her voice, specifically as Bart on The Simpsons.
Cartwright was born to Frank and Miriam Cartwright in 1957, and her father went on to remarry a woman named Marilyn Carpenter in 1979. In doing so, he became stepfather to Marilyn’s children, including her son David — Sabrina’s biological father. This means Sabrina and Nancy are step-aunt and step-niece, related by marriage. However, the pair are close enough that they refer to each other as simply “aunt” and “niece.” Funnily enough, Sabrina once revealed she wasn’t allowed to watch The Simpsons until she was older, despite the family connection.
Bennett Kleinman
Staff Writer
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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Dogs have evolved significantly over time to endear themselves to humans. They use their eyes, ears, mouths, and tails to communicate their emotions; a wagging tail, for instance, is typically thought of as the universal symbol of a happy dog. But the reality is a bit more complex.
While a joyful pup does indeed wag its tail, the speed, position, or even the direction of a tail wag can convey a wide range of emotions. Just like with humans, there are also anatomical differences to keep in mind. Some breeds, such as Beagles or terriers, naturally carry their tails high, while Greyhound and Whippet tails are naturally low, so interpreting a dog’s tail signals also means keeping their normal tail position in mind. Here, we decode the secret language of a dog’s wagging tail.
Few things evoke simple joy as much as a dog wagging its tail so fast and so broadly that its whole body wiggles. This type of enthusiastic wag — often paired with squinted eyes, relaxed posture, and a happy, open-mouthed expression — signals pure excitement. It’s a greeting many dog owners know from coming home after being away or when playing with their beloved pup.
Tail wagging isn’t something dogs are born able to do; puppies typically start wagging their tails sometime between 3 weeks and 7 weeks old. Wolves, dogs’ wild ancestors, rarely wag their tails, illustrating how domestication has played a role in shaping many communicative behaviors of tamed canines.
Not all tail wags are signs of happiness. When a dog wags its tail slowly, especially with the tail held lower than usual — half-mast or lower — it may be feeling uncertain or hesitant. This kind of wag is often seen in dogs who are assessing a new situation, perhaps encountering a stranger or sniffing out another dog or a new toy.
As with any type of tail wag, it’s important to pay attention to the overall body language. A hesitant tail wag, for instance, is often accompanied by a lowered head or a slightly tensed posture. Though you may be tempted to offer reassurance, it’s better to give dogs some space while they sort through those feelings of incertitude on their own.
High and Stiff: Alertness, Dominance, or Aggression
A tail held high with a firm, deliberate wag most likely isn’t a friendly gesture. In most cases, it signals alertness or dominance. According to canine behavior expert Stanley Coren, if the tail is held high while tightly wagging or vibrating, it may even signal an active threat.
This could indicate a dog is ready to fight or possibly run. If the tail suddenly stops wagging, it could mean the pup is attempting to avert a threat without becoming aggressive — but it could also signal it’s about to pounce. In interactions between dogs, a high, stiff wag can also be a way of asserting superior social rank.
Dogs don’t just wag their tails — they often wag them asymmetrically, and the specific angle can mean different things. Giorgio Vallortigara is a professor of neuroscience and animal cognition at Italy’s University of Trento who specializes in brain asymmetry and cognitive processing in animals.
In his work — which explores how animals process emotions and interpret spatial, numerical, and object-related information — he’s studied the directions of dogs’ wagging tails, and he believes the direction of a tail wag may be linked to brain hemisphere activity similar to right- or left-brain dominance in humans.
Brain lateralization was first recognized in human brains in the 19th century. In the ensuing years, research showed many animals experience similar lateralization, and Vallortigara’s research suggests dogs’ experience is much the same as humans. He and his team studied 30 pet dogs of various breeds, recording the dogs’ tail-wagging responses to different stimuli, and found dogs tend to wag their tails more vigorously to the right (from the dog’s perspective) when experiencing positive emotions, such as seeing their owner.
This, in humans — as, it appears, in dogs — is often a result of left-brain activity, which controls the right side of the body and is associated with feelings of calmness and approach-oriented behaviors including interaction, exploration, and engagement.
Just as a right-leaning wag can signal positive emotions, a tail leaning more to the left can indicate stress or anxiety. Vallortigara and his colleagues found that when dogs saw something intimidating, such as an aggressive, unfamiliar dog, their tails wagged toward the left side of their body. This supports lateralization theory, as the brain’s right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and is associated with processing “withdrawal” feelings of fear, sadness, and heightened alertness.
Interestingly, Vallortigara’s team also found that dogs respond to the direction another dog’s tail is wagging, becoming more relaxed when they see a rightward wag and more anxious when they see a leftward one. Like Vallortigara’s findings regarding the link between certain stimuli and tail-wagging, other research has shown that stress in dogs can impact their behavioral lateralization, such as which paw they use more often.
Additional recent research conducted at the University of Trento and the U.K.’s University of Lincoln suggests that while dogs’ brain asymmetries can influence their emotions and behaviors, emotional lateralization is ultimately a complex concept shaped by multiple factors.
A wagging tail doesn’t always signal confidence, either. When a dog wags its tail while keeping it very low, it’s a sign of submission. If the dog goes so far as to tuck the tail between its legs, especially if a small, tentative wag persists, it indicates the dog is feeling overwhelmed.
This often happens when a dog is feeling fearful and trying to diffuse any potential conflict, which explains why we use the saying “with one’s tail between one’s legs” to express similar feelings of vulnerability in humans.
Nicole Villeneuve
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Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.
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Author Octavia E. Butler once wrote, “The only lasting truth is change” — and this goes for our genome, too. During cell division, DNA replicates with staggering efficiency, producing only one error in around 100 million to 1 billion replicated nucleotides, the building block of the DNA molecule.
Although evolution has developed a robust system known as “proofreading” for catching these errors, some still manage to sneak through. Once established in the genome, the body no longer registers this bit of genetic code as an error, and so it survives in perpetuity as a “mutation.”
These mutations have led to detrimental health effects and relatively benign changes alike. Sometimes, though, a mutation can provide people with profound benefits. While not quite as drastic as enhanced strength, X-ray vision, or other fantastical superhuman powers, a few of these mutations have impressive side effects nonetheless.
People often describe themselves as “night owls” or “early birds,” but people with a mutation in the DEC2 gene (which plays a crucial role in regulating sleep) can enjoy the benefits of both thanks to their reduced need for sleep. Although eight hours is the most common definition of a full night’s rest, scientists have long attested that this figure can vary based on a person’s age, health, and environment, suggesting seven to nine hours as a more reasonable estimate.
However, some people with a DEC2 mutation can get by on just four hours of sleep and still feel refreshed. A 2018 study found that DEC2 helps regulate your circadian rhythm (aka your body’s “clock”), but when weakened by this gene mutation, it causes an overproduction of orexin, a hormone that maintains wakefulness. So if you’re ever frustrated there aren’t more hours in the day, feel free to blame your nonmutated DEC2 gene.
In 2002, scientists at Yale published a groundbreaking study focused on one particular family in Danbury, Connecticut, with a gene mutation in the LRP5 gene, which regulates bone metabolism. In other words, their bones were super strong. At the time, the researchers reported to Yale Medicine Magazine that the family had “about the strongest bones on the entire planet.”
The family’s mutational benefit has proved to be a gift to the rest of us normal-boned folks, too, because another mutation of the LRP5 gene plays a major role in the development of some severe cases of osteoporosis. The exploration into this family’s genetic history could help develop novel therapies for increasing bone density in patients suffering from the condition.
Humans are the only mammals on Earth that drink the milk of other mammalian species — cow, sheep, goat, etc. We weren’t originally intended to ingest milk beyond infancy, but thanks to a mutation in the lactase gene that occurred around 10,000 years ago, 32% of humans can break down the lactose sugar found in these milks as adults.
So while a large swath of the planet can enjoy dairy worry-free (beyond environmental concerns, that is), millions of people are actually unaware of their own intolerance, as the side effects can be relatively mild. Also, some people have the ability to break down lactase sometimes — but not always. If you’re curious about your body’s lactose-nomming abilities, medical providers have a few methods, including blood sugar and hydrogen breath tests, to provide you with answers — and you can always take a supplement to give you temporary lactase-mutation powers.
The human eye is a wonder of evolution, but it turns out a mutated human eye is even more astounding. Typically, eyes sense color using three cones sensitive to red, blue, and green. However, a genetic mutation in the X chromosome causes some people to develop a fourth cone sensitive to the yellow-green area of the visual spectrum.
These people, known as tetrachromats (“tetra” meaning four), can see many millions more colors than a typical human. Women are more likely to have this condition due to their two X chromosomes; conversely, men (who have only one X chromosome) have increased chances of being colorblind.
More than 30 million adults have diabetes in the U.S. alone, and researchers have long sought new ways to fight this pervasive condition. In a 2018 study, scientists reported the mutation in the gene SGLT1 (sodium glucose cotransporter 1) that causes limited absorption of glucose imparted some other profound health impacts among 6% of the 8,478 participants.
Not only did this impaired glucose uptake lower someone’s risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, but it also curtailed incidences of obesity, heart failure, and early death. At the time, the researchers hoped selectively blocking SGLT1 could help improve the average human lifespan. In the following years, scientists developed drugs capable of inhibiting SGLT1 as well as SGLT2, which also regulates blood sugar levels in the kidneys, bringing much-needed relief to millions.
Interesting Facts
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Interesting Facts writers have been seen in Popular Mechanics, Mental Floss, A+E Networks, and more. They’re fascinated by history, science, food, culture, and the world around them.
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Every March 17, people all around the world come together to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday that blends Irish heritage with lively modern traditions. What began as a solemn religious observance in Ireland has evolved into a widespread celebration noted for its parades, libations, and emerald green decorations. But St. Patrick’s Day goes far beyond shamrocks and Guinness. Whether you’re marking the day with corned beef and cabbage or simply by wearing your finest green attire, these intriguing facts will give you a whole new appreciation for the holiday.
While we typically associate St. Patrick’s Day with Ireland, it’s also an official public holiday in several places with strong Irish ties. The Caribbean island of Montserrat, often called the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” due to its significant Irish heritage, observes March 17 as a public holiday. The occasion not only honors St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, but also commemorates a failed 1768 uprising of enslaved people against colonial rule, blending the island’s Irish and African influences into one celebration.
In Canada, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador also recognizes St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday, reflecting the deep-rooted presence of Irish immigrants who settled there in the late 18th century and 19th century. Meanwhile, the United States, despite hosting some of the largest and most elaborate St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world, doesn’t recognize the event as an official federal holiday. In all these regions, the day isn’t just about parades and festivities; it’s also an opportunity to reflect on Irish history and the culture’s influence on other parts of the world.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Is an Irish American Invention
Corned beef and cabbage is widely considered the standard St. Patrick’s Day meal in the United States, but it’s not a traditional dish in Ireland. Irish immigrants in the U.S. in the 19th century and early 20th century created the meal as a more affordable alternative to Irish bacon (a leaner type of bacon made from the back of the pig rather than the belly), which was harder to find in America. They purchased corned beef from Jewish butchers, combined it with cabbage, and created a hearty dish that’s since become a holiday staple in the U.S.
In Ireland, however, St. Patrick’s Day meals look quite different. Traditional Irish celebrations often feature dishes such as lamb or beef stew, shepherd’s pie, and colcannon, a mix of mashed potatoes, cabbage or kale, and butter. Soda bread, a simple, dense Irish bread made with baking soda, is also popular in both the U.S. and Ireland.
Chicago celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with its own unique tradition: dyeing the Chicago River a brilliant shade of green. The tradition began in 1962 when city workers, looking for a way to detect pollution in the river, discovered that a particular dye turned the water a striking green. Inspired by the color’s strong association with Ireland, officials decided to begin using the dye to mark the holiday, and the tradition has continued ever since.
The formula used today is a closely guarded secret, but it’s said to be environmentally safe. And while the river maintains its green hue for just a few hours, the event draws thousands of spectators and has become one of the most famous St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world.
St. Patrick’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for Guinness, Ireland’s most famous stout. Around 1.8 billion pints of the stuff are served worldwide each year, with an estimated 13 million pints served on St. Patrick’s Day alone. Cities including New York, Boston, and Chicago, all of which are home to large Irish American populations, report some of the highest Guinness sales, reinforcing the beer’s strong connection to the holiday.
But Guinness isn’t the only thing people imbibe on St. Patrick’s Day. Bars and pubs across the U.S. see a significant uptick in all beer sales — a jaw-dropping 174% — making the holiday one of the most profitable days for the industry.
St. Patrick’s Day Was a Solemn Occasion in Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t always associated with pints of beer and lively parades. Until the 1960s, Irish laws required pubs to close on March 17 as part of the holiday’s religious observances, reinforcing the day’s solemnity as a feast day honoring Ireland’s patron saint.
For much of Ireland’s history, St. Patrick’s Day (which was established in 1631) was primarily marked by attending church services and reflecting on the saint’s role in bringing Christianity to the island. It wasn’t until later in the 20th century that Ireland began embracing St. Patrick’s Day as a way to boost tourism. Nowadays, the country’s multidaySt. Patrick’s Day festivals attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, highlighting Irish heritage through parades, concerts, and cultural events.
The shamrock’s association with Ireland dates back to pre-Christian times, but it gained significant prominence through the legend of St. Patrick. According to legend, the saint used the three-leafed clover to illustrate the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — while spreading Christianity in Ireland.
Though there’s no historical evidence to confirm this tale, the story became widely accepted, and the shamrock eventually evolved beyond religious significance to represent Ireland itself. Along with the harp, it’s even one of the country’s official state emblems.
Knowing the origins of the name “Patrick” makes it easy to understand why “St. Paddy’s Day” is the only correct shorthand for the name of the holiday. The name “Patrick” can be traced to the Latin term “patricius,” meaning “nobleman,” which evolved into various Irish Gaelic forms, including“Pádraig” and “Padraic.”
“Paddy” is a casual, affectionate diminutive of these Irish Gaelic variations, in line with the Irish tradition of shortening names informally. While the moniker developed over time into “Patrick”in the English language, the nickname “Paddy” remained the same. In contrast, “St. Patty’s Day” is considered incorrect because “Patty” is a diminutive of “Patricia,” not Patrick.
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Interesting Facts writers have been seen in Popular Mechanics, Mental Floss, A+E Networks, and more. They’re fascinated by history, science, food, culture, and the world around them.
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As the old quip goes, “There is no such thing as a little garlic.” This bold, aromatic ingredient is a key player in cuisines worldwide. The average American consumes two pounds of garlic annually, which is impressive considering the food’s minuscule weight.
Garlic is also renowned for its health benefits: It supports cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and has potent antimicrobial properties. Garlic’s reputation even extends beyond the pantry and into more fantastical realms as a fabled vampire deterrent. From modern-day farming to ancient superstitions, these are the most fascinating facts about garlic.
While dried garlic is commonly sold as a spice, garlic is actually a vegetable known as Allium sativum,belonging to the same family as onions, shallots, leeks, and chives. The entire garlic plant is edible, including the stems (called scapes), leaves, and flowers, but the part we’re most familiar with cooking and eating is the bulb, which is typically composed of 10 to 20 cloves.
Garlic plants fall into two subspecies, hardneck and softneck, both of which are cultivated for commercial sale. Hardneck varieties are better suited for colder climates and have a stiff, visible stalk (called a scape) in the center of the bulb. Softneck garlic grows best in warmer climates and doesn’t have a visible stalk. These two varieties are further subdivided based on distinct clove formations and flavor profiles. “Silverskin,” a softneck garlic, is the most widely available in grocery stores due to its long shelf life. Meanwhile, professional chefs often seek out the robust, full-bodied flavor of “rocambole” garlic, a hardneck variety.
China is by far the world’s leading producer of garlic, yielding more than 20 million tons annually (roughly 80% of the world’s supply). By comparison, India, the second-largest producer, has averaged around three million tons in recent years. The United States is theworld’s largest garlic importer, although they also grow it domestically as well. The annual U.S. production averages around 200,000 tons, mostly coming from California farms. However, only 30% of U.S. garlic is sold fresh at the supermarket; the majority is dehydrated.
China’s flourishing garlic industry makes sense, considering garlic is native to Asia, where it’s been cultivated for thousands of years. Historically, wild garlic grew across a vast region, from China in the east, India in the south, and as far west as Egypt and Ukraine. Today, garlic only grows wild in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) but is cultivated on every continent aside from Antarctica.
Garlic was a staple in the diets of many ancient cultures, but in ancient Rome, it was more than just a tasty additive; it was thought to impart special powers. Romans believed eating garlic granted one courage, strength, and stamina, making it a traditional pre-battle food. It was also thought to improve athletic performance, so runners would enjoy a garlicky snack before footraces to increase their speed. The Romans were so fond of garlic that they dedicated it as a sacred plant to Mars, their god of war.
Romans believed garlic had other mystical properties as well, such as the power to demagnetize metals. The philosopher Plutarch noted in his treatise “Quaestiones Convivales” that “a loadstone will not draw a piece of iron that is rubbed with garlic.” The garlic-magnet debate wasn’t debunked until the 16th century, as recorded in transactions of the Oxford Philosophical Society: “Whether the magnet’s power can be reduced by garlic has not yet been proven through persistent experience.””
One of the most enduring superstitions about garlic is its supposed ability to ward off vampires and witches. This belief, which first emerged through medieval European folklore (especially in Romania, home of the Dracula legend), suggested that garlic’s pungent odor is toxic to vampires and will deter them from coming too close to the holder. Some historians believe the superstition may be linked to a rare blood disorder called porphyria, which causes pale skin and intensifies with garlic consumption.
Garlic wasn’t strictly reserved for keeping mythical creatures at bay, however. In medieval times, garlic was also a symbol of purity and strength. Garlic bulbs were hung around doorways and windows or even crafted into necklaces for protection and good fortune. Even as late as the 19th century, German miners continued to carry garlic cloves for protection, marking centuries of unwavering superstition surrounding this tiny vegetable.
Though garlic may not deter vampires, it can ward off certain viruses. Allicin, the compound responsible for garlic’s smell, is the plant’s most prominent antimicrobial component. It can deactivate viruses, including influenza B, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, and rhinovirus. Although this revelation results from modern studies, garlic has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It was employed in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various respiratory and digestive ailments and in ancient Egypt to improve circulation and treat parasitic infections.
Garlic has other nutritional benefits as well. This low-calorie food is packed with nutrients, including manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium, and fiber. Studies have revealed its potential cardiovascular benefits, noting the allicin in garlic may limit the production of angiotensin II, a hormone that increases blood pressure. Garlic is also rich in antioxidants, which lower oxidative stress, reducing the risk of chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Garlic has a larger-than-life reputation on Earth, and its impact could someday even extend beyond our planet. An experiment conducted by Dutch researchers at Wageningen University tested the viability of extraterrestrial soil in hopes of making progress toward potential future colonization. The team planted garlic and other popular crops (tomatoes, radishes, peas, onions, spinach, peppers, arugula, and quinoa) in simulated lunar and Martian soil. Both experiments were deemed successful, but the Martian soil showed greater fertility, giving astronomers hope of one day cultivating garlic and other crops on the Red Planet.
While this experiment marked the first time garlic was grown in extraterrestrial soil, this ingredient is a longstanding staple aboard the International Space Station, where astronauts rely on it as a healthy flavoring agent with a long shelf life. After a successful harvest of outer space-grown bok choy, ISS astronauts marinated the leaves in garlic and soy sauce, creating a tasty dish to share among the crew.
Rachel Gresh
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Rachel is a writer and period drama devotee who's probably hanging out at a local coffee shop somewhere in Washington, D.C.
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