Special Report

50 Most Amazing Things About America Today

Photo by David McNew / Getty Images

The United States of America is a nation unlike any other. The U.S. is different from the rest of the world because it does not have a common ethnic or linguistic background, and as such does not draw on a single national identity, value set, or heritage. Another distinguishing characteristic is the United States Constitution, the oldest written document of its kind that contains checks and balances of government. To paraphrase former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, “Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.”

The Founding Fathers believed the new nation was a special place, a place without class distinction, where people would be free to worship, organize, speak freely, and build a better future for themselves. America became a magnet for immigrants, whose only limit to success — at least in theory — was their imagination.

From this firmament have emerged inventions like the personal computer; cultural phenomena like jazz and motion pictures; and the inexorable pursuit of equality and justice for all — the civil rights acts, women’s suffrage, and same-sex marriage.

As the evolving American experiment continues to fascinate us, 24/7 Wall St. has compiled 50 most amazing things about America today. We reviewed online resources, government agencies, and surveys such as those done by the Pew Research Center to create our list.

Click here to see the 50 most amazing things about America today.

ninjaMonkeyStudio / Getty Images

1. The U.S. is big

The U.S. is the third largest country in the world by land mass — nearly as big as the entire continent of Europe.

[in-text-ad]

microgen / Getty Images

2. World class athletes

American athletes have won more Olympic medals than athletes from any other country.

salajean / Getty Images

3. Climate diversity

The U.S. is the only country that falls within five different climate zones.

svetikd / Getty Images

4. Magnet for international tourism

The U.S. attracts more tourists than every country in the world after Spain and France.

[in-text-ad-2]

DougLemke / Getty Images

5. Fresh water supply

Lake Superior is the largest body of freshwater in the world by surface area.

icholakov / Getty Images

6. Office space

The Pentagon — headquarters of the Department of Defense — is the largest office building by floor area in the world.

[in-text-ad]

Yommy8008 / Getty Images

7. Space exploration

The only people to have walked on the moon’s surface are Americans.

Photos.com / Getty Images

8. Immigration destination

The U.S. is home to more than 40 million immigrants — more than any other country in the world.

Martin Wahlborg / Getty Images

9. Music central

Much of the music the world listens to — jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, country, folk, R&B, soul, and gospel — came out of the U.S.

[in-text-ad-2]

Sörn / Wikimedia Commons

10. Hollywood is dominant

The U.S. film industry is the largest, oldest, and most profitable film industry in the world. The film industry generated about $11.4 billion in 2016, nearly double the amount generated in China, the world’s second-largest film industry.

11. Slice of heaven

More than nine in every 10 Americans have eaten pizza in the last month. According to some estimates, Americans consume the equivalent of about 100 acres of pizza every day.

[in-text-ad]

uschools / Getty Images

12. Government property

Nearly one-third of all land in the U.S. — or 650 million acres — is federally owned.

no_limit_pictures / Getty Images

13. Fast food nation

On any given day in U.S., about 84.8 million adults — 37% of the adult population — consume fast food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

miroslav_1 / Getty Images

14. America does not entirely belong to Americans

Foreign investors own 27.3 million acres of U.S. farmland, an area about the size of Virginia.

[in-text-ad-2]

TonyBaggett / Getty Images

15. President

The U.S. was the first nation to use the title of “President” for its head of state.

phive2015 / Getty Images

16. Inventions

The U.S. is at the center of global invention. Airplanes, computers, cellphones, potato chips, and the light bulb are just a few examples.

[in-text-ad]

jonathandavidsteele / Getty Images

17. Americans love dogs

There are an estimated 75.8 million dogs in the U.S., more than double the number in Brazil, the country with the second most dogs.

milanvirijevic / Getty Images

18. The U.S. economy is massive

Though the U.S. is home to less than 5% of the world’s population, it is responsible for nearly 25% of global economic output.

crstrbrt / Getty Images

19. Petroleum production

The U.S. became the world’s largest petroleum producer in the last 10 years. The U.S. produced 15.6 million barrels of petroleum per day in 2017, 3.5 million more than Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-biggest petroleum producer.

[in-text-ad-2]

RoschetzkyIstockPhoto / Getty Images

20. U.S. flag

The current iteration of the American flag was designed by a high school student.

DmyTo / Getty Images

21. Second Amendment

There are more guns than people in the United States — about 101 for every 100 people, according to some estimates. The country with the next highest ownership rate is Serbia, where there are 58 guns for every 100 people.

[in-text-ad]

Nikada / Getty Images

22. German influence

Some 45.2 million Americans identify as ancestrally German, more than any other nationality.

artisteer / Getty Images

23. Imperial system of measurement

The U.S. is one of only three countries that has not officially switched to the metric system. Liberia and Burma are the other two.

Steve Debenport / Getty Images

24. Job tenure

The typical wage or salary worker in the U.S. has been with their current employer for 4.2 years.

[in-text-ad-2]

OlyaSolodenko / Getty Images

25. Green currency

The government chose to color U.S. currency green as an anti-counterfeiting strategy. When the color was adopted in the 19th century, cameras could only take black and white photographs, making imitation bills difficult to produce.

Curimedia / Wikimedia Commons

26. Population concentration

Over half of the U.S. population lives in just nine states — California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina.

[in-text-ad]

Maudib / Getty Images

27. Americans like to travel

The number of passports held by Americans leaped to 21.4 million in 2017, the most ever recorded.

CHBD / Getty Images

28. Belief in the individual

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 57% of Americans believe that individuals control their own success in life, the largest share of any country surveyed.

Robert Daly / Getty Images

29. Americans like to move

The U.S. is one of most mobile nations on Earth. According to a Gallup poll, 24% of U.S. adults reported moving within the country in the past five years.

[in-text-ad-2]

Rasica / Getty Images

30. Tornados

Three out of every four tornadoes in the world occur in the United States.

Photos.com / Getty Images

31. Nobel Prizes

The U.S. has won more Nobel Prizes than any other country.

[in-text-ad]

SylvieBouchard / Getty Images

32. Biodiversity

The U.S. ranks among the top 10 countries in the world for the number of mammal, reptile, fish, and vascular plant species.

Peter Burnett / Getty Images

33. Forest

The U.S. has over 3.1 million square miles of forest land, more than every country in the world after Canada, Brazil, and Russia.

Rob Carr / Getty Images

34. Americans love football

Super Bowl XLIX was the most watched broadcast in U.S. television history. An estimated 114.4 million people tuned in to watch the big game in 2015 — equal to more than a third of the U.S. population.

[in-text-ad-2]

monkeybusinessimages / Getty Images

35. Minority white

New Census Bureau projections predict the U.S. will be “minority white” — 49.7% — by 2045.

Urupong / Getty Images

36. America is connected

An estimated 96% of Americans use the internet, compared with about 54% of the global population.

[in-text-ad]

Steve Debenport / Getty Images

37. Generosity

The U.S. is one of the most generous nations in the world, trailing only Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand, according to the 2018 World Giving Index – published annually by international nonprofit organization Charities Aid Foundation.

Grafner / Getty Images

38. Plenty of coastline

The U.S. has about 12,380 miles of coastline, more than all but eight other countries worldwide.

bgwalker / Getty Images

39. Home of the world’s largest private sector employer

Founded in Arkansas in 1962, Walmart is the world’s largest private-sector employer, providing 2.2 million jobs.

[in-text-ad-2]

encrier / Getty Images

40. Manhattan’s Chinatown

Manhattan’s Chinatown is home to more Chinese residents than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.

Pgiam / Getty Images

41. Higher education

The U.S. has the world’s strongest higher education system and draws over a million international students a year, the most of any country.

[in-text-ad]

yangna / Getty Images

42. Energy

The U.S. accounts for 21% of energy consumption globally and has the world’s highest per capita energy consumption. America is second in the world in energy production.

Wavebreakmedia / Getty Images

43. Breweries

Good news for beer lovers. The number of brewers in the U.S. climbed to 6,372 in 2017, from just 89 in 1978, fueled by the craft beer surge.

RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images

44. American companies dominate

Eight of the 10 largest companies in the world by market cap are American.

[in-text-ad-2]

RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images

45. Supersized employer

According to the book, “Fast Food Nation,” at some point, one out of eight Americans will work for McDonald’s.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

46. Native American influence

More than half of the states–26–have names with native American origins.

[in-text-ad]

Harvepino / Getty Images

47. Hurricanes

The U.S., with its extensive coastline, has had more tropical cyclone hits, 268, than any other country, according to data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Ben6 / Getty Images

48. Americans love hot dogs

Americans bought more than $3 billion worth of hot dogs in supermarkets last year. Los Angeles is top dog for franks, consuming about 31 million pounds a year.

mbolina / Getty Images

49. Belief in God

A Pew Research Center study conducted from 2011 to 2013 found that about 54% of Americans said religion was very important in their lives, compared with 24% of people in Canada, 21% in Australia, and 21% in Germany.

[in-text-ad-2]

-lvinst- / Getty Images

50. Basketball

While baseball may be America’s favorite pastime, it borrows heavily from the British game of cricket. Similarly, football is based largely on the British sport of rugby. Invented in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, basketball is the most popular uniquely American game.

Is Your Money Earning the Best Possible Rate? (Sponsor)

Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.

However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.

There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.