Abraham Lincoln said, " America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." These facts illustrate this observation, but hopefully with awareness, we can work on bettering the country for a more positive, cohesive future.
Facts sourced from zerohedge and factslides.
1/25. The U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition in the 20s and 30s, killing over 10,000 people.
2/25. Killing someone to prevent the theft of property is legal in Texas.
Fact source
3/25. 100 acres of Pizza are served in the U.S. every day.
4/25. If you have $10 in your pocket and no debts, you are wealthier than 25% of Americans.
Fact source
5/25. 7% of Americans claim they never bathe.
6/25. One American consumes as many resources as 32 Kenyans.
Fact source
7/25. 9 million people are in prisons around world, and a quarter of them are in the U.S.
8/25. There are at least 97 people called "LOL" in the U.S.
Fact source
America... oh how I love you.
Continue to the next page for more bizarre facts!
9/25. It's completely legal for minors to smoke cigarettes in the U.S. and parts of Europe. What they can't do is purchase them.
10/25. In more than half of all U.S. states, the highest paid public employee in the state is a football coach.
Fact Source
11/25. Montana has three times as many cows as it does people.
12/25. The current flag of the USA was designed by a 17-year-old for a school project. He received a B-.
Fact source
13/25. Four planet Earths would be required to sustain the levels of consumption of the U.S.
14/25. The American flag erected on the moon during the Apollo 11 landing was purchased at a local Sears store for $5.50.
Fact source
15/25. By the time an average child leaves school in the U.S., he has seen 40,000 murders on TV.
16/25. The U.S. has 115,000 janitors, 83,000 bartenders and 323,000 restaurant servers with bachelor's degrees.
Continue to the next page for more shocking facts.
17/25. Christmas was illegal in the U.S. until 1836 as it was considered an Ancient Pagan Holiday.
18/25. It costs the U.S. Government US$2,768,902 per year to hold a prisoner in Guantanamo.
Fact source
19/25. In the U.S., sitting on a sea turtle is a third degree felony.
20/25. What's more, America also has an official Rock Paper Scissors League.
Fact source
21/25. GPS is owned and controlled by the U.S.Government. It can be 'switched off' at any time.
22/25. In 31 states of the U.S.,Rapists can legally sue for child custody if the rape results in pregnancy.
Fact source
23/25. A man in New Jersey went to the emergency room for an open cut on his finger and was charged almost $9000 for a tetanus shot and a bandage
24/25. Nelson Mandela was not removed from the U.S. terror watchlist until 2008.
Fact source
25. Valentine's Day is also National Condom Day in the U.S.
Share this with the weirdest American you know!
Curious to hear from strangers who've been cheated on, Redditor Recent-Gap-9927 asked:
"What was the wildest way you found out you were being cheated on?"
These Redditors didn't see it coming.
Sexual Recap For Unintended Recipient
"She didn’t realise that her iPhone messages were also synchronised to her Mac, which I was using to stream movies on."
"I saw text popping up with her writing to her ex... I just packed up my sh*t and left"
– Ok_Insurance_3011Friend Group
"My ENTIRE friend group knew about it, and I only found out after the one real homie blackmailed her into admitting it."
"And when she did, it was the most insincere sh*t ever. 'It's no big deal, everyone else thinks it's ok!' and stuff like that. Suffice to say, I got my a** outta that relationship AND friendship group real quick."
– Samurai294Bragging Rights
"He was drunk at his 21st and while joking around with his friends he started listing off all the women he’d slept with in the last year."
"I was standing right there and we’d been dating for two years at that point."
– FraerieLet's Check Our Phones
"She demanded to read all the messages on my phone, I said no problem but only if I could read the messages on hers."
"She had forgotten to delete a message from a guy saying 'All we ever do is f'k, can't we hang out some time?'"
"There was nothing on my phone."
– forcekin69
Young Tattler
"My 9 year old son told me that there were strange men in the house when I was away working. She'd been at it for years."
"It's horrible to deal with at the time, but honestly, it's such a relief to be rid of such a toxic mess."
– beerdybeerHearing about your partner cheating is one thing.
Witnessing it in action is another.
Meta Drama
"Date night cancelled day-of. I decided to make it a guys night to see the new marvel movie at the time. As we entered, I saw her sitting it the theatre snuggling up with a guy. Our seats were a few rows back, saw them kiss a couple times. When we all left at the end of the movie they were exiting their aisle as we walked down the stairs. She absolutely froze when she saw me. Blocked her on everything while I’m the in parking lot"– RiddledWithEnigma
The Facebook Post
"I was visiting a dying relative in hospital so could not attend some stupid college party he and his roommate organised. I told him I couldn't go and asked him if he could come over later (after visiting hours in the hospital) because I knew my relative would die soon and I really just needed someone to be there with me. He said he probably wouldn't be able to, as he needed to help his roommate with party preparations, but would come over later if they finish early... Next day I saw pictures of him with his ex in his lap, kissing, uploaded the previous night by his roommate. The roommate even knew we were dating, he was just too drunk to realise he added me as a friend a week earlier on Facebook and I would see the pictures."
– CaricaIntergalaktiki
Sometimes, a bit of sarcasm helps when recalling an unpleasant memory.
Mutual Friend
"Her other boyfriend (who I didn’t know existed) and I had a mutual friend who put two and two together and told me. I said I wanted to meet him so he called him over. We talked out some things and then called her together at my suggestion. Good times were had by all -1"– Jonaldson
Return To Sender
He apparently wrote an address wrong and the love letter he wrote was returned to our home."
"It was a great way to come back from vacation."
– Character_Moment_689
Beware of where you store your "tasteful nudes."
Open Google Drive
"One of her friends was a photographer and wanted to do 'tasteful nudes' which apparently includes penetration! And multiple days of getting the right shot..."
"We had a shared Google drive, which her friend didn't know we shared."
– PumaRevivedPrivate Photo Session
"Your story reminded me of a past ex."
"Her (female) friend was a photographer and she had a very intimate photo session with her. Not nude, but pretty damn close."
"She had told me about this before hand and I wasn’t really for it. The style of the shoot, was not really my taste (they were trashy imo), but I wasn’t going to stop her."
"She got very upset when I questioned what they were for if they weren’t for her current lover. Turns out they were for her ex who she was seeing on and off for our entire relationship."
– pooponacandleSome people think they're entitled to have their cake and eat it too.
However, if these individuals have an arrangement like an open relationship–where it's mutually beneficial and agreed upon by both participants–good on them for having a healthy and communicative relationship.
But if sneaky individuals engage in clandestine sexual relations, they need to reevaluate their romantic situations.
It's not fair for the other person involved who is faithful and trusting.
"What’s a podcast actually worth listening to?"
"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears!"
"'History of Rome'."
"After the first few episodes where sound produciton isnt, great, its just like 200 epsidoes of incredible story of the rise and fall of the entire Roman empire."
"The dude knows his sh*t."
"Actively will call out his own mistakes during the following episodes when he is wrong (which isn't often)."
"He tells it in way better than any textbook."
"He almost never goes off the rails and talks about irrelevant material."
"And when he does, it's about baseball for like 4 seconds."
"He enjoys the topic and you can tell."- saturnsnephew
Delightful Disasters
"'Well There's Your Problem: A podcast about engineering disasters'."
"With Slides."
"I listen to one or two comedy podcasts but none of them make me laugh as hard or as proud sons of Philly and a posh British woman discussing engineering and societal disasters."- CaptValentine
Engineering Rotate GIF by AirspeederGiphyLaughing While Learning
"'No Such Thing as a Fish'."
"Funny while being somewhat educational."- _performer
When You Can't Make Book Club...
"This is kind of new - but check out 'If Books Could Kill'.”
"Two guys discuss and analyze bestselling nonfiction books that could use a good dissection- like 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and 'The Secret'.”
"Well researched and super funny and interesting."
"Love it."- SourKrautCupcake
Before You Click That Link...
"Darknet Diaries."- simiansamurai
internet technology GIF by PsyklonGiphyTruly Transporting
"'Old Gods of Appalachia' is a good radio drama."
"The way narrator speaks, you can feel the trees grow around you."- PotatoesMcLaughlin
Timely Doesn't Even Begin To Cover It...
"I am obsessed with 'This Podcast Will Kill You'."
"If you like the biology and history of diseases and illnesses, this is it!"
"The presenters are awesome!"- GibberishBanana2022
For History Buffs And Non Alike!
"Hardcore History."- ManNamedGray
"The History of Rome - Mike Duncan."
"The Rest is History."
"Hardcore History."- YallMindIfIJoin
Learn Social Studies GIF by Awkward Daytime TVGiphyLuckily To Be Heard, And Not Seen...
"99% Invisible."- andbosta
Before You Jump To Judgement
"'Behind the Bastards' is fantastic, but will question humanity."- azorianmilk
But Were "Right" To Listen
"I love 'You’re Wrong About'."- ResidentRepulsive·
wrong chicken GIF by happydogGiphyIn Case You're Wondering How We Got Here...
"The Anthropocene Reviewed."- Ererr50
The Stories You Thought You Knew
"My all time favorite is 'The Film Reroll'."
"They take the basic premise of a film and play through the story as an RPG, allowing the choices of the players and roll of the dice to drastically change the story."
"Highlights have included starting a civil war in Oz, blowing up the moon in ET, and the GM tricking the players into thinking they were doing an obscure 80's teen sex comedy none of them had ever heard of only to spring Jason on them and reveal it was really Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter."
"Here are a couple clips for a taste:"
"The Cowardly Lion worries about what happened to Dorothy and Scarecrow when the party got split."
"Jafar fails a will roll and falls in love with Aladdin."
"They will sometimes do sequels to their previous re-rolls and those can get epic."
"Their version of the Halloween trilogy is my personal canonical version of that franchise to me."
"Danny Hodges is the greatest ascended NPC protagonist the movies never had."
"Currently they're doing Rogue Two."
"In their version of Rogue One, Andor, Jyn, and K2SO all survived so now their continued story is running parallel to A New Hope."
"I could go on and on about the running jokes, the great humor, the unexpectedly dramatic moments with real pathos, the wonderful personalities and absolutely world class acting and improv that goes into the show."
"I dearly love it and have listened to every episode at least twice, while some of my favorites have become go-to comfort listening and I've lost count of how many times I've re-listened to those."
"But I'll let ya'll discover all of that for yourselves."
"It's a true gem of a show."
"Some honorable mentions:"
"'Oh No! Ross and Carrie': They examine 'fringe science, spirituality, and claims of the paranormal' and 'show up so you don't have to'."
"They try alternative medicines on themselves, join cults, and investigate all kind of wild claims and report back their first hand experience."
"Yes, they have done Scientology."
"You might be surprised at how far into it they got before they were found out."
"'Monster Talk': a show that looks at Fortean phenomenon from a skeptical perspective."
"Never cynical or simply debunking, they engage with every topic like there could be some merit until they find that there isn't any."
"Good research and even worse puns."
"'In Research Of':"
"A sort of spin off form 'Monster Talk', they watch every episode of the classic Leonard Nimoy series In Search Of and "present some explanations that the producers chose not to present'."
"One of the co-hosts is an Archaeologist, and it can be a hoot to hear him go off on ancient alien and Graham Hancock type sh*t."
"'Another Path:' A D&D 5e Actual Play podcast."
"They had a pretty epic campaign that I'd recommend for fans of 'The Adventure Zone'."
"They recently started a new one with new characters that doesn't require listening to the old one, although the old one is well worth the time."
"Imprinted Echoes: A Numenera actual play podcast."
"Has some neat sci-fi concepts in it and I love the crew playing it."- charlesdexterward
Zooey Deschanel Movie GIFGiphyThere is truly nothing more transporting than a good story.
Be it a variation of something familiar, or a deep dive into something you knew nothing about, a good storyteller will have you captured from the minute they uttered their first words.