Top 10 Facts about U.S.A !

 The United States of America is a country consisting of  50 independent states in the northern part of America, sixteen territories and a district of Columbia (Washington D.C.). It is the world’s third most populous country after China and India and the world’s fourth largest country by land area after Russia, Canada, and China.

1. The United States of America is also referred to as “the States”, “the United States”, “the U.S.”, “the USA”, and “America”.

2. In 1783, the United States became the first country to gain independence from a European power.^[1]

 

 3. Did you know that the GPS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Air Force? The Global Positioning System is a utility that provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. The system consists of three segments: the space segment, the control segment, and the user segment.

4. The first constitution of the United States was adopted in 1788. For the acceptance of the constitution which was proposed in 1787, nine states needed to vote in its favor. Delaware was the first state and New Hampshire was the ninth state to accept the constitution, thus making it legal.^[1,8]

5. The current U.S. flag was designed by a high school student – . Robert  G . Heft . 

Flag of the United States 

The U.S. flag. Image credit – CIA. Note: the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico.

6. There are 13 stripes on the American National flag, representing the original thirteen colonies? And there were thirteen stars arranged in a circle. However, today, there are 50 stars for 50 states. The flag has had 27 versions since its debut.^[14]

7. Robert Ripley, an American cartoonist and entrepreneur, known for the Ripley’s believe It Or Not! newspaper panel series was born in California. At the age of 32, he made his first trip around the world. In 1929, he through his cartoon said, “Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem.” And soon after two years, after a law signed by the then president Herbert Hoover, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was adopted as the national anthem of the U.S.

8. The U.S. is the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and the world’s second-largest economy by PPP. It is also the third most populated country in the world after China and India.^[1]

9.  Rhode Island witnessed the beginning of the American Revolution. It was here that the first successful water-powered cotton-spinning factory went into operation in the 1790s.

10.  United States has the world’s largest coal reserves. However,  China is the world’s biggest consumer and producer of coal.