When it comes to the United States, there are a lot of topics of interest – from the Statue of Liberty to Silicon Valley, CA, to the Grand Canyon to Broadway, New York, here are four interesting facts about the United States that you might not have known.
There Are Some Old Rivers
While the Nile River that cuts through Egypt might have quite a fascinating history, the United States in North America is nothing to scoff about when it comes to its ancient rivers. For example, the Colorado River, which now cuts through the amazing Grand Canyon, is old. How old, you ask? The Colorado River is millions of years old. My Grand Canyon explains that The Grand Canyon, which is directly tied to the Colorado River, is noted to be 70 million years old. The Mississippi River gets a lot of notoriety for switching it north to south flow based on an earthquake that once occurred that changed its flow. The Colorado River is a majestic waterway to admire.
The U.S. Has a Lot of Lawsuits
It’s true; an American can very easily get caught up in a lawsuit. Legally Mine explains that about 94% of the world’s suits happen in the United States. With 1,116,967 lawyers practicing within the US, according to the ABA (American Bar Association), that equates to one lawyer for every 300 people. There are also well-known states in the US that sue more than others. The American Tort Reform Foundation issues a yearly Judicial Hellholes ® report to address the US states that sued the most.
The U.S. Incarcerates the Most People
Yes, the United States incarcerates the most people. Common Dreams reports that in the US an estimated population of 7 million people were behind bars, on probation, or on parole. The United States is no stranger to bringing justice to the citizens and non-citizens of the United States. Only China, with a population of almost 1.5 billion people, comes in second on the most incarcerations nation list.
The U.S. Has No National Language
Congress came close on January 13, 1795, regarding a proposal to print the federal laws in both German and in English. The vote was not to give German speakers a preferred status or a national status, however. There have been debates on translations of federal laws into other languages and in 1989 Arizona, Florida and Colorado passed English-only laws. Babbel Magazine explains that there are actually 31 states that have declared English as the official language, but there hasn’t been a federal declaration. Indeed, English is the most popular language spoken, but Spanish is considered the second most popular language spoken today in the U.S.
The United States has many topics of interest that makes it unique and independent. It’s also what makes it attractive for many people in the world.
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