U.S. History
Why Doesn’t America Use the Metric System?
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Article
America’s relationship with measurement is not exactly as straight as a ruler. We buy soda in liters and milk in gallons. We run 5Ks but drive in miles. Weather forecasts use Fahrenheit, nutrition labels use grams, and rulers often list centimeters alongside inches, even if the “cm” side is frequently ignored. To much of the world, this is puzzling, to say the least. Nearly every other country routinely uses the metric system, a method designed to make measurements easier to calculate and universally understandable. Meanwhile, Americans continue navigating a maze of feet, ounces, teaspoons, and ...Read More
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U.S. HistoryArticle1047 Symbols on the $20 Bill — and What They Mean
United States currency is full of symbolic design choices and cryptic markings. First issued in 1861 as a demand note, the $20 bill is one of the most commonly used…
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U.S. HistoryArticle1295 Eye-Opening Facts About the Dust Bowl
Although the Great Depression was a challenging time for most Americans, a special distinction can be made for those who weathered the unique conditions of the Dust Bowl. Generally encompassing…
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U.S. HistoryFact34Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the U.S. capital for one day.
Washington, D.C., was officially established as the U.S. capital on July 16, 1790, when the Residence Act moved it from Philadelphia. The capital had moved a few other times during…
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U.S. HistoryArticle64What Did U.S. Money Look Like in the 1800s?
While the Coinage Act of 1792 established the United States Mint and the dollar as the unit of currency for the fledgling nation, it was quite some time before a…
