1

Harry Calahan - "Dirty Harry"

Image: Nejc Soklič

We’ll begin with one of the hardest cops on this list (and that’s saying a lot). Clint Eastwood’s career is filled with awards and recognition for his remarkable acting and filmmaking skills. Still, we can all agree that he will always be remembered for his no-nonsense, tough-as-nails portrayal of Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan.

Although Eastwood has played Callahan in five different films, his first appearance in the 1971 film "Dirty Harry" is perhaps the most memorable. After all, we can all remember that calm yet intimidating demeanor and iconic catchphrase, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

2

John McClane - "Die Hard"

Image: Matt The Artist

We are not going to get into the timeless debate of whether "Die Hard" is a Christmas film, mostly because, whether this film gets you in the holiday spirit or not, no one can deny that Detective John McClane is a grade-A, certified tough cop.

Perhaps Bruce Willis’ most memorable performance, McClane has found himself in his fair share of dangerous situations throughout five films. However, perhaps the first "Die Hard" movie showcases this detective’s incredible antics : Trapped inside the unbreachable Nakatomi Tower, McClane makes it his job to deal with a small army of robbers by himself.

3

Lennie Briscoe - "Law and Order"

Image: Tingey Injury Law Firm

With over a thousand episodes and more than ten different series, it’s fairly easy to forget a character or two from the iconic "Law and Order" franchise. However, no true fan of this fantastic series will ever be able to forget Detective Lennie Briscoe, wonderfully portrayed by Jerry Orbach.

Starting in season 3, Briscoe was a seasoned and relatable detective focused on solving crimes in New York City. While Orbach sadly passed away in 2004, his legacy will forever live on whenever Detective Lennie Briscoe solves a case.

4

Frank Columbo - "Columbo"

Image: Volodymyr Hryshchenko

Actor Peter Falk’s devotion to Lieutenant Frank Columbo drove him to portray this legendary detective for over 40 years. Few TV characters are as instantly recognizable as Columbo, whether through his beige raincoat, cigar, and iconic catchphrase, "Just one more thing".

Frank Columbo truly cemented himself as one of the quintessential TV cops , allowing countless other characters to be born. Should you ever find yourself in the Hungarian city of Budapest, look for a bronze statue of Columbo, alongside his faithful basset hound simply named "Dog".

5

Jim Malone - The Untouchables

Image: Jennie Clavel

Sean Connery’s portrayal of Irish-American veteran cop Jim Malone earned him a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . And, to be perfectly honest, Brian De Palma’s 1987 film "The Untouchables" would not be the same without Malone’s dry humor and detective skills.

Set in 1930s Chicago, "The Untouchables" describes the crusade embarked on by Prohibition agent Elliot Ness against legendary mobster Al Capone. The first addition to Ness’ team of "Untouchables", Malone contributes his expertise and strong moral compass to take down this crime kingpin.

6

Frank Bullit - "Bullitt"

Image: Jan-Philipp Thiele

There’s a reason why legendary actor Steve McQueen was known as "The King of Cool" : His charisma and unflinching determination truly earned him a place in film history. In that sense, his portrayal of San Francisco police detective Frank Bullitt helped build his legacy as one of Hollywood’s coolest actors.

In "Bullit", McQueen’s character pursues a group of mobsters guilty of killing a witness he was assigned to protect. And when we say "pursue", we say it in the most literal of meanings: This movie features one of the best chase scenes ever recorded, with Bullitt relentlessly driving his now-iconic green Ford Mustang.

7

Martin Riggs and Murtaugh - Lethal Weapon

Image: Will Porada

We know we might be cheating by including two characters in one entry, but we simply couldn’t separate this iconic crime-fighting duo . Mel Gibson and Danny Glover played this odd couple of detectives in four different films (with a fifth one in development), forever cementing themselves as the essential "buddy cop" two-man army.

Perhaps what’s more appealing about these characters is how opposite they seem to be : Riggs (portrayed by Gibson) is a young, reckless loose cannon, while Murtaugh is an older, more experienced detective. However different their methods might be, detectives Murtaugh and Riggs are truly a force to be reckoned with.

8

Sam Spade - "The Maltese Falcon"

Image: Michelle Ding

It’s no secret that Humphrey Boggart is considered royalty by the acting world. Among his many acting credits, private detective Sam Spade is credited with breathing new life into the detective genre. To this day, Boggart’s portrayal of Spade in "The Maltese Falcon" is considered the biggest influence on the archetypical private detective character.

Based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel of the same name, "The Maltese Falcon" features Spade’s misadventures with three untrustworthy adventurers seeking a valuable falcon statue . This detective’s dry wit and moral ambiguity are part of what makes Boggart’s performance so unforgettable.

9

Thomas Magnum - "Magnum, P.I."

Image: Philippe Bout

Up until now, we have focused on gritty detectives, characters with a slightly dark side and tormented by some aspects of their busy lives. So, why don’t we take a breather and focus on a lighter detective, a charming and witty investigator driving a red Ferrari around the sunny streets of Hawaii? Meet Thomas Magnum (full name Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV), Tom Selleck’s iconic character from "Magnum P.I."

Many consider "Magnum P.I." to be the ultimate 80s show and, while that title might go to the final entry of this article, there’s no denying that this adventurous detective has become an essential pop culture icon.

10

Sonny Crocket & Rico Tubbs - "Miami Vice"

Image: Ussama Azam

Speaking of the 80s, how could we reference this wonderful decade without talking about the most stylish detective duo in history? "Miami Vice" introduced the world to the crime-fighting adventures of James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two undercover detectives hellbent on battling Miami’s seedy underbelly.

Legend has it that, during a brainstorming session, a producer simply wrote "MTV Cops" on a memo, without knowing that this piece of paper would be the jumping point of one of the most iconic shows in history. Don Johnson’s portrayal of Detective Crockett is particularly remembered for its impact on 80s culture.

1

Arizona skips Daylight Saving Time

Image: Christoph von Gellhorn

This is partly true because most of the state doesn’t bother with Daylight Saving Time . They stopped changing the clocks back in 1967. The exception is the Navajo Nation, which stretches into Utah and New Mexico and keeps DST so all its communities stay on the same schedule. Now, as for the smaller Hopi reservation, inside the Navajo Nation, it sticks with Arizona time… Yes, quite confusing if you’re not a local.

2

Georgia isn’t really the Peach State

Image: Jessica Furtney

Georgia loves its peaches, sure, but the state’s top fruit money-maker is actually blueberries . In recent years, blueberries have brought in several times more cash for farmers than peaches. Meanwhile, California grows far more peaches than Georgia ever has. The nickname stuck from the old days when Georgia peaches were famous for their flavor, not their volume. So while the pride is real, the peaches aren’t quite the powerhouse people may think.

3

Nevada didn’t record the hottest US temperature

Image: tommao wang

You probably think of Nevada’s desert heat as unmatched, but the all-time record belongs to California’s Death Valley . In July 1913, it hit a mind-melting 134 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest temperature not only in America but the hottest ever recorded on Earth!

4

Minnesota doesn’t have the most lakes

Image: Tom Conway

Minnesota proudly calls itself the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but that’s selling itself short… The real number is closer to 12,000. However, Alaska wins this battle . The state has more than 3 million lakes over five acres in size. In fact, Alaska contains over 40 percent of the nation’s surface water. If you love fishing, kayaking, or just staring at a quiet stretch of water, the true lake capital of America is far up north.

5

Pineapples aren’t native to Hawaii

Image: Christian Joudrey

Pineapples are everywhere in Hawaiian imagery, but the plant actually comes from South America , mainly Paraguay and southern Brazil. Spanish explorers likely brought them to Hawaii in the 1500s after spreading them across the Pacific to places like the Philippines and Guam. Hawaii’s climate turned out to be perfect for growing them and by the 1900s, the islands were producing so many pineapples that the fruit became a symbol of Hawaii itself.

6

Maine isn’t the country’s easternmost point

Image: Chris Henry

If you’re a Geography geek, you’ll love this one. You might picture Maine’s rocky coast as the eastern tip of America, but the actual easternmost point is thousands of miles away, on Alaska’s Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians. How is that possible? Well, that’s because it crosses the 180th meridian, putting it in the Eastern Hemisphere. That means part of Alaska technically sits farther east than anywhere in Maine.

7

The biggest US earthquake didn’t happen in California

Image: Lala Miklós

California has suffered some big earthquakes in its history, but the most powerful earthquake in America struck Alaska in 1964 . It hit Prince William Sound with a magnitude of 9.2. It was so strong it shook the ground for four and a half minutes and triggered massive tsunamis. In today’s dollars, the damage would total more than $2 billion. Alaska sits on a collision zone of tectonic plates, making it one of the world’s most seismically active regions.

8

The Everglades isn’t America’s biggest swamp

Image: Joshua J. Cotten

A lot of people picture the Florida Everglades when they think of swamps, but technically, the Everglades isn’t a swamp at all. The real title of the largest swamp in the United States goes to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin , which spans about 1.4 million acres. This swamp has a vast mix of cypress forests, bayous, and marshes, and it’s more than twice as productive as the Everglades when it comes to wildlife and plant life.

9

Big cities aren’t always capitals

Image: Mackenzie Cruz

It surprises people how often the biggest city isn’t the state capital . New York City? Not the capital… Albany is. Chicago? Nope, that honor goes to Springfield. Pennsylvania’s capital isn’t Philly or Pittsburgh, it’s Harrisburg. Even California’s capital isn’t L.A. or San Francisco, it’s actually Sacramento. Out of fifty states, only seventeen have their most populous city as the capital.

10

Alaska isn’t divided into counties

Image: Rod Long

Alaska likes to do things its own way. Instead of counties, it’s split into boroughs , and a massive area known as the Unorganized Borough has no local government at all. People out there don’t pay property taxes, but that freedom comes with challenges, limited services, fewer job options, and tough living conditions.

1

Grand Prismatic Spring

Image: MikeGoad

The steaming, multicolored circle of the Grand Prismatic Spring is one of the most hypnotic and unique sights in the U.S. Part of Yellowstone National Park, this hot spring is the largest in the country and the third-largest in the world, measuring 370 feet wide and 160 feet deep.

Its vibrant colors, ranging from deep blue in the center to fiery red and orange at its edges, are unlike anything we see in nature every day. Minerals and microbes are responsible for these hues, with water temperature causing the pigments to fluctuate . The spring owes its existence to geothermal activity driven by Yellowstone's underlying magma chamber and is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.

2

Fly Ranch Geyser

Image: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

One of the reasons why Fly Ranch Geyser is unique in the world is that it was formed after a human accident . This technicolor geothermal geyser, located on the Fly Ranch property in the Hualapai Geothermal Flats of Washoe County, Nevada, wasn’t there before 1916.

In 1916, while drilling a well for irrigation in the area, workers struck near-boiling geothermal water, leading to the creation of the first geyser. Decades later, in 1964, a geothermal energy company drilled a second well nearby, which caused the emergence of the Fly Geyser we know today. It has been spouting water into the sky ever since, forming several cone-like vents atop a mound that continues to grow.

3

Devil’s Kettle

Image: chrishawaii

Where does the water from the Brule River go when it falls? For a long time, this was a mystery. Located in Judge C.R. Magney State Park near Grand Marais, Minnesota, along the North Shore of Lake Superior, the river is famous for its unusual split: one half flows downstream, while the other plunges into a seemingly bottomless hole .

This waterfall has baffled visitors and scientists for years because objects thrown into the "kettle," such as logs and ping-pong balls, appeared to vanish without resurfacing. This fueled theories of underground rivers or deep caverns beneath the falls. The mystery was solved recently when hydrologists discovered that the water entering the kettle resurfaces downstream . The kettle's strong currents explain why objects thrown in don’t resurface; they are broken apart and held underwater, functioning like a natural washing machine.

4

Mono Lake Tufa Towers

Image: Stephen Leonardi

These unique limestone formations, known as the Mono Lake Tufa Towers, emerge from the salty, alkaline waters of Mono Lake , fed by underwater springs. Located in eastern California, near the Sierra Nevada mountains and about 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park, they are a striking natural wonder.

These tufa towers rise dramatically from the water. How were they formed? Mono Lake has no outlet, so its high alkalinity and salinity caused minerals to accumulate over time. This unique environment supports an ecosystem of brine shrimp, alkali flies, and migratory birds. To give you an idea, the lake’s salinity is more than twice that of the ocean, which means you could float effortlessly in its waters, as many visitors do.

5

Crater of Diamonds

Image: Brett Sayles

If you find a diamond here, you get to keep it—this is the only diamond-bearing site in the world where that's possible. Open to the public for mining , the Crater of Diamonds is a 37.5-acre field located near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It marks the eroded surface of a volcanic pipe composed of lamproite, a rare volcanic rock.

Visitors sometimes find diamonds of various colors, including white, yellow, and brown, along with other gems like amethyst and garnet. It was here that the "Uncle Sam Diamond" was found, the largest diamond ever dug out in North America, weighing 40.23 carats. Diamonds were first discovered here in 1906 when a local farmer found unusual crystals on his land, which sparked a minor diamond rush.

6

Antelope Canyon

Image: Roberto Lee Cortes

Rocks that look like flowing water: Antelope Canyon is a famous and breathtaking slot canyon in northern Arizona. It consists of two main sections: Upper Antelope Canyon (a.k.a. Tsé bighánílíní, or "the place where water runs through rocks") and Lower Antelope Canyon ( Hazdistazí, or "spiral rock arches").

The canyon was formed over millions of years as flash floods and desert winds eroded the Navajo Sandstone. Even today, seasonal flash flooding continues to shape and carve the canyon’s mesmerizing features. Its surreal, wave-like formations in shades of orange are a favorite subject for photographers and tourists from all over the world.

7

Petrified Forest

Image: Megan Clark

The Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona boasts one of the world's largest and most vibrant concentrations of petrified wood . The park, part of the Painted Desert, is located between the Apache and Navajo Counties.

Most of the wood found there is from ancient conifer trees that date back about 225 million years to the Late Triassic period. These trees were swept into river systems, buried by sediment, and transformed into stone through a process called permineralization . The park also features a wealth of fossilized remains of ancient animals, including early reptiles.

8

Devils Tower

Image: Kyle Petzer

The Devils Tower stands alone, protruding dramatically from the plains. Considered sacred by Native American tribes, it was originally called "bad god’s tower," a name that eventually evolved into its current form. Located in northeastern Wyoming, this igneous rock monolith soars 867 feet above its base.

It was designated the first U.S. National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Geologists agree that Devils Tower was formed through the intrusion of magma into sedimentary rock layers about 50 to 60 million years ago. Today, climbers from around the world are drawn to its sheer walls, though climbing is prohibited in June to honor Native ceremonies.

9

The Wave

Image: Mark Nemenzo

The Wave is a visually stunning sandstone formation located in the Coyote Buttes North area of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Known for its hypnotic, swirling bands of red, orange, and yellow, its delicate ridges are so easily damaged that even one misplaced footstep could ruin the beautiful patterns.

Approximately 185 million years ago, this area was a vast desert covered in dunes. Over time, layers of sand were deposited, compacted, and cemented, forming this Navajo sandstone shape. Unfortunately, The Wave is only accessible by a challenging hike that requires a permit, due to the fragility of its ecosystem and high demand from visitors. With less than 5% of applicants obtaining a permit each year, it is one of the most exclusive hiking destinations in the world.

10

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Image: Bruce Warrington

The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located in northern New Mexico, displays a unique landscape of tall, cone-shaped rock formations. These "tent rocks," composed of pumice and tuff, are known as "hoodoos." They are natural formations ranging from a few feet to approximately 90 feet tall.

The name "Kasha-Katuwe" means "white cliffs" in the Keresan language of the Cochiti Pueblo. Hiking trails, such as the Slot Canyon Trail, offer visitors the opportunity to explore the cones up close while walking through dramatic, narrow canyons.