1

Table manners

Image: Mika Baumeister

If you're dining out in Canada, don't be surprised if you hear someone ask for a "serviette." It might sound really fancy, but it's just the Canadian way of saying what Americans call a "napkin!"

2

Leftovers confusion

Image: Henry Kobutra

When it's time to clear the table and clean the dishes, things can get confusing between Americans and Canadians. In the US, you'll hear "throw the leftovers in the garbage disposal," but up north in Canada, it's called the "Garburator."

Though it might sound like they’re talking about two different things, it’s the same device—just different names!

3

Let's run

Image: Bruno Nascimento

Both Canadians and Americans use the term "running shoes" to mean athletic shoes designed for jogging or exercise. But there's one word that sets them apart: "runners."

In Canada, "runners" are what you wear on your feet. In the US, they are the people wearing them!

4

A matter of power

Image: Mike Winkler

What do you call that thing you use to plug in several devices at once? Your answer might reveal where you're from. If you say "power strip," chances are you're American. But if you call it a "power bar," you're probably Canadian!

5

Rubber bands

Image: Andres Siimon

They're small but super handy, so it's worth knowing what to call them no matter where you are! In Canada, people ask for "elastics" when they need to bundle papers or bills. But ask for "elastics" in the US, and you might get a confused look. Americans almost always just call them "rubber bands" instead.

6

Colorful vocabulary

Image: Sara Torda

Coloring was undoubtedly one of the most delightful parts of childhood, and some people still enjoy it as adults! If you're one of them, you probably have a good collection of colored pencils. But if you're in Canada and need to buy some, keep in mind they call them "pencil crayons" up there.

7

It's all about gas

Image: Ali Mkumbwa

In both the United States and Canada, a "gas station" is the place where you stop to fill up your car with fuel. But while that term is widely understood and used in both countries, in some regions of Canada, you might also hear it referred to as a "gas bar."

8

Park…

Image: John Matychuk

If you’re Canadian, don’t ask an American where the "parkade" is— they’ll probably look confused . While "parkade" is perfectly normal in Canada, Americans usually say "parking garage," "parking deck," or just "parking lot."

9

Sweet words

Image: NordWood Themes

Those delicious brownies wouldn't be the same without a nice layer of powdered sugar on top, right? And while we can agree on how tasty it is, we don't all agree on what to call it. Here, it is "confectioners' sugar" or simply "powdered sugar," but in Canada, they prefer another name for the same product: "icing sugar."

10

Folder/ Duotang

Image: Savannah Wakefield

Remember that school folder with metal prongs to hold your papers, the ones you could easily add or remove pages from? In the US, we just call it a "pronged folder." But in Canada, they have a totally different name for it: they call it a "duotang!" Have you ever heard of that one?

1

The original plan included full-body figures

Image: Thomas Shockey

Mount Rushmore was supposed to be even more colossal than it already is. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum envisioned the four presidents carved from the waist up .

He even made plaster models showing Abraham Lincoln's coat folds and Teddy Roosevelt’s hand clutching his lapel. But as costs went up, Congress said: "heads only, please."

2

Charles Rushmore was just a curious New Yorker

Image: Maarten van den Heuvel

Back in 1925, when the mount was about to be carved into a monument, Charles Rushmore wrote a letter explaining why the peak bore his name. He recalled that in the 1880s he was a young New Yorker working in the area, and fell fond of that particular granite peak .

When he asked the locals about it, they informed him that it had no name, but that if he wished so, they would just start calling it Rushmore Peak, or Mount Rushmore, or the likes. Years later, that very name had been inscribed in the public domain to designate the peak.

3

Yes, there’s a hidden room behind Lincoln’s head

Image: Laura Nyhuis

Behind Abraham Lincoln’s hairline lies a hidden chamber, part of Borglum’s lofty idea for a "Hall of Records." This room was meant to house foundational American documents like the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.

Instead of that, in 1998, a titanium box was placed inside, filled with copies of important documents and biographies, as a time capsule to preserve the treasure of knowledge for future generations.

4

Thomas Jefferson was moved

Image: Dave Baraloto

Jefferson was originally supposed to go to Washington’s right, but after 18 months of chiseling , the granite betrayed them. Cracks and flaws made the site unworkable.

Borglum made the painful decision to blast Jefferson’s half-formed face clean off and start anew on Washington’s left.

5

The mountain was almost a monument to western heroes

Image: Timberly Hawkins

Before presidents took over, the mountain was pitched as a giant tribute to the Wild West . South Dakota historian Doane Robinson wanted to see frontier legends like Lewis & Clark carved into the Black Hills.

But when Borglum came aboard, he had a grander (and more politically bankable) idea: four presidents to symbolize national unity and expansion.

6

A woman’s face was almost added

Image: Tom Fournier

In the 1930s, there was serious talk of honoring Susan B. Anthony alongside the Founding Fathers, as a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.

Borglum wasn’t opposed to the idea, but Congress quickly nixed it, stating that only U.S. presidents could be included.

7

The workers were mostly local miners and loggers

Image: Pixabay

They were neither sculptors nor artists. Most of the workforce came from nearby Keystone, South Dakota: miners, loggers, and hard-up laborers looking for work during the Great Depression.

Borglum trained them himself. There were no safety harnesses, and yet, remarkably, no one died on the job.

8

Dynamite did 90% of the work

Image: Alexander Paramonov

To carve the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, workers used carefully timed dynamite blasts to remove over 450,000 tons of rock. They got so precise, they could blast within inches of where the final surface would be.

The last details, like wrinkles, pupils, or Roosevelt’s glasses, were done with jackhammers and chisels.

9

The noses are disproportionate

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Standing in front of the mountain, the faces seem alright. But that’s a trick of perspective. Each presidential nose is a whopping 20 feet long .

If the sculptures had included full bodies as planned, each figure would have stood 465 feet tall. That’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and most downtown skyscrapers.

10

Teddy Roosevelt was the most controversial pick

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Washington, of course. Jefferson, made sense. Lincoln, sure. And Teddy? Some critics raised their eyebrows at Borglum’s fourth choice. Roosevelt had only recently passed away in 1919, and many questioned whether he'd stood the test of time.

But Borglum defended the decision Roosevelt’s role in breaking up monopolies, conserving national parks, and engineering the Panama Canal. Plus, Borglum had met him personally and was a fan.

11

It was supposed to have inscriptions

Image: Dan Pick

Borglum had grander plans than just four giant heads. He wanted to carve a massive inscription next to them, a timeline of America’s most important milestones , chiseled straight into the mountain. In time, the idea was scrapped for practical and aesthetic reasons.

12

The visionary died before completion

Image: Lisa Reichenstein

Gutzon Borglum, the visionary behind it all, didn’t live to see his masterpiece finished. He died in March 1941, just as the construction was reaching its end. His son, Lincoln Borglum (yes, named after that Lincoln), took over the project.

Still, with WWII drawing resources elsewhere, funding was slashed, and Lincoln had to wrap things up quickly . Some features, like Lincoln’s ear, were never fully detailed.