1

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Image: Diana Polekhina

Introduced in 1984 by General Mills, it was designed to be the cereal version of cinnamon toast. It is made from a mix of wheat and rice, and covered in cinnamon sugar. Besides breakfast, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is also popular as a snack on its own, in trail mixes, or as a crunchy topping.

2

Lucky Charms

Image: FlyD

Another General Mills classic, this "magically delicious" cereal features a mix of toasted oat pieces and colorful marshmallows. Besides the original flavor, there are several varieties of Lucky Charms, including Chocolatey Chocolate, S'mores, Berry Swirl, and Minis. A breakfast classic for many decades, one of its most famous features is its mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun.

3

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran

Image: Andreas Haslinger

One of Kellogg’s better-known "healthy" options, Raisin Bran is popular as a source of fiber. It was originally a copy of another cereal of the same name, but after a legal battle, it was determined that "raisin bran" was too descriptive to be a trademark, popularizing the name as a generic term for this type of cereal. What makes it so popular? Its name and marketing have long contributed to the perception of it as a "healthy cereal."

4

Cheerios

Image: Liia

Did you know that the original name of Cheerios was CheerieOats? It was introduced in the 1940s by General Mills, and it is a popular choice due to its whole-grain oat base, low sugar, no cholesterol, and the fact that it is gluten-free. Unlike many other cereals, the original version is not the most popular; it has been surpassed by the Honey Nut flavor.

5

Life

Image: M Alazia

Introduced by Quaker Oats, Life cereal gained popularity through a famous marketing campaign featuring a picky eater named Mikey, one of the longest-running ads in American television history. Life is marketed as a healthy, whole-grain choice without artificial flavors or colors, and has several flavors besides the original.

6

Frosted Flakes

Image: engin akyurt

Did you know that cornflakes were invented by the brother of the founder of Kellogg’s? One of Kellogg’s most well-known cereals worldwide, Frosted Flakes was developed when sweet cereal became increasingly more popular. To boost its appeal to children, the cereal was introduced alongside a mascot, Tony the Tiger, now one of the most recognizable characters in the industry.

7

Cocoa Puffs

Image: Brands&People

One of the first chocolate cereals to exist, Cocoa Puffs is certainly among the most popular. Developed in the 1950s by General Mills, it initially used Hershey’s cocoa. Cocoa Puffs’ popularity is not limited to the American market. It is also a top seller in Canada, Europe, and Latin America, where it is commercialized in partnership with Nestlé under the name Nesquik.

8

Froot Loops

Image: Haley Owens

After Kellogg’s unsuccessfully tried to create a competitor to Cheerios, the company was left with specialized equipment designed to produce O-shaped cereal. Rather than scrap it, Kellogg’s used the machinery to develop a new, colorful cereal, along with a new mascot, Toucan Sam. Although the different colors in Froot Loops are meant to suggest different flavors, Kellogg’s has confirmed that they all taste the same.

9

Honey Bunches of Oats

Image: Benyamin Bohlouli

Originally called Battle Creek, this popular cereal was the result of experimentation. Released by Post in the 1980s, it was developed when one of the company’s employees mixed several existing cereals. After some feedback, honey was added to the mix, and it was renamed Honey Bunches of Oats.

10

Rice Krispies

Image: Emma Miller

Developed in the 1920s, Rice Krispies is not only one of Kellogg’s most iconic products but also one of the most popular cereals in America. Its famous "Snap, Crackle, Pop" slogan was inspired by the sounds the cereal makes when milk is added and was later adopted as the names of its three mascots.

1

First presidential candidate: Victoria Woodhull

Image: Daria Kraplak

In 1870, a publisher and stockbroker on Wall Street, Victoria Woodhull, stepped up to do something no woman had ever done before. In a letter to the New York Herald, she announced her intention to run for president of the United States. Some laughed, others scoffed, but Woodhull never flinched.

Her message was revolutionary for its time: equal rights for women, fair pay for workers, and an end to hypocrisy in politics. No electoral votes went her way, but that wasn’t the point. By daring to run, she opened the door for future generations and secured her place as the first woman bold enough to chase the presidency, long before the law recognized her right to vote.

2

First member of Congress: Jeannette Rankin

Image: C. T. Chapman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1916, Montana elected a woman to Congress for the first time. Jeannette Rankin was a suffragist who had already helped secure voting rights for women in her state before most of the nation even dreamed of it. When she arrived at the Capitol to take her seat, the gallery overflowed with onlookers buzzing with curiosity and disbelief. Rankin, calm and resolute, didn’t shout to be heard; she spoke with the steady conviction of someone who knew she belonged. Her presence proved that a woman’s reasoning could command the same respect as any man’s voice, and once heard, it could never again be silenced.

3

First U.S. senator: Hattie Caraway

Image: Stephen Walker

She started out almost unnoticed. In 1931, when Arkansas senator Thaddeus Caraway died, his widow, Hattie, was appointed to fill his seat, a move many assumed was merely symbolic. But Hattie had no interest in being a placeholder. The following year, she launched her own campaign, traveling dusty southern roads and shaking hands with quiet confidence.

Against all odds, she won, becoming the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Dubbed "Silent Hattie" for her reserved manner, she wasn’t known for fiery speeches or flashy gestures. Through persistence and integrity, she proved that results, not rhetoric, are what truly echo in the chambers of power.

4

First woman mayor: Susanna Salter

Image: LSE Library

This is the story of a prank going sideways. In 1887, a group of men in a tiny Kansas town slipped the name of 27-year-old Susanna Salter onto the mayoral ballot in Argonia, confident that voters would laugh her off. To their dismay, when the ballots were counted, Salter had won.

Overnight, she became the first woman mayor in U.S. history. Far from feeling overwhelmed, Salter handled her duties with grace and sharp practicality, earning the respect of the same townsmen who tried to embarrass her. By the end of her term, she’d turned a bad joke into a precedent.

5

First state governor: Nellie Tayloe Ross

Image: Roman Manshin

Wyoming’s nickname, the Equality State, seems well deserved. When voters chose Nellie Tayloe Ross as governor in 1925, the nation watched as a woman stepped into a role no one of her gender had ever held before. She wasn’t the fiery campaign type; her strength came from quiet precision and an unwavering sense of duty.

Ross believed that leadership meant doing the work well, not making noise about it. Her calm authority and financial prudence won over even the most skeptical. Years later, as the first female director of the U.S. Mint, she literally shaped the nation’s currency, an apt legacy for a woman who always knew the worth of patience, persistence, and steady hands.

6

First cabinet member: Frances Perkins

Image: The New York Public Library

At the beginning of the 1930s, when breadlines stretched around city blocks and hope felt like a luxury, a female labor leader and consumer advocate came to the rescue. President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw in Frances Perkins not just a reformer, but a force of nature. As Secretary of Labor —and first woman ever to hold a Cabinet post—Perkins walked into the men-filled halls of power and quietly redrew the map of American work.

She championed fair wages, safer conditions, and limits on child labor, all while helping craft the Social Security system that still anchors millions of lives today. Decades later, her influence lingers in every pay stub, every pension, and every law that insists work should come with dignity.

7

First Supreme Court justice: Sandra Day O’Connor

Image: Stephanie Rhee

It’s hard to picture the dusty plains of Arizona leading to the marble halls of the Supreme Court, yet that’s exactly where Sandra Day O’Connor’s story began. Raised on a remote cattle ranch miles from the nearest town, she learned the value of hard work, clear thinking, and a level head. All these qualities would serve her well when, in 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated her as the first woman justice in U.S. history.

O’Connor brought that same frontier pragmatism to Washington, preferring reason over rhetoric and humor over ego. "I’m just trying to do the right thing, one case at a time," she once said. For a quarter century, her voice became the Court’s steady center, proving that fairness stretches farther than politics.

8

First U.S. Secretary of State: Madeleine K. Albright

Image: sohail shaikh

Madeleine Albright, born in Czechoslovakia and raised on the idea that words alone could shape nations, found a clever way to make hers sparkle beyond her famous brooches. She could easily become a spider when negotiations grew tense, and a gentle dove when peace was within reach.

Albright believed diplomacy could be both art and strategy. When she became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State in 1997, she blended intellect with unmistakable flair, commanding global respect. She showed that courage, conviction, and strength can coexist with a warm personality occasionally sparkling from a lapel.

9

First major party’s presidential nominee: Hillary Rodham Clinton

Image: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It took nearly a century and a half after Victoria Woodhull’s daring run for president before another woman would stand beneath the spotlights of a major party convention. In 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton walked onto the stage with the spirit of the suffragists who had paved her path.

That night meant history was catching up. Smiling at the crowd, she declared, "We’ve reached a milestone, but we still have glass to break." Whether she won or lost mattered less than the fact that she stood there at all. Clinton’s campaign turned a dream whispered for generations into something tangible.

10

First elected vice president: Kamala Harris

Image: Manny Becerra

Fast-forward to 2020. A California senator steps up to the microphone, smiles, and thanks "the women who paved the way." Kamala Harris is the daughter of immigrants, a former prosecutor, and now the first woman ever elected Vice President of the United States.

Her voice carried the weight of generations who’d been told to wait their turn. Echoing the suffragists who once marched so she could stand there, Harris reminded America that progress is a relay, not a sprint. Her message rang clear and timeless: dream boldly, even when the trail ahead is foggy.

1

Marilyn Monroe

Image: Sam Shaw, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When we think of her, one iconic garment immediately comes to mind: her white halter dress . This image, now a key part of American pop-culture history, comes from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch, in which she stands over a New York City subway grate as a gust of wind blows her dress upward.

2

Elvis Presley

Image: MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

His style made such an impact that it became a symbol in its own right. Just a high pompadour and a flashy jumpsuit with flared pants are enough for anyone to recognize a reference to Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll. But here’s something you might not know: when he was young, Elvis’ natural hair color was blonde!

3

Jackie Kennedy

Image: U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When talking about fashion icons, Jackie Kennedy has to be on the list. Her classic pillbox hat became famous worldwide in 1961, when she wore it to her husband’s inauguration. Beyond the hat, her elegance shone through her tailored suits, pearl necklaces, and cat-eye sunglasses.

4

Frank Sinatra

Image: William P. Gottlieb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

If someone says "fedora," we think of Sinatra. His suits were sharp and extremely elegant, sure, but it was that slightly tilted hat that stole the show. We have to say that no one ever wore a fedora quite like he did!

5

Steve Jobs

Image: AB

Turtlenecks aren’t for everyone, we know. But there was a man who knew how to wear them with unmistakable style. Steve Jobs made the black turtleneck his signature look; he wore it so consistently that it became his personal "uniform." In addition, each one was custom-made by Japanese designer Issey Miyake.

6

Johnny Cash

Image: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s no wonder Johnny Cash earned the nickname "The Man in Black." His style was not only elegant, but it was also extremely cool, thanks to his signature all-black wardrobe. Every item, from head to toe, was that color. Many tried to imitate him, but none could match him.

7

Farrah Fawcett

Image: ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Her smile was lovely, but her hair is what everyone remembers most. Farrah Fawcett set the standard for ’70s and early ’80s hairstyles with her famous feathered, voluminous blowout that turned heads everywhere she went.

8

Bob Dylan

Image: Rowland Scherman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bob Dylan doesn’t need flashy clothes to make a style statement. What really defines his look is that carefree, rebellious vibe, especially his voluminous hair, as seen in photos from his youth and even today. Of course, his guitar and harmonica were constants throughout his career, helping to shape his unmistakable image.

9

Michael Jackson

Image: White House Photo Office, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jackson was the definition of style. We could fill an entire article talking about his clothing and accessories, but one item set him apart: his single white glove. Covered in numerous sparkling Swarovski crystals, he first wore it in the early ’80s, perfectly complementing his legendary dance moves.

10

Buddy Holly

Image: Buddy_Holly_Brunswick_Records.jpg: Brunswick Recordsderivative work: GDuwenTell me!, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who knew a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses could make someone an icon? That’s exactly what happened with Buddy Holly. He didn’t just keep wearing them after reaching fame; he turned them into the key item that defined his image. We can’t imagine his face without them!