1

Sliced bread

Image: Laura Ockel

Not even the best of inventions are safe from odd bans. In 1943, the U.S. government temporarily banned pre-sliced bread as part of wartime resource conservation .

Thankfully, the ban only lasted a few months. Housewives, bakeries, and even newspapers complained, arguing that sliced bread was a necessity. The ban was lifted quickly due to public backlash.

2

Pinball machines

Image: Louie Castro-Garcia

Believe it or not, from the 1940s until the mid-1970s, pinball machines were outlawed in several major cities, including New York and Chicago. Officials claimed the machines promoted gambling and corruption .

Machines were confiscated and destroyed. The ban finally ended when it was proven that pinball was more skill-based than luck, leading to its revival as a popular arcade game.

3

Yo-Yos

Image: Eric Prouzet

During the 1930s, some U.S. towns banned yo-yos, believing they caused bad luck and distracted children from schoolwork . The fad was seen as both frivolous and superstitious.

Though short-lived, the bans show how something as harmless as a toy could spark moral panic and strange local laws.

4

Christmas

Image: Erwan Hesry

In the 1600s, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony banned Christmas , claiming it was rooted in pagan traditions and encouraged rowdy behavior .

Anyone caught celebrating risked punishment or fines. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that Christmas gained widespread acceptance in the U.S.

5

Dancing after midnight

Image: Scott Broome

At different occasions during the 20th century, some cities enforced laws that restricted or outright banned late-night dancing . New York City’s "Cabaret Law" limited dancing to licensed venues only.

Authorities argued it was about maintaining order, but many saw it as cultural repression. By the 1990s, these laws faced strong opposition, and most have since been repealed, allowing nightlife to thrive.

6

Comic books

Image: Waldemar

Comic books have been a scapegoat for different things in different periods. For example, in the 1950s, they came under fire, accused of corrupting America’s youth . Parents, educators, and politicians believed violent and horror-themed comics encouraged delinquency.

Entire towns banned sales, and even public book burnings took place in different corners of the country.

7

Yellow margarine

Image: Marine Le Gac

Being a substitute for butter, margarine was heavily lobbied against by dairy farmers in the late 1800s. Several states passed laws banning margarine dyed yellow to resemble butter .

As a result, margarine was sold plain white, or consumers had to mix in dye packets themselves. These odd restrictions lasted well into the mid-1900s before finally being repealed.

8

Men’s long hair

Image: Siri louis

During the 1960s and 70s, schools across the U.S. cracked down on boys with long hair . Beatles-inspired styles were viewed as rebellious, unclean, and disruptive.

Some students were suspended or expelled over hair length. These policies reflected the cultural clashes of the era.

9

Left-handed writing

Image: Anna Savina

For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, left-handed students were forced to switch hands . Teachers tied their left arms or punished them until they wrote with their right hand.

This practice was based on superstition and prejudice, with left-handedness considered "wrong" or even sinister.

10

Bathing suits above the knee

Image: Brett Jordan

In the early 1900s, strict laws dictated swimwear modesty at public beaches . Bathing suits that rose above the knee could result in fines or even arrest by "beach police."

Photographs from the time show officers measuring swimsuit lengths with rulers. The bans slowly disappeared as fashion and social norms shifted.

11

Coffee

Image: Jakub Dziubak

In the late 1600s, in Boston, coffee was briefly banned for being considered dangerous and unproductive . Authorities feared it encouraged idleness and vagrancy.

Coffeehouses were seen as gathering places for gossip and dissent. The ban didn’t last long, and coffee soon became a staple of American culture, eventually surpassing tea in popularity.

12

Velvet Elvis paintings

Image: Susan Mohr

In the 1970s and 80s, velvet Elvis paintings became a kitschy art craze. Some towns, embarrassed by the trend, tried banning their sale, calling them indecent or tacky .

Though the bans were rarely enforced, they reflected how taste and morality sometimes crossed into law.

1

Paul Bunyan

The giant Northwoods lumberjack and his blue ox, Babe, began as camp lore but became truly national once adman W.B. Laughead used him in Red River Lumber Company pamphlets. Those promotions helped standardize the tall-tale feats , like the myth that he carved all of Minnesota’s lakes with his axe or his footprints.

2

Johnny Appleseed

A real nurseryman turned folk saint, Johnny Appleseed (a.k.a. John Chapman) planted nurseries (not random seeds) on the frontier, selling or leasing saplings to settlers. Because cider drove apple demand, his work fit the era’s foodways and law.

Over time, he was mythologized as a barefoot, pot-hatted wanderer who "greened" the Midwest .

3

Pecos Bill

The ultimate cowboy hero who lassoes tornadoes and rides mountain lions . Though set in the mythic West, he’s a 20th-century creation: Edward O’Reilly’s 1917 stories (and later children’s retellings) created his outlandish feats.

4

John Henry

The steel-driving man who raced a steam drill and "died with a hammer in his hand" embodies labor dignity in the machine age. Ballads likely trace to late-19th-century railroad/tunnel work in the South. The story’s core made him a working-class icon and civil rights touchstone.

5

Davy Crockett

A real frontiersman and congressman whose image ballooned into legend via 1830s almanacs and later popular culture (most famously Disney’s 1950s series).

Known for the image of the coonskin cap on his head and his bear-wrestling bravado, his death at the Alamo sealed his heroic reputation.

6

Mike Fink

The "king of the keelboaters" of Ohio–Mississippi river lore, famed for marksmanship and pranks. A semi-legendary man, he eventually made it into folktales and later print stories. They all fixed him as the wild spirit of the river trade before steamboats took over.

7

Molly Pitcher

A Revolutionary War camp-follower-turned-artillery heroine in legend. She is often linked to the 1778 Battle of Monmouth. In reality, historians note that "Molly Pitcher" functions as a composite legend of different women, herself a symbol for women’s wartime labor.

8

The Headless Horseman

Washington Irving’s 1820 tale set in Sleepy Hollow cemented America’s most famous ghostly rider. The figure merges European motifs with Hudson Valley lore, and it eventually became a perennial of American Halloween culture.

9

Sasquatch

The shaggy forest giant of the Pacific Northwest has Indigenous antecedents, but the modern media phenomenon exploded after 1958 reports of enormous footprints in Northern California. Since then, " Bigfoot " has fueled tourism, legislation proposals, and endless debate.

10

The Jersey Devil

South Jersey’s Pine Barrens " state demon ," long tied to the Leeds family legend and 18th-century quarrels, became a 20th-century media sensation. Descriptions of it vary, often including a mixture of different animal parts, such as a goat-horse head, bat wings, and cloven hooves. Although not everyone agrees on what it would look like, it is definitely a regional identity badge of New Jersey.

11

Mothman

Reported around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, this is a red-eyed, winged figure who allegedly predicted disasters, something that became even more popular when the Silver Bridge tragically collapsed. The 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies embedded it in pop culture: Festivals, statues, and a museum now anchor its local mythology.

1

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - Muhammad Ali

Image: Johann Walter Bantz

Much like his innate and groundbreaking boxing technique, legendary boxer Muhammad Ali had a way with words: He was able to craft sharp and insightful commentary in interviews and press conferences. In that sense, Ali was able to perfectly summarize his incredible fighting style with a short and simple phrase, in what’s probably his most famous quote: In 1964, before his iconic fight with Sonny Liston, a 22-year-old Ali stated that he would "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

2

"America is another name for opportunity" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image: NASA

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential and groundbreaking American poets in history. It is no small praise for Walt Whitman to refer to Emerson as "his master", nor for Friedrich Nietzsche to call him "the most gifted of the Americans". Emerson’s collection of essays and writings gives us a glimpse into the quick wit and way of words this American had, so it stands to reason that the Emerson quote we chose for this article showcases his brevity and resourcefulness: "America is another name for opportunity".

3

"I have a dream" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image: Elizabeth Villalta

Not many know this, but Martin Luther King’s most famous quote came from a sudden moment of inspiration: Standing in front of over 250,000 supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King departed from his prepared text and spoke from the heart, delivering a speech that had his now-iconic "I have a dream" phrase as its main theme. Most historians consider this speech to be a turning point in the history of the civil rights movement and a proud testament to Dr. King’s resolve and determination.

4

"Ask not what your country…" - John F. Kennedy

Image: Florida Memory

Civil service is definitely a big responsibility: The men and women in the government are naturally held to a high standard of scrutiny. In that sense, President Kennedy’s words during his inauguration speech truly cemented something that citizens often overlook: When our 35th President said "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country" , he asked the American public to always keep the welfare of their country and fellow Americans in mind.

5

"Four score and seven years ago" - Abraham Lincoln

Image: Ed Fr

Granted, we couldn’t include the entire Gettysburg Address in this article, but we have instead decided to choose a phrase that’s as famous as this iconic speech. While we can’t be sure that President Lincoln knew the effect these words would have on American history, we do know that he was an exceptional writer, so it is no wonder that we still remember the opening lines of this famous speech: "Four score and seven years ago".

6

America, to me, is freedom - Willie Nelson

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

Country music is synonymous with American culture, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that one of the most patriotic quotes in this article comes from country music legend Willie Nelson. This beloved musician once stated, "America, to me, is freedom". What’s perhaps most moving about this simple yet powerful phrase is that it effortlessly describes what many of us feel whenever we think about America.

7

"To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do" - John Adams

Image: iStrfry , Marcus

Leave it to a Founding Father to perfectly describe what patriotism is all about. John Adams once stated this powerful phrase: "To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do". Much like the JFK quote we previously mentioned, our second President encouraged us to love our country and always strive to keep it a wonderful place to live.

8

"We must be free not because we claim freedom but because we practice it" —William Faulkner

Image: Tom Hermans

There’s no denying that William Faulkner was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century: A Nobel laureate, Faulkner has written such American classics like "As I Lay Dying" and "The Sound and the Fury". Much of his work centers around the American South, and on what he felt were the values that America holds most dear. In that sense, the following quote is as insightful as what can be found in Faulkner’s many books: "We must be free not because we claim freedom but because we practice it".

9

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it." —Barack Obama

Image: frank mckenna

Standing in the very same spot in which Martin Luther King had made his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, President Obama spoke in front of a gathered crowd of hundreds and delivered one of his most famous quotes: "In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it." Besides being a great quote by our 44th President, this phrase is also a living testament to the influence that Dr. King had on all Americans.

10

"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth" -George Washington

Image: Ryan Quintal

We’ll end this article with a phrase that comes straight from the mind of the Father of our country. In a letter to fellow Founding Father James Madison, George Washington wrote: "Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth". When you think about it, this phrase is an almost perfect summary of the ideas and beliefs that fueled the American Revolution, and that would eventually help build this great country of ours.