1

George Washington: Whiskey distiller

George Washington’s retirement after his second presidency (1797) was important in itself as it set a precedent for presidents only serving two terms —although this was only a tradition and not a legal limit until the ratification of the 22nd Amendment in 1951. Despite his enormous prestige, George Washington decided to retire from public life and returned to his Mount Vernon estate , focusing on agriculture and building a whiskey distillery that would become one of the biggest in the country. He was appointed General of the Army by President Adams in 1798, but he never actively served in that position.

2

John Adams: Farmer and writer

In 1801, John Adams retired to Massachusetts, where he would spend the rest of his life managing his estate and writing his autobiography . Reconciled with his former friend and long-time rival Thomas Jefferson, they exchanged letters and writings for more than a decade. After seeing the inauguration of his son, John Quincy Adams, as the 6th American president in 1825, Adams died on July 4, 1826. Famously, his last words were "Thomas Jefferson still survives", not knowing Jefferson had passed a few hours earlier.

3

Thomas Jefferson: Founder of the University of Virginia

After leaving the White House in 1809, Thomas Jefferson went back home to Monticello, Virginia, where he devoted his time to reading, writing, and science, while corresponding with many political figures of the time. In 1815, he sold his personal book collection to Congress to help replace the books burned by the British in 1814. A firm believer in education as a pillar of society, Jefferson envisioned a university where students could pursue studies not offered in other institutions. He chose the location, campaigned for the state charter, designed the buildings and the curriculum, and served as the first rector of the University of Virginia.

4

William H. Taft: Supreme Court Justice

Upon his retirement from office in 1913, Taft considered returning to the practice of law. However, he had appointed many federal judges —a few Supreme Court Justices included— which created a conflict of interest. Instead, he decided to accept a position as a lecturer at Yale University. In 1920, after Harding was elected president, Taft was offered a position as a Supreme Court Justice, and he accepted , making him the only person to be both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. After his appointment, Taft focused on organizing the legal system and making it more efficient, and campaigned for the construction of the Supreme Court building.

5

Grover Cleveland: Lawyer

After losing re-election in 1889, Cleveland took a position at a law firm in New York City and mostly stayed out of politics. A year before the 1892 election, however, he wrote a public letter against President Harrison’s economic policies that quickly made him a favored candidate and won him the Democratic nomination. After winning the election and serving his second term, Cleveland went back to practicing law. He is one of only two presidents to have served two non-consecutive terms.

6

Theodore Roosevelt: Explorer

After leaving office in 1909, Roosevelt led a safari expedition in Africa, where he hunted specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. After running for president in 1912 and losing to Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt and his son Kermit embarked on a seven-month expedition across the jungles of Brazil to explore the Amazon Rive r. During the journey, Roosevelt contracted malaria and suffered from an infected leg wound, which nearly killed him. Back in America, he devoted his time to writing about politics and science, and actively campaigned for the war effort as the U.S. joined World War I.

7

Ulysses S. Grant: Writer

A hero of the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, Grant embarked on a two-year world tour after leaving office in 1877, where he was received by leaders such as Queen Victoria, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, and the Japanese Emperor Meiji. Back in America, he invested all of his savings into a Wall Street firm run by his son, but lost all of his money as a consequence of a Ponzi scheme. Penniless and diagnosed with terminal cancer, Grant started writing articles for magazines in order to raise money for his family , while also penning an autobiography, which he finished on his deathbed. The book was a major success, earning his family close to $450,000 and securing their future.

8

John Quincy Adams: Congressman

After retiring from office in 1829, John Quincy Adams returned to Congress, where he had previously served as senator, but this time as a member of the House of Representatives, being the only U.S. President to do this (Andrew Jackson is the only other former president to go back to Congress, but as a senator). Across 18 years and nine terms as a congressman, he became one of the leaders of the abolitionist cause, fighting to repeal a gag rule that prevented Congress from discussing slavery, and presenting several petitions for the abolition of slavery. Working as a congressman until the end, he died in the Capitol after suffering a stroke during a passionate debate against war.

9

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Cattle rancher

As many presidents did before him, Eisenhower retired to his farm after leaving office in 1961. However, he remained involved in politics, serving as an advisor to presidents such as Kennedy, Johnson, or Nixon . Despite having resigned his military commission upon becoming president, Eisenhower had his five-star general rank reinstated by President Kennedy, being the only president —except Washington— to re-enter the armed forces after the presidency.

10

George W. Bush: Oil painter

After leaving office in 2009, George W. Bush retired to his home in Texas. There, inspired by Winston Churchill’s essay "Painting as a Pastime", he took up oil painting , focusing on portraits of close friends, pets, and world leaders he had met while in office. In 2017, he released an art book focused on portraits of U.S. veterans and their stories.

1

Measuring

This is a difference most Americans are aware of: most countries use the metric system rather than U.S. customary units, and most use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Countries such as the UK and Canada still use some imperial units in everyday life, but they mainly use the metric system. Another measure that confuses foreigners is the particular way ingredients are measured in American recipes, which often use cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons rather than measurements by weight.

Fun fact: The only other countries that use the Imperial system officially are Liberia and Myanmar.

2

Sales tax

Do you find having to calculate sales taxes annoying? That’s a unique American experience. In the majority of the world, the price you see is the price you pay , because it has the sales tax already added.

Why is it different in America? Sales taxes vary across states , so retailers find it easier to showcase the base price and then calculate the total at checkout.

3

Cutlery use

Many Americans abroad are surprised by the realization that not everyone uses a knife and fork in the same way they do . In fact, no one else does. While most Americans have learned the American style —also called the zig-zag or fork switching method— that involves using the fork in the left hand for cutting and then changing it to the right to pick up the food, European and Latin American countries don’t do this . It might seem like a small difference, but it completely changes the way you eat.

4

Iced drinks

Do other countries not have ice? They do, but they don’t necessarily assume everyone will want it. While serving water and other beverages with ice is customary in America, in many other countries, you need to request it —even during the hottest of summers.

But even if you get ice, many times you will need to specify the amount : the same drink that would be filled with ice cubes in America might come to you with just two or three cubes elsewhere.

5

Date formatting

The U.S. is not completely alone on this one, but there’s a difference big enough to be worth mentioning. The standardized way of recording the date in America is month-day-year , a convention also followed by some Caribbean and Asian countries. But in the rest of the Western world, the conventional format is day-month-year , which can lead to confusion for Americans. In most Asian countries , the most commonly used format is year-month-day .

6

The word ‘American’

In the English language, ‘American’ is the only way to refer to people with U.S. citizenship . Other words, such as ‘Usian’ or ‘Unitedstatian’ have been proposed, but never stuck. This is why many Americans are surprised when other countries —Latin American countries in particular— use ‘American’ for anyone in the American continent , or continents, another big difference. In most European and Latin American countries, there is a different word for U.S. citizens, such as the Spanish ‘estadounidense’ or the Portuguese ‘estadunidense’ .

7

Moving out at 18 years old

This one is not so black and white, but more like a general tendency. Compared with most of Europe, Latin America, and Asia, Americans give serious consideration to the possibility of moving out after high school. Not everyone does, and not everyone can afford it, but it's fairly common.

In other countries, young adults generally move out if their job or education requires it , but they tend to stay at home a few more years if they can.

8

Driving a car as a teenager

America is quite car-centric , especially if you live outside of the big cities. While not everyone can afford to have a personal car —even a second-hand one—, it is common for 16 and 17-year-olds to legally drive their parents’ car, or save for their own.

In the rest of the world, the chances of high schoolers driving themselves to school are much lower, as most countries don’t allow underage kids to get a driving license .

9

Solo cups

Do plastic cups exist outside of the U.S.? They do, but they are not as iconic or as widely used as Solo cups, introduced in the 1970s as a disposable but sturdy cup for parties and events. Many foreigners visiting America are surprised when they realize that solo cups are a real thing , and not something that just happens in movies.

10

Filing taxes

Taxes in the U.S. are not that different from taxes in other countries, except for how they are filed . During tax filing season, thousands of Americans direct their efforts to ensure they have properly reported their income and that their return will match the IRS’s data.

In other parts of the world, however, the one responsible for calculating and filing taxes is the government , while citizens merely corroborate that everything is in order.

1

The Cardiff Giant

In 1869, workers digging a well in Cardiff, New York, uncovered what appeared to be a 10-foot-tall petrified man. Locals rushed to see the "giant," paying admission to witness history in the soil.

But, as it turned out, it wasn’t ancient at all. A man named George Hull had buried the statue as a prank and made some quick money from the curious crowd.

2

War of the Worlds Broadcast

This very famous hoax took place on the eve of Halloween 1938. Orson Welles’s radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds aired as if it were breaking news . Many listeners tuning in late thought Martians had really landed in New Jersey.

Some packed up their cars or called the police in panic. Though no invasion occurred, the broadcast became a legend in media history.

3

The Balloon Boy

In 2009, Americans watched live TV coverage of a silver balloon drifting across the skies of Colorado , fearing that a six-year-old boy was trapped inside . The story gripped the nation for hours.

When the balloon finally landed empty, police discovered the child hiding safely at home. His parents later admitted it was a publicity stunt gone wrong.

4

The Feejee Mermaid

In 1842, showman P. T. Barnum unveiled a marvel: a preserved "mermaid" supposedly from the South Seas . Crowds lined up to see the half-fish, half-woman curiosity.

The truth was stranger still. It was the upper body of a monkey sewn onto a fish tail and covered in papier-mâché.

5

The Great Moon Hoax

Readers of The New York Sun in 1835 were astonished by reports claiming that scientists had spotted bat-like people and crystal palaces on the Moon through a powerful new telescope.

The story was pure invention, but circulation went up. By the time the truth came out, the paper’s readership had reportedly increased dramatically.

6

The Crop Circles Craze

When perfect circles began appearing overnight in wheat fields , people talked about UFO landings. The shapes seemed too precise to have been made by human hands.

But, in 1991, two Englishmen confessed they’d used boards and ropes to flatten the crops. While this revelation explained many of the formations, the mystery lives on in popular imagination.

7

Alien Autopsy Film

In 1995, a grainy black-and-white video surfaced, showing doctors dissecting what seemed to be an alien recovered from the 1947 Roswell crash. The footage spread quickly worldwide.

Years later, the filmmaker admitted that the film was staged, using latex models and fake organs.

8

The Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax

Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o captured hearts when he revealed that his girlfriend had died of leukemia . Sports fans wept over the tragic love story.

But reporters later learned that the woman never existed. It was an elaborate online catfishing scheme.

9

The Patterson–Gimlin Bigfoot film

In 1967, a short film shot in California showed a large, hairy creature striding through the woods . Many viewers thought this was real proof of Bigfoot´s existence.

Decades later, one participant claimed it was a man in a gorilla suit, but that claim failed to convince many people who prefer to believe in the existence of this creature.

10

The Drake’s Plate of Brass

In 1936, a shiny brass plate found in California seemed to confirm that explorer Sir Francis Drake had landed there in 1579. Historians called it a priceless relic.

For decades, the plate was displayed proudly, until metallurgical tests in 1977 proved it was modern . It had been made as a practical joke among historians that went too far.

11

Paul Is Dead

The final entry on our list might not be American per se, but it drew much attention on these shores. In 1969, rumors spread that Beatle Paul McCartney had died and been secretly replaced by a double . Fans scoured album covers for "clues" like hidden messages and backward songs.

Paul, very much alive, later joked about it. The bizarre theory became a lasting pop-culture phenomenon.