1

Mississippi River

Image: Justin Wilkens

Beloved by blues musicians and immortalized by Mark Twain, the Mississippi has been central to exploration, trade, and American identity. The name comes from the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe word misi‑ziibi, meaning "Great River" or "Father of Waters."

Flowing some 2,320 miles, its watershed drains roughly 41% of the continental U.S., and its vast system remains critical for both commerce and agriculture.

2

Missouri River

Image: Jayden Herr

The name of the Missouri River comes from the Algonquian term ouemessourita, meaning "people with dugout canoes."

A crucial highway for early explorers like Lewis and Clark, as well as later settlers, this 2,300-mile-long river was once home to Native tribes such as the Missouria. Today, it remains a vital part of regional agriculture and river transport.

3

Hudson River

Image: Harry Gillen

Originally called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk ("waters that are never still") by the Mohicans, the river was later renamed after Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609 for the Dutch East India Company.

The Hudson Valley later grew into both an economic and cultural hub, inspiring the Hudson River School of painters and playing a strategic role during the American Revolution.

4

Colorado River

Image: Mike Newbry

The name Colorado comes from Spanish, meaning "reddish," a reference to the red silt once carried by the river. Before 1921, its upper course was known as the Grand River, until Congress renamed it to reflect the state of Colorado.

Over millions of years, the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon, one of the world’s most dramatic natural landscapes. Today, it supports irrigation across seven U.S. states and northern Mexico and generates hydroelectric power through major dams such as Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam.

5

Rio Grande

Image: Sara Cottle

The name Rio Grande means "Big River" in Spanish. Serving as the border between the U.S. (Texas) and Mexico, it has defined geopolitical boundaries since the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.

Historically, the Rio Grande supported Indigenous communities such as the Pueblo and Apache peoples, and later Spanish missions and settlements. Today, it serves as a lifeline for agriculture, cities, and wildlife habitats across the arid regions of Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico along its 1,896-mile course.

6

Ohio River

Image: Joshua Canter

"Ohio" comes from the Seneca word ohi:yo’ , meaning "good river" or "large creek." Formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, it flows for about 981 miles through six states before joining the Mississippi River.

In early America, the Ohio was a key route for westward expansion and trade. Settlements along its banks grew into important commercial and industrial centers, including cities like Cincinnati, Louisville, and Pittsburgh, and its fertile floodplains supported agriculture that fueled the growing nation.

7

Columbia River

Image: Stephen Walker

The Columbia River was named after the Columbia Rediviva , the ship captained by Robert Gray , which itself was named in honor of Christopher Columbus. For thousands of years, the river served as a vital trade network for numerous Native American tribes, and later became central to the North American fur trade.

Its fertile valleys supported settlements and agricultural development throughout the Pacific Northwest. Today, the Columbia is a major source of hydroelectric power, with major dams such as Grand Coulee and Bonneville supplying electricity to millions of people.

8

Potomac River

Image: Sara Cottle

The name "Potomac" comes from a Native Algonquian word, likely Patawomeck (probably Piscataway), meaning "river of swans." The river flows past Washington, D.C., and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate overlooks it.

During the colonial era and the Civil War, it was a crucial transport route, and its watershed continues to hold historical, cultural, and political significance today.

9

Delaware River

Image: Clay Banks

Named after Lord De La Warr (Thomas West), an English nobleman and colonial governor, the Delaware River is best known for George Washington’s daring 1776 crossing, which surprised Hessian troops in Trenton and provided a crucial morale boost for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Over the years, the river has remained vital for trade and industry, shaping the mid-Atlantic economy and supporting major ports in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

10

Susquehanna River

Image: Jennifer Wick

The name "Susquehanna" likely comes from the Lenape word siskëwahane, meaning "Muddy River" (though other translations, such as "Oyster River," have been proposed). One of the oldest river systems in North America, the Susquehanna stretches about 444 miles from New York through Pennsylvania to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

It supported Indigenous communities such as the Susquehannock, and early colonial settlements relied on it for transport, fishing, and trade. Its fertile valley later powered mills, contributed to the region’s coal and lumber industries, and played a key role in shaping the development of the Mid-Atlantic.

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.

1

A Presidential curse

For almost 140 years, U.S. presidents elected in years ending in zero died while in office. It happened to William Henry Harrison (1840), Abraham Lincoln (1860), James A. Garfield (1880), William McKinley (1900), Warren G. Harding (1920), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1940), and John F. Kennedy in 1960 . Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980 , broke the curse by surviving an assassination attempt.

2

Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet

In the year Mark Twain was born, 1835, Halley’s Comet passed by Earth. The great writer famously predicted he’d "go out with it" as well . Indeed, he passed away in 1910, the next time the comet appeared.

3

Jefferson and Adams

A patriotic yet somber coincidence, indeed. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third U.S. presidents, both died on July 4, 1826 —exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

4

Hoover Dam’s first and last casualties

The construction of the Hoover Dam was a long and difficult process, claiming over 100 lives. The first person to die was J.G. Tierney , and the last recorded death was his son , Patrick Tierney.

5

Lincoln and Kennedy

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were elected 100 years apart (1860 and 1960). Both suffered fatal head wounds and were succeeded by presidents named Johnson. Their assassins each had three names: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Both were assassinated on a Friday while sitting next to their wives at the time that it happened.

6

Charles Francis Coghlan’s last journey

Actor Charles Francis Coghlan died in Texas in 1899. But his casket was lost at sea during a hurricane. Eight years later, his coffin washed ashore near his birthplace in Prince Edward Island, Canada, more than 3,000 miles away.

7

The Titanic coincidence

A few years before the Titanic sank, Morgan Robertson wrote a short book called Futility , about a massive "unsinkable" ship called the Titan that hit an iceberg and sank. The tale describes a ship with a similar size and a similar lack of lifeboats to the famous vessel.

8

Dennis the Menace

Two comic strips featuring a character named Dennis the Menace debuted in British and American outlets, respectively, on March 12, 1961—only a few hours apart. However, the two creators did not know each other and had no idea of the other’s work.

9

Jim Lewis and Jim Springer

Identical twin brothers separated at birth , Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, were reunited at age 39 and discovered many coincidences: both married women named Linda , divorced, and then remarried women named Betty. Both had dogs named Toy and drove the same model of car. Both grew up with an adopted brother named Larry and had sons whom they named James Allan.

10

Disney magic

A soon-to-be-married couple, Alex and Donna , were looking through old photos to include in their wedding video. They found one photo of Donna posing on a childhood trip to Disney World in 1980. And in the background, they spotted Alex being pushed in a stroller by his father.

11

Moped meets taxi, twice

In 1975, 17-year-old Erskine Lawrence Ebbin was struck by a taxi in Bermuda while riding his moped. A year later, his brother Neville , also 17 at the time, was riding the same moped when he was struck by the same taxi —with the same passenger—on the same street.

12

Lightning strike survivor

Being hit by lightning is an extremely rare occurrence. Park ranger Roy Sullivan was struck not once, but seven times between 1942 and 1977 —and survived them all. The strikes hit him in a fire tower, in his truck, in his yard, while patrolling, and more. His unusual record earned him the nickname "Human Lightning Rod."