1

Harriet Tubman secretly worked as a Union spy

Most Americans know Harriet Tubman for her leadership of the Underground Railroad, but during the Civil War, she also became a Union scout and spy in South Carolina. Working with Colonel James Montgomery, Tubman gathered intelligence from enslaved people living behind Confederate lines near the Combahee River .

In June 1863, Tubman helped lead the Combahee River Raid, guiding Union gunboats through Confederate waters filled with hidden mines. The operation freed more than 700 enslaved people and made Tubman the first woman known to lead a major U.S. military mission.

2

Julia Child worked for the U.S. intelligence agency

Before becoming television’s most famous chef, Julia Child joined the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, in 1942 during World War II. The OSS later evolved into the CIA. Too tall to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps, Child instead classified files and overseas communications in Asia.

One of her strangest assignments involved helping researchers develop shark repellent for Navy explosives and emergency rescue kits . The repellent used copper acetate and black dye to create an odor similar to a dead shark.

3

Benjamin Franklin conducted unofficial spy work in Europe

Benjamin Franklin was more than a scientist and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he quietly acted as an intelligence organizer while serving as ambassador to France beginning in 1776 . Franklin cultivated secret alliances, intercepted information, and used coded correspondence to support the colonies’ fight against Britain.

Operating from Paris, Franklin built relationships with French officials and helped persuade France to support the American cause with money, troops, and naval power. Historians consider his diplomatic intelligence efforts essential to the American victory at Yorktown in 1781 and eventual independence.

4

Louisa May Alcott published thrillers under another name

Louisa May Alcott became a literary icon after publishing Little Women in 1868, but few readers knew that she had already written sensational thrillers under the pen name "A.M. Barnard." These stories featured revenge, hidden identities, forbidden romance, and dramatic crime plots that shocked Victorian audiences.

Alcott used a pseudonym because publishers often expected women writers to produce respectable domestic fiction. Many of her darker stories remained forgotten until scholars rediscovered them in the 1940s. Today, titles like Behind a Mask reveal a far more rebellious side of the beloved author.

5

Maya Angelou worked as San Francisco’s first black female cable car conductor

Long before becoming a celebrated poet and author, Maya Angelou made history in San Francisco during the 1940s. At only 16 years old, she applied repeatedly for a conductor job on the city’s cable cars after seeing an advertisement that excluded Black applicants .

Angelou refused to give up despite repeated rejection. She eventually became San Francisco’s first Black female cable car conductor in 1944. Years later, she described proudly wearing the blue uniform while working long shifts across the city before launching her writing and civil rights careers.

6

Dr. Seuss created classified wartime propaganda films

Before writing Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat , Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, worked on wartime propaganda during World War II. Between 1943 and 1945, he joined director Frank Capra’s Signal Corps unit to produce military training films for American soldiers .

Geisel also drew political cartoons supporting the Allied war effort and criticizing fascism. Some of his films were classified during the war because they contained military training material. His animated work helped explain battlefield strategy and morale issues to thousands of U.S. troops overseas.

7

Babe Ruth once played an entire game with a fever over 102 degrees

In 1925, Babe Ruth became seriously ill during spring training and collapsed while traveling by train . Newspapers nicknamed the incident "the bellyache heard around the world." Reports from the time described Ruth suffering from a fever above 102 degrees while still insisting on returning to baseball activities.

Despite his condition, Ruth’s determination became part of baseball legend. The illness hurt his performance during the 1925 season, when the New York Yankees finished seventh in the American League. Even so, Ruth rebounded quickly and helped lead the Yankees to championships in later years.

8

Harry Houdini worked with police departments

Harry Houdini’s famous escape acts fascinated police departments across America and Europe in the early 1900s. Officers regularly challenged him to escape from handcuffs, prison wagons, and locked jail cells. Houdini often invited local police to inspect restraints before his performances began.

Beyond entertainment, Houdini also worked closely with law enforcement to expose fraudulent mediums and fake spiritualists during the 1920s . Using his knowledge of locks, hidden compartments, and deception, he publicly demonstrated how many supposed supernatural tricks were actually carefully staged illusions.

9

Frank Lloyd Wright hid a private apartment inside one of his buildings

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright secretly maintained a private apartment inside his famous Oak Park Studio near Chicago, Illinois. Built in the 1890s, the studio served as both his workplace and personal retreat while he designed many of his early Prairie-style homes across the Midwest.

The hidden living quarters allowed Wright to work late into the night and host select guests away from public attention. The building itself became one of the most important centers of American architecture, producing groundbreaking residential designs that influenced modern architecture around the world.

10

Muhammad Ali quietly funded humanitarian causes for years

Muhammad Ali’s boxing fame often overshadowed his enormous charitable work. For decades, Ali quietly donated money to hospitals, food programs, children’s charities, and international humanitarian efforts . Friends and family later revealed that many of his contributions were intentionally kept private.

In 1990, Ali traveled to Iraq during tensions leading up to the Gulf War and helped secure the release of 15 American hostages. He also supported global relief organizations and Parkinson’s disease research after his own diagnosis. In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Ali the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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

Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s Oscar-winning blockbuster frames the tragic 1912 sinking around the fictional romance of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet), while depicting real-life First Officer William Murdoch (Ewan Stewart) accepting bribes, shooting passengers, and taking his own life.

When the film premiered in 1997, the portrayal of Murdoch caused significant outrage. Survivor accounts prove the First Officer acted heroically, working tirelessly to launch lifeboats and saving hundreds of lives before dying in the freezing Atlantic. Additionally, third-class passengers were not locked below deck by armed guards as portrayed in the movie. _Titanic_’s producers eventually traveled to Murdoch’s hometown of Dalbeattie, Scotland, to issue an official apology to his descendants.

2

Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s epic depicts William Wallace leading a 13th-century Scottish rebellion against English rule, wearing belted plaid kilts and seducing Isabella of France (Sophie Marceau).

Many details in the film are inaccurate. For example, Scots didn’t wear kilts until the 16th century, nearly 300 years after Wallace’s death. Furthermore, Isabella was roughly three years old and living in France during Wallace’s rebellion, making the affair impossible.

3

Pearl Harbor (2001)

In Michael Bay’s romantic war drama, Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) face Japanese Zero fighters, join the British Eagle Squadrons before the U.S. enters World War II, and witness direct attacks on civilian medical units.

In real life, U.S. Army Air Corps officers like Rafe were legally forbidden from joining Britain’s Eagle Squadrons while the United States remained neutral. During the December 7, 1941 raid, the Japanese prioritized attacking battleships, airfields, and fuel depots, and they didn’t target field hospitals or civilian nurses as depicted in the film. Also, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (Jon Voight) dramatic moment where he stands up out of his wheelchair to inspire his cabinet never occurred.

4

Pocahontas (1995)

Disney’s animated film famously tells the story of a young Powhatan woman named Pocahontas who falls in love with the English explorer Captain John Smith, helping to promote peace between their two cultures.

When John Smith arrived in Virginia in 1607, Pocahontas (whose actual name was Matoaka) was only around 10 to 12 years old, while Smith was a 27-year-old soldier, and there was no romantic relationship between them. Smith’s famous account of Pocahontas saving his life by placing her head over his is debated by modern historians, who view it as either a misunderstanding of a tribal adoption ceremony or an invention in his later writings. Pocahontas was later captured by English settlers, held for ransom, converted to Christianity, and married tobacco merchant John Rolfe before dying in England at age 21.

5

Gladiator (2000)

The plot of Gladiator revolves around Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) when he witnesses Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) being smothered to death by his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who seizes the throne, rules as a tyrant, and is later killed in gladiatorial combat inside the Colosseum.

In reality, Marcus Aurelius was never murdered by his son; he died of an infectious illness in 180 AD. Commodus had already been co-emperor for three years before his father’s death. Far from an usurpation, Commodus ruled Rome for 12 years. He didn’t die in the sands of the arena either: he was strangled in his bath by his wrestling partner, Narcissus, during a palace coup. Moreover, Roman gladiatorial fights were officiated sporting events, not chaotic deathmatches.

6

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

A young William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) suffers from writer’s block until he meets aristocrat Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), who disguises herself as a man to act on stage, inspiring him to write Romeo and Juliet .

Almost the entire narrative is historical fiction. Viola de Lesseps never existed, and Romeo and Juliet wasn’t inspired by a secret love affair. Women were indeed banned from performing on the Elizabethan stage, but monarchs like Queen Elizabeth I never attended public theaters, which were considered unsafe and unhygienic. Instead, theater companies were hired to give private performances at court. Furthermore, by the mid-1590s, Shakespeare was already married to Anne Hathaway and was an established playwright in London, not an impoverished unknown struggling for ideas.

7

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Ron Howard’s biopic presents John Nash (Russell Crowe) battling schizophrenia. In the film, the Nobel Laureate mathematician has vivid visual hallucinations of a college roommate, a young girl, and a secret government handler.

It is true that John Nash lived with paranoid schizophrenia, but his hallucinations were auditory and delusional (he heard voices and believed extraterrestrial beings were communicating through newsprint). Filmmakers acknowledged altering his symptoms because visual figures were easier to convey on screen. The film also sugarcoated Nash’s personal life, omitting his first child born out of wedlock, his divorce from his wife Alicia, and his intimate relationships with other men.

8

JFK (1991)

Director Oliver Stone follows New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) as he uncovers a conspiracy behind President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination involving the CIA, FBI, military leaders, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Historians criticize JFK for presenting discredited conspiracy theories as historical facts. Key characters in the film (such as Donald Sutherland’s "Mr. X") were complete fabrications. Garrison’s actual prosecution of businessman Clay Shaw was based on dubious testimony and resulted in Shaw’s acquittal in under an hour. The narrative of a multi-agency coup remains unsupported by official evidence, yet the film prompted the release of classified records under the JFK Records Act.

9

The Sound of Music (1965)

In the iconic film The Sound of Music , governess Maria (Julie Andrews) teaches naval Captain von Trapp’s seven children to sing and helps the family escape the 1938 Nazi annexation of Austria by hiking over the Alps into Switzerland.

Had the von Trapp hiked over the mountains behind their house in Salzburg, they would have walked straight into Nazi Germany near Hitler’s mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. In real life, the family walked to their local train station and boarded a train to Italy before emigrating to the United States. Also, the personalities were reversed: the real Captain von Trapp was warm and musical, whereas Maria was strict. What’s more, the couple had already been married for over ten years before leaving Austria.

10

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The opening D-Day landing sequence in Saving Private Ryan is praised by military veterans for its technical realism, but the film’s core premise is fictional. Following the invasion at Omaha Beach, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) leads a U.S. Army Ranger squad into enemy territory in Normandy to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers were killed in action.

The plot is loosely inspired by the real-life Niland brothers, but the U.S. military never dispatched an entire squad on a dedicated search mission through enemy lines to extract a single private. Additionally, the final battle in the fictional town of Ramelle overstates the ability of infantry small arms against heavy German armor, which in reality was neutralized by artillery and tactical air strikes.