1

The Big Mac (McDonald's)

The Big Mac was invented in 1967 by Jim Delligatti, a Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee who figured customers wanted something bigger than the standard burger . It was originally priced at 45 cents, and proved so popular that McDonald's added it to the national menu just a year later, in 1968.

Two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a three-part sesame bun. That little jingle, "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese...", got burned into America's brain back in the 1970s.

2

The Whopper (Burger King)

Burger King rolled out the Whopper in 1957, and the whole pitch was simple: a bigger flame-grilled burger for just 37 cents (a steal even then). The flame-grilling is the real signature : it gives it a smokier taste than McDonald's griddle-cooked beef, and BK has leaned into that "flame-grilled" branding for decades.

It became the centerpiece of one of fast food's longest-running rivalries, with Burger King regularly poking fun at the Big Mac in its ads.

3

The original recipe fried chicken (KFC)

Colonel Harland Sanders perfected his "11 herbs and spices" blend back in the 1930s at a roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, and, to this day, the exact recipe is locked in a vault and split between two manufacturers so no single person knows the whole thing. The pressure-frying method he pioneered cooks chicken faster while keeping it juicy.

4

The Frosty (Wendy's)

Dave Thomas, Wendy's founder, wanted a dessert that was thicker than a milkshake but still drinkable through a straw, so in 1969 the Frosty was born; that chocolatey, half-ice-cream, half-milkshake treat with the signature spoon-straw . Thomas was famously particular about it staying exactly that consistency, refusing to make it thinner just to speed up the drive-thru line.

5

The Slider/Original Hamburger (White Castle)

White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas in 1921 and basically invented the fast food burger chain as we know it, way before McDonald's existed. Their small, square, steam-grilled burgers with five holes punched in the patty cook fast and stay soft, earning the nickname "sliders" because, well, they go down easy.

They're cheap, they're nostalgic for a lot of Americans, and the 2004 movie Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle turned the brand into a full-blown pop culture punchline for a newer generation.

6

The Crunchwrap Supreme (Taco Bell)

How do you eat a crunchy taco and a soft tortilla together without it falling apart? The answer was a clever hexagonal fold wrapping a tostada shell, meat, cheese, and sauce, all into one portable package . Genuinely inventive engineering disguised as junk food, it became a cult favorite almost instantly upon its 2005 debut, and remains one of Taco Bell’s signature, can't-mess-with-it menu items.

7

The Subway Footlong (Subway)

Subway built its whole identity around being the "healthier" fast food option, and the Footlong sandwich, sold by the inch since the chain's earliest days, became the symbol of that customizable, build-it-yourself appeal . It got an extra wave of fame in 2014 when a viral photo showed a customer's "footlong" measuring just eleven inches, sparking a real lawsuit and a wave of internet jokes that the brand never quite lived down.

8

Sourdough Jack (Jack in the Box)

A West Coast favorite that never quite broke out nationally, the Sourdough Jack pairs beef patties and bacon with melted cheese on grilled sourdough bread instead of a regular bun . It's been on the menu since the 1970s and has a loyal following among people who grew up with Jack in the Box, especially in California, where the chain has always had the strongest presence and the most devoted regulars.

9

The Animal Style Burger (In-N-Out)

Not listed on the official menu, the Animal Style burger is part of In-N-Out's famous "secret menu": a mustard-grilled patty, extra spread, grilled onions, and pickles piled on top. It started as something employees made for friends and regulars before word spread and it became one of the most requested items in the chain's history.

The fact that you have to "know to ask for it" is exactly what made it a Southern California legend.

10

The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich (Popeyes)

When Popeyes launched its chicken sandwich in 2019, nobody expected total chaos, but that's what happened . A rivalry with Chick-fil-A's sandwich exploded online, and the sandwich sold out nationwide within two weeks; there were even reports of fights breaking out in some stores over the last one.

The brioche bun, pickles, and crispy-but-juicy chicken turned out to be genuinely great, but the viral frenzy is what cemented it in fast food history.

1

A renovation project saved thousands of lives on 9/11

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., killing 189 people. Few people know this part: the death toll could have been much higher. But there was a renovation project underway at the time of the attacks.

The Pentagon’s five-sided structure is divided into five "wedges," and workers had been renovating them one at a time. Flight 77 struck the wedge that had just been completed. Of the 4,500 people who normally worked in that section, only about 800 had moved back in. Without the reinforced construction and the incomplete occupancy, experts believe the casualties would have been catastrophically higher.

2

The Cold War and the hot dog stand

In the middle of the Pentagon’s five-acre center courtyard once stood a modest hot dog stand. According to a Cold War legend (one still retold by official Pentagon tour guides on every public tour), between the 60s and the 80s, Soviet satellite images tracked large groups of high-ranking military officials converging on that small building at the same time every day.

Soviet intelligence reportedly concluded the structure must be the entrance to some underground bunker in America. In reality, all it did was sell lunch. In 2006, the original stand was torn down, and a sandwich shop was built in its place.

3

Its construction began on September 11th, exactly 60 years before the attack

Builders broke ground on the Pentagon on September 11, 1941. That was exactly 60 years to the day before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that would strike the same building.

Construction had been ordered by Army Brigadier General Brehon Somervell, who wanted a permanent headquarters for the Defense Department to replace its then-17 scattered offices across Washington, D.C.

The project was extraordinarily ambitious: plans called for the world’s largest office building to be completed in just 16 months. In the end, the conception, design, and construction of the entire Pentagon building took a total of 15 months.

4

The same person oversaw its construction and the Manhattan Project

Colonel Leslie Groves of the Army Corps of Engineers took charge of Pentagon construction in August 1941. He worked six days a week and drove his team relentlessly, at one point employing more than 15,000 workers around the clock.

When the Pentagon was finished in January 1943, Groves was assigned to lead the Manhattan Project, America’s secret program to build the atomic bomb . His deputy, Captain Robert Furman, followed him into the Manhattan Project as chief of foreign intelligence. Together, the men who built the world’s largest office building went on to produce the weapon that ended World War II.

5

Why is it shaped like that?

The Pentagon’s iconic five-sided shape was the consequence of a geographic accident. The original site selected for the building, near Arlington Cemetery, **happened to be bordered on five sides by roads. **Architects designed the structure to fit those boundaries, producing a pentagonal floor plan. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt intervened: worried the massive building would obstruct the view of Washington, D.C. from Arlington, he ordered the site moved to its current location along the Potomac River. But the five-sided design had already been drawn up, and nobody changed it.

6

It was the first desegregated building in Virginia

When the Pentagon was designed in 1941, segregation was the law in Virginia. Original plans called for doubled bathroom facilities: separate ones for Black and white employees, as required by Virginia statute. But President Roosevelt had signed Executive Order 8802 in June 1941, prohibiting racial discrimination in federal employment and government contracting.

As a federal building, the Pentagon was exempt from Virginia law. It became the only building in the state where segregation was not enforced. A fully desegregated federal workplace that opened in 1943. The doubled bathrooms were built anyway, as the plans were too far along to revise, but were never used as separately designated spaces.

7

Its construction was surprisingly frugal and incredibly fast

Ground broke on September 11, 1941, and construction finished on January 15, 1943, just 16 months later. More than 15,000 workers were on site around the clock. Wartime office shortages were so severe that employees moved into completed wings before the rest of the building was finished. Steel was too scarce to use extensively, so builders relied almost entirely on reinforced concrete. The 689,000 tons of sand and gravel required came directly from the nearby Potomac River, cutting transportation costs. The project was budgeted at $35 million, but the final bill was $63 million, which would translate to over $900 million in today’s dollars.

8

You can walk between its farthest points in only 7 minutes

The Pentagon is the world’s largest low-rise office building: 6.5 million square feet of space, which is three times the total floor area of the Empire State Building. Each of its five outer walls is 921 feet long. It has 7,754 windows and 17.5 miles of corridors. Approximately 26,000 military and civilian employees report for work there every day.

Despite that scale, the building’s concentric ring design is so efficient that it takes only about seven minutes to walk between its two farthest points.

9

The man who secretly lived inside its walls

During construction, Colonel Groves drove his deputy, Captain Robert Furman, so relentlessly that Furman rarely left the building. To cope, Furman had contractors build him a small, windowless apartment hidden inside the walls of the Army’s Ordnance Division. In this private room, he could sleep and shower without leaving the premises.

When construction ended and personnel dispersed, knowledge of the hidden room was never passed on to building management. Months later, when Furman returned to Washington on Manhattan Project intelligence business, he found the apartment undiscovered and exactly as he’d left it.

For over a year, he would slip back to the Pentagon, pop open a wall panel, spend the night, and emerge in the morning with his suitcase. He was finally caught in 1943 and forced to surrender the keys. It was never disclosed whether the secret apartment was maintained or eventually absorbed back into the official floor plans.

10

It houses over 30 restaurants, including everyone's favorite chains

The Pentagon feeds roughly 26,000 people a day, and its dining options read less like a military headquarters and more like a mall food court. The main Concourse Food Court, which opened in September 2009 and seats 875 people, is the largest of several dining areas.

Confirmed chains currently inside the building include McDonald’s, Five Guys, Subway, Popeyes, Starbucks (multiple locations), Dunkin’ (two locations), Panera Bread, Taco Bell, Panda Express, Baskin-Robbins, Potbelly, Jamba Juice, and Moe’s Southwest Grill, among others. The building also houses a CVS pharmacy, a florist, a jeweler, and a dry cleaner. In the summer of 2024, Potbelly became the first restaurant to open in the center courtyard. Yes, the very spot where the legendary Cold War hot dog stand once stood.

1

Clean your lens

Image: Mika Baumeister

We’ll start with probably the most essential—and somehow most overlooked—tip: take a moment to clean your smartphone’s camera lens. Over time, it can accumulate dust and smudges, which can result in hazy or blurry photos.

Give it a quick wipe with a soft, lint-free cloth . It can make a significant difference in the clarity of your shots.

2

Investigate your camera app

Image: Brett Jordan

Almost every single smartphone comes with a default camera app that’s user-friendly and packed with features. Take some time to explore it , learn how to switch between photo and video modes, and familiarize yourself with settings like Portrait Mode, Night Mode for low-light shots, and Panorama Mode for landscapes.

3

Use gridlines

Image: Jonathan Kemper

Gridlines allow you to center your focal points and enhance the visual appeal of your photos. Most mobile camera apps let you turn them on easily. These gridlines strategically divide your screen into thirds , both horizontally and vertically, adding balance and symmetry to your shot .

4

Focus and exposure control

Image: François Genon

Focus and exposure are two of the most important settings you can adjust in a manual camera to achieve different effects in photography. Fortunately, both functions are available on most modern smartphones.

By playing with different focus and exposure points, you can highlight a specific subject against a blurred background or ensure a well-balanced shot in difficult lighting conditions.

5

Lighting

Image: Ben White

Always try shooting in natural light, often referred to as available light, whenever the opportunity arises. Natural light gives a gentle, even illumination that can significantly enhance the quality of your photos.

Avoid harsh, direct sunlight, which can create intense and unflattering shadows, potentially leading to overexposed or underexposed areas. If you're shooting in low light, rest your phone on a flat surface to stabilize it for long exposures.

6

Play with composition

Image: Eaters Collective

Experiment with different angles and perspectives to enhance your subject. Don't be afraid to get low or high for a unique viewpoint. Also, pay attention to what’s in the background and eliminate any distractions that might detract from your subject.

7

Take pictures often

Image: Ferdinand Stöhr

Practice makes perfect. Since your phone is always with you, it’s easy to integrate photography into your daily routine. Whether you snap a selfie or take a few shots on your way to work, there’s no wrong way to be a smartphone photographer. Great photos often come from everyday life.

8

Take many shots

Image: The Free Birds

Long gone are the days when you had only 36 exposures in your camera and had to choose each shot carefully. One of the best things about smartphones is that you can take as many photos as you want, and there is no need to print them to see the results . This makes it much easier to learn and improve as you go.

9

Avoid digital zoom

Image: Redd Francisco

Digital zoom generally produces poor-quality images, even on the best smartphones. Avoiding it is one of the basic photography tips for taking better photos. Instead of using a digital zoom, simply move closer to your subject to maintain image quality.

10

Use HDR

Image: Kote Puerto

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and it’s a common feature on many smartphones. It enhances detail in both dark and light areas to provide a more balanced exposure . HDR prevents the sky from becoming too bright or the ground from appearing too dark, making it especially useful for landscape photography.

11

Set a high resolution

Image: TheRegisti

Simply put, the higher the resolution of your photo, the better quality it is . When taking pictures, try to get as close to the subject as possible, rather than zooming in. Take advantage of the higher pixel count.

12

Aspect ratio

Image: Alice Donovan Rouse

The aspect ratio determines the width and height of your photograph . The standard 4:3 ratio is versatile, but you can also choose widescreen 16:9 for a cinematic look or square 1:1 for Instagram-ready shots.