1

Cornhole

Image: Jon Tyson

Cornhole reigns as the king of backyard games, combining skill and strategy with just the right amount of casual fun. Originating in the Midwest , players take turns tossing bean bags at a slanted board with a hole in it. Points are scored based on where the bag lands, with a perfect shot through the hole earning the coveted "cornhole."

2

Lawn Darts

Image: Afif Ramdhasuma

Once banned for safety concerns, modern lawn darts have undergone a safety makeover, now often sporting darts with plastic tips. Players take turns throwing darts toward a target ring on the ground, with the age-old game focusing on accuracy and a steady hand, making it a favorite for those who enjoy a real challenge .

3

Bocce Ball

Image: Braedon McLeod

Hailing from ancient Rome but finding a home in American yards, bocce ball involves tossing larger balls towards a smaller target ball, or pallino . Similar to curling and other such games, the goal is to get your ball closest to the pallino, all while strategically blocking opponents' shots. It's a game of finesse and strategy, often accompanied by good-natured banter - and what good lawn game isn’t?

4

Horseshoes

Image: Meg MacDonald

Dating back to ancient Greece (through a similar game called "quoits," where iron hoops are thrown instead), horseshoes remain a staple in American backyard culture. Players aim to toss horseshoes around a metal stake, scoring points based on proximity. This game combines skill and luck, with each ringer celebrated as a triumph of accuracy and expertise.

5

Croquet

Image: Troy Taylor

With origins in 19th-century England, croquet has become a refined addition to American backyard gatherings. Players use mallets to hit balls through a series of wickets arranged on the lawn, blending the gentle pace and strategic gameplay to make croquet a favorite among those who enjoy a more leisurely but still competitive game.

6

Ladder Toss

Image: Meritt Thomas

Also known as ladder golf, this game involves tossing bolas (two balls connected by a string) onto a ladder-shaped structure. Points are earned based on where the bolas land—the top rung yielding the most points and the bottom the least. It's easy to learn but challenging to master, keeping players engaged for hours.

7

Giant Jenga

Image: Meritt Thomas

Jenga , upsized to giant proportions, adds a nerve-wracking twist to backyard game nights. Players take turns removing wooden blocks from a tower and placing them on top without causing it to collapse. With each move potentially deciding the tower's fate, just like its smaller counterpart, Giant Jenga is a game that demands steady hands and clear strategic foresight.

8

Tug of War

Image: Anna Samoylova

A test of sheer strength and teamwork, tug of war pits two teams against each other in a battle of brute force. Using a sturdy rope, teams pull in opposite directions, aiming to drag the other team over a designated line. A game as ancient as rope itself , it's a primal display of competitiveness and camaraderie that never fails to energize a crowd.

9

Potato Sack Race

Image: Diego Catto

Bringing back memories of school field days, the potato sack race is a lighthearted sprint that requires nothing more than a burlap sack and some open space. Participants hop their way to the finish line, competing for the thrill of the race and the joy of friendly competition . It's simple, silly, and undeniably fun—a perfect way to wrap up a day of outdoor festivities.

10

Spikeball

Image: Spikeball

A recent phenomenon, spikeball is a competitive lawn game that has surged in popularity, offering a fast-paced twist on traditional volleyball . Played with a small trampoline-like net placed at ankle level, teams of two hit a small ball off the net, aiming to bounce it in such a way that the opposing team cannot return. It's athletic, energetic, and ideal for satisfying competitive spirits on sunny afternoons.

1

George and Martha Washington

Image: Matt Briney

As the first presidential couple of the United States, the union of George and Martha Washington is undoubtedly one of the most important in our history.

George met Martha in 1758. At the time, she was a recent widow with two children, and he was a young officer who soon fell in love with her. Their connection was so strong that they got engaged after just a few months of knowing each other.

George and Martha married on January 6, 1759, and moved to the iconic Mount Vernon, to which they returned in 1797, after George's presidency.

To this day, some of his love letters to her have been preserved, proof of the deep love they had for each other.

2

Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King

Image: Neal Sweeney

We all have that cupid friend who finds the perfect match for each of their buddies. The great Martin Luther King Jr. also had a friend who introduced him to the woman who would become the love of his life, Coretta Scott.

Martin and Coretta met in Boston in 1952. They went on a date and quickly discovered many shared values and interests. United by their ideals, they fell in love and were married the following year in Alabama.

Together, they drew strength from one another, building a partnership that led to transformative and lasting changes for our country.

3

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

Image: Jeremy Wong Weddings

A congressman and a journalist working for the Washington Times-Herald. The two were John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier, who met in 1952 at a dinner party in Washington, D.C.

Just like MLK and Coretta, JFK and Jackie quickly discovered many shared interests and ideals, and the crush was immediate.

John proposed to Jackie, and their engagement was announced in June 1953. They were married in September of that year. Their wedding, celebrated in Rhode Island, was attended by over 700 guests!

In 1960, JFK was elected President of the United States, and Jackie became the iconic First Lady we all came to know .

4

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash

Image: Ahmed Rizkhaan

Love often arrives when least expected, and that's what happened to Johnny Cash and June Carter while touring together in the late 1950s. Both were married to other people when they met. Their connection was immediate and undeniable, but it took several years before they decided to be together.

Johnny was anything but reserved with his marriage proposal: he proposed to June during a live show in Ontario, Canada, in 1968! Fortunately, she said yes, and they married in March of that same year.

Their deep love was reflected in several duets they performed together, such as "Far Side Banks of Jordan," "Jackson," and "The Loving Gift."

This country love story remains one of the most iconic in U.S. music history, and they are both fondly remembered.

5

Amelia Earhart and George Putnam

Image: Tomas Martinez

Love, respect, and admiration were among the pillars of the relationship between pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart and George Putnam.

Amelia Earhart was already an experienced aviator when she met Putnam, a publisher and promoter. In 1928, Putnam offered her an investment to help her become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. This professional relationship evolved into a personal one, which eventually became a love story.

Amelia and George married on February 7, 1931 , in an intimate ceremony. However, the journey to that moment was far from easy: George had to ask Amelia to marry him several times before she finally said yes!

6

Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt

Image: freestocks

Eleanor Roosevelt was 17 years old when she met her future husband in the summer of 1902 . We're talking about Franklin Delano Roosevelt , who was Eleanor's fifth cousin once removed and the future president of our nation.

From the moment they met, they began to secretly correspond and became engaged the following year. Some people opposed this union, such as Franklin's mother, Sara Ann Delano. However, love was stronger, and they ended up making their relationship public and getting married on March 17, 1905.

As it is known, the one who gave the bride away was none other than Theodore Roosevelt, president at the time and Eleanor's uncle.

7

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean

Image: israel palacio

Maintaining a love story under the scrutiny of the public eye is not easy.

However, Dolly Parton and Carl Dean achieved this and much more for more than 50 years! An example of patience, commitment, and resilience, this couple met in 1964, shortly after Dolly moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue her music career.

Dean, a businessman, preferred to keep a low profile despite Dolly's fame, but this did not stop them from marrying on May 30, 1966, in a private ceremony.

To this day, they continue to accompany and support each other.

8

John and Abigail Adams

Image: Sandy Millar

John Adams , our country's second president, met Abigail Smith in 1759 . She was a cultured and intelligent young woman who aroused John's interest. They married in 1764 and had five children. In November of 1800, they became the first presidential couple to live in the Executive Mansion, later known as The White House.

To this day, more than 1,100 of John and Abigail's letters are preserved, displaying the deep love, respect, and complicity they shared. In these letters, John referred to his wife as "Miss Adorable," isn't it the cutest detail?

9

Bonnie and Clyde

Image: Tengyart

The names Bonnie and Clyde are so intertwined that it's hard to think of one without the other.

During the Great Depression era, these two outlaws captured the attention of the press and public due to their unbreakable bond, which survived despite their criminal lives.

The two met in Texas in 1930, and, as the story goes, they quickly fell in love. They and their gang committed various types of crimes in several states across our country for a couple of years, managing to evade the law.

However, their luck ran out in 1934 when they were ambushed and fatally wounded by the police in the state of Louisiana.

10

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco

Image: Hisu lee

Next time you're invited to a fancy event, make sure to go! You might meet the love of your life. This was the case for the iconic actress Grace Kelly , who met Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955 at the glamorous Cannes Film Festival.

The two exchanged letters over a period before making their relationship official. The prince would visit Grace in the United States, and she would also travel to Monaco.

He proposed to her in December 1955. The union became a global sensation, captivating the press worldwide due to her fame and his royal position. The event that became known as the "Wedding of the Century" took place in April of the next year. She retired from her acting career, and the couple had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stéphanie.

1

Seattle: The Seattle Underground

People usually visit Seattle for the seafood, waterfront views, coffee culture, and the famous Space Needle. But underneath the busy sidewalks lies part of the city most tourists never realize exists. Beneath Pioneer Square sits the Seattle Underground, a network of old streets and storefronts buried below modern Seattle.

This area dates back to the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, which destroyed much of downtown. City leaders decided to rebuild the streets one story higher to improve drainage problems that had plagued the city for years. For a while, businesses operated below street level, but eventually this lower level was abandoned. Today, guided tours take visitors through the underground passageways and old sidewalks and mix ghost stories and old city legends with the real story below Emerald City.

2

Chicago: The Chicago River

Between deep-dish pizza, Wrigley Field, jazz clubs, and the towering skyscrapers, few cities feel more American than Chicago. It’s also home to the magical Chicago River, which, in 1900, actually flowed backwards.

Back in the late 1800s, Chicago faced a dangerous problem. The river carried sewage and industrial waste into Lake Michigan, the same lake supplying the city’s drinking water. Disease outbreaks of typhoid and cholera became increasingly serious, and engineers realized something drastic had to happen. In 1900, after years of planning and digging canals, they built a series of canals and locks, like the prominent Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, connecting the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River, forcing the water to flow toward the Mississippi River watershed. That way, they reversed the river’s direction so the contaminated water would flow away from the lake instead of into it. The natural flow was forever altered, but it remains central to city life, especially during St. Patrick’s Day when, according to tradition, it’s dyed bright green every year.

3

New York City: NYPL hidden apartment

Yellow taxies, Central Park, Broadway shows, and nonstop energy have made New York City feel magical. The Big Apple hides many secrets, and the apartment inside the New York Public Library Main Branch is just one of them.

In 1910, the library superintendent, John Fedeler, and his family moved into a private eight-room apartment tucked inside the library. This was so that someone would always be available to maintain the huge building. With bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living area, a full home is hidden behind doors that most visitors passed by. The family lived there until 1941, when the space was converted into offices and storage areas. However, the library still offers tours where visitors can learn about its history.

4

Portland: Mill Ends Park

When you think of Portland, you may think of Washington Park or Forest Park. But if you pay close attention, you can also visit Mill Ends Park. At just two feet across, it holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s smallest park.

At first glance, it looks more like a flowerpot than a public landmark, but the story goes back to 1948, when journalist Dick Fagan noticed an empty hole that had been meant for a light pole. Tired of staring at it from his office window, he planted flowers there and jokingly claimed that, since it was so small, it was a park for leprechauns. The joke took on a life of its own, and in 1976, it was dedicated on St. Patrick's Day. Today, it’s a must-do for travelers going through Portland, and locals continue treating it with surprising seriousness.

5

Houston: The Beer Can House

Everything is bigger in Texas, and Houston is no exception. If you’ve been there, you’ve probably visited NASA, the Museum District, and tried a local barbecue joint. But you’ve probably missed a quirky house hidden among the neighborhoods. Located at 222 Malone St, sits the Beer Can House. The name is self-explanatory, since it’s a house covered with beer cans.

In 1968, John Milkovish decided he was tired of painting and maintaining the exterior of his property. Instead, he began flattening beer cans and attaching them to the house. What started as a hobby slowly turned into a full-blown obsession involving more than 50,000 cans. The house went from being a neighborhood curiosity to a roadside attraction to finally being a protected local landmark in 2001. In 2010, Time magazine even ranked it as one of America's top 50 roadside attractions. True to his Texan blood, John Milkovish built something big.

6

San Francisco: The Wave Organ

No trip to San Francisco is complete without taking the cable car or a picture at the Golden Gate. But tucked away near the Marina District is an attraction many tourists completely miss. The Wave Organ is a gigantic acoustic sculpture that turns ocean waves into music.

Completed in 1986 by artist Peter Richards, t he installation consists of a series of pipes extending into the bay. As tides rise and waves move through the pipes, they create eerie sounds ranging from soft bubbling to deep echoes. Richards was inspired by recordings of artist Bill Fontana, made of sounds coming from a vent pipe of a floating concrete dock in Sydney, Australia. In 1980, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and tested the first prototypes during the 1981 New Music Festival. Five years later, he completed this sonic sculpture that runs entirely on nature.

7

Los Angeles: La Brea Tar Pits

Los Angeles is all about Hollywood, palm trees, and the beaches. But it’s also home to one of the world’s most important prehistoric sites. The bubbling black pools at La Brea Tar Pits have been trapping animals for tens of thousands of years.

Long before Los Angeles was the city it is today, natural asphalt constantly came up from underground. Mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and other Ice Age animals became trapped there, preserving their skeletons remarkably well. Scientists began excavating fossils in the early 1900s, and discoveries continue to this day. The fossils recovered from the site are countless. Visitors can explore the museum for $18 and watch active excavations while surrounded by modern office buildings and traffic.

8

Seattle: The Giant Shoe Museum

Seattle already has its share of unusual attractions, especially around Pike Place Market, where fishmongers toss salmon through the air, and crowds line up for fresh pastries. But the Giant Shoe Museum, located there, is even stranger. A single exhibit wall dedicated to oversized footwear , the museum works like an arcade peep show. Visitors drop coins into viewing slots to reveal displays featuring enormous boots, giant clown shoes, and other gigantic footwear.

The museum was founded in 1997 by Danny Eskenazi after he became obsessed with his grandfather’s missing item: the shoe of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in history. He even offered $1,000 to anyone who could find that Wadlow shoe. Sadly, the shoe remains lost, but his obsession led to the discovery of other shoes worn by Wadlow and more footwear that is now displayed in the museum.

9

Boston: Great Molasses Flood Site

Boston's most popular spots blend colonial and Revolutionary War history with vibrant neighborhoods that feature top attractions like the Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, and the Boston Public Garden. But it’s also home to the remains of a disaster.

In 1919, Boston experienced the Great Molasses Flood. A massive molasses storage tank burst in the North End neighborhood, unleashing more than two million gallons of syrup into the streets. After 21 people lost their lives, the disaster led to stricter construction safety regulations across the country, and the tank was never rebuilt. Today, visitors can still walk through the neighborhood where it happened. There’s no giant syrup wave anymore, thankfully, but plaques and local tours continue telling the story.

10

Lake Havasu City: The London Bridge

Driving through Lake Havasu City in Arizona, you expect desert landscapes, boating, and blazing summer heat. You probably don’t expect to stumble across a famous bridge from England, especially not the original London Bridge itself.

In 1831, John Rennie designed and opened the London Bridge spanning the River Thames. By the 1960s, the bridge started sinking under the weight of modern cars and traffic. Robert P. McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City, saw this as an opportunity and, in 1968, he purchased the bridge for $2.4 million. The bridge was dismantled and reconstructed in the Arizona desert, and completed in 1971. What once connected two sides of London now links mainland Lake Havasu City with Pittsburgh Point that visitors and locals enjoy every day.

11

Atlanta: The Center for Puppetry Arts

Atlanta is often associated with Southern cooking, a busy airport, and its important role in the Civil Rights Movement. But tucked inside the city is also the Center for Puppetry Arts, which houses the world’s largest collection of Jim Henson’s original Muppets.

The center opened in 1978, when puppeteer Vincent Anthony transformed a former elementary school into a home for puppet arts. From the very beginning, the project had a special connection to Jim Henson himself. He and Kermit the Frog helped inaugurate the center, and over the years, Henson became one of its biggest supporters. The center expanded significantly between 2007 and 2015, adding the permanent Jim Henson Collection and the impressive Worlds of Puppetry Museum. Unlike many museums, this place is hands-on. Guests can watch live performances, explore exhibits from puppet traditions, and revisit characters that shaped generations of childhood memories.