Lesser-known tales
California's Grizzly is extinct? 10 stories behind American symbols
Image: Fr. Daniel Ciucci
It’s one thing to be acquainted with American symbols, but it’s another to learn—years later—the unexpected, hidden stories behind them! Did you know that California’s subspecies of grizzly bear (yes, the one on the flag) has been extinct for over a hundred years ? Or that Texas’s state dish was allegedly invented by prisoners? Maybe you know some of the facts listed here—but we’re sure you don’t know them all!
1
California’s state animal is extinct
Image: Levi Meir Clancy
The California grizzly bear adorns the state flag, but you won’t find one in the wild anymore. Once abundant throughout the region, this was a subspecies of Grizzly also known as "California golden bear."
By the 1920s, this majestic animal had disappeared from the wild, but it has remained a powerful symbol of the state, featured on the flag since the Bear Flag Republic’s short-lived attempt to break from Mexico in 1846.
2
The American flag was (probably) designed by a teenager
Image: Sharefaith
In 1958, around the time Alaska and Hawaii were being added to the Union, an Ohio high schooler named Robert Heft stitched a 50-star flag for a class project . His teacher gave it a B–, scoffing that the brand-new design "lacked imagination."
However, not long after, Heft’s design was selected from thousands of submissions sent to President Eisenhower to determine the official flag. That teacher later changed the grade to an A.
3
Texas’s state dish may have been invented by prisoners
Image: Zak Chapman
Chili con carne is the Lone Star State’s official dish. While its exact origins are uncertain, some say that Texan prisoners in the 1800s were the minds who concocted the dish. According to this version, the stew—made with beans, thin strips of beef, and chili peppers—was the local equivalent of bread and water: a kind of Texan gruel .
4
Alabama's state nut was once a life-saver
Image: Antoni Shkraba
Pecans aren’t just Alabama’s official nut—they’re also symbols of resilience from the Depression era. When cotton crops failed in the 1930s, families turned to harvesting pecans to survive. The nuts became a form of currency , traded for goods, and even used to make mortgage payments. Today, Alabama produces over 30 million pounds annually.
5
The Star-Spangled Banner was once a drinking song
Image: JosephHershMedia
You may know that America’s anthem has a boozy British past. The melody originated as "To Anacreon in Heaven," a raucous 18th-century tavern tune sung by a London gentlemen’s club. A relative of Francis Scott Key noticed that his poem fit perfectly with the melody—and thus, the anthem as we know it was born.
6
The Great Seal almost had a turkey
Image: Roman Manshin
Can you imagine if the Great Seal of the United States featured not a mighty eagle, but a turkey? It was none other than Benjamin Franklin who proposed the turkey as America’s symbol, calling it " a bird of courage ."
Instead, he dismissed the bald eagle as "a lazy scavenger." Congress ultimately overruled him, but Franklin did have a point: turkeys are known to be fiercely protective.
7
The flag’s colors weren’t meant to mean anything—at first
Image: Jon Tyson
Red, white, and blue may seem deeply symbolic today, but in 1775, the Continental Navy chose them simply to match the British flag’s palette. A rebellious decision, if you think about it. The "valor, purity, justice" meanings were tacked on later by poets and politicians.
8
Is South Carolina’s flag really what it seems?
Image: Jaden Dessureault
South Carolina’s flag features a blue background with a palmetto tree and what appears to be a crescent moon. But there are stories that sustain that the silver symbol isn’t a moon at all —it’s a gorget, the curved neck armor worn by 18th-century soldiers. Historians have searched for records to back this theory, but no nods to gorgets have officially been found.
9
Colorado’s flag was once a confusing disaster
Image: Olga Kovalski
When Colorado unveiled its bold "C" design in 1911, it forgot one crucial detail: specifying which shade of blue to use for the background. For 26 chaotic years, flags fluttered in everything from pale sky blue to deep navy—until officials finally standardized the hue in 1937.
10
One of Illinois’ state symbols was chosen by… kids
Image: Peter Schad
Illinois’ state snack was chosen by the most powerful lobbyists of all: children. When a group of fourth graders learned their state produced a large portion of America’s popcorn , they launched a 2003 campaign so persuasive that lawmakers had no choice but to make it official.
