1

Pecan pie: the South’s nutty masterpiece

Image: Keighla Exum

This rich, sticky dessert has deep Southern roots. French settlers in New Orleans encountered Native Americans who introduced them to pecans, and that’s when the magic began. Texas cookbooks helped spread the word, and Karo syrup sealed the deal in the 1930s with its bottle-side recipes. Today, pecan pie is a holiday must-have.

2

The California roll’s West Coast switch-up

Image: Ben Lei

Sushi purists may scoff, but the California roll is what got a lot of Americans eating sushi. Well, kind of. Created in Los Angeles (though Vancouver, Canada, also claims the credit), this roll swapped raw tuna for avocado and imitation crab, making sushi less scary and way more approachable.

3

Fajitas, from cattle hands to cast iron

Image: Nadine Primeau

Back in the day, ranch workers along the Texas-Mexico border made the most of tough skirt steak by grilling it and tossing it into tortillas. That no-frills meal eventually became the sizzling skillet spectacle we now call fajitas. Toss in onions, peppers, and a dollop of guac, and boom! Tex-Mex gold.

4

Corn dogs and the mystery on a stick

Image: Taylor

A hot dog on a stick sounds simple—we know—but getting to the modern corn dog took some trial and error. Patents were filed, batter recipes tweaked, and somewhere between a beach shack in Illinois and a fairground in Texas or Oregon, the corn dog was born. One thing’s for sure: once Americans figured out how to deep-fry a hot dog in cornmeal, there was no going back!

5

S’mores and the sweet tooth showdown

Image: Jonathan Taylor

Did you know the Girl Scouts have such a legacy? Their 1927 handbook gave us the first printed recipe for s’mores, and we’ve been hooked ever since. Roast a marshmallow, squish it between graham crackers and chocolate, and try not to eat five. Campfire memories wouldn’t be the same without this gooey, finger-sticky treat. And yes, of course—they stand for "some more."

6

The Caesar salad’s border-crossing fame

Image: Frames For Your Heart

Italian chef Caesar Cardini whipped up this leafy dish not in Rome, but in Tijuana. During the Prohibition era, Americans sneaked over the border for a legal drink and left raving about the crunchy, garlicky salad. It may have Mexican birth papers, but with Hollywood stars singing its praises and the dressing later patented in the US, the Caesar salad became a true celebrity.

7

Philly cheesesteaks: city of hoagie love

Image: Syed F Hashemi

Philadelphia's most famous sandwich started with a hot dog stand and a hunk of beef! Pat Olivieri slapped some steak on a roll, later added cheese, and boom—the cheesesteak was born, and the rest is history. Locals still argue over where to get the best one, but everyone agrees it’s a sandwich worth standing in line for.

8

Spaghetti and meatballs, made the American way

Image: Ivy Farm

If you order spaghetti and meatballs in Italy, they’ll look at you funny. Why? Because this comfort food classic was created by Italian immigrants in New York. Meat was cheaper here, sauce was plentiful, and suddenly, Sunday dinner had a new star. It’s Italian by ancestry but all-American in execution.

9

Chocolate chip cookies, thanks to a happy accident

Image: SJ 📸

Sometimes the best things happen by mistake. Here’s an example: Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn, wanted to make chocolate cookies but didn’t melt the chocolate—and voilà, the chocolate chip cookie was born. Nestlé acquired the recipe, and now it’s printed on every bag of chips. Homemade, store-bought, or eaten straight from the dough, this cookie is as American as it gets.

10

Jambalaya and its melting pot roots

Image: Kalyani Akella

Let’s close things out with a burst of flavor: Jambalaya may have a European passport, but it earned its American green card in Louisiana. Spanish paella, West African jollof rice, and French seasonings all came together in New Orleans, where rice, meat, and veggies came together to create one exquisite dish for everyone to enjoy!

1

Skip Air Force One

Beyond the wishes of any president, flying on a commercial airline is completely forbidden under any circumstances. Due to security concerns, Air Force One is meant to be the only way a president can travel by air. But there is actually a historic exception in this matter. In 1973, during the oil crisis, Richard Nixon flew on a regular United Airlines flight to California . The trip was meant to show support for energy-saving efforts nationwide.

2

Break the two-term rule

Did you know that before Franklin D. Roosevelt, presidents were not limited to two terms? They mostly followed a tradition started by George Washington, the first US president in 1789, who decided to step down after his second term. It wasn’t until the 22nd Amendment in 1951 that two terms became the official legal limit to moderate the accumulation of power in one person.

Roosevelt, who was president from 1933 to 1945 , was the only president to break that tradition because of the country's exceptional situation: During the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans wanted solid leadership. He ended up winning four elections, but died of a stroke in 1945 during his fourth term.

3

Take diplomatic gifts home

Presidents have to buy their own gifts? Truth is, they can receive gifts from foreign leaders, but they cannot always keep them as personal presents. If a gift is expensive enough to go over the government’s "minimal value" limit, it is treated as a gift to the American people. From there, the White House Gift Unit helps decide what happens to it. In fact, the president or First Lady can still keep the gift, but only if they buy it at fair market value. This rule exists so that a diplomatic gift does not appear to be a personal favor.

4

Own their official speeches

A president can stand at a podium and deliver a speech heard around the world, but that does not mean he is the private author of those words. Under U.S. copyright law, official presidential speeches are usually considered part of the public record because they are part of the job. That means people can quote them, share them, and reuse them more freely than a normal copyrighted text. You could say that the speech belongs less to the president and more to the country.

5

Enjoy a simple breeze

Picture the president’s reaction on his first day of office when he is advised that he is prohibited from opening windows. The White House and presidential vehicles keep their windows sealed to prevent the president from being attacked.

Michelle Obama once shared that there was one small break from those strict rules . During a short drive to Camp David, her Secret Service agent allowed her to open the car windows for a few minutes. She later described it as a feeling of normal people's luxury.

6

Block followers from official pages

What about the president’s digital life? Technology advances quickly, and presidential security must keep up; presidents cannot simply use personal social media without being monitored. In 2018, a federal judge ruled that a president cannot block people from official social media spaces, because those accounts can be treated as public forums. So even online, presidents have some restrictions to follow.

7

Hit the road by themselves

While in office, presidents and vice presidents are not allowed to drive on open roads. What’s more, the Secret Service must control their transportation in real time . There are some exceptions, though: inside personal properties, and in places like Camp David, they can drive, walk, and even ride a bike.

8

Throw away their own papers

Presidents also cannot treat their office like a normal workspace. Under the Presidential Records Act, letters, notes, and emails may count as official records. That means presidents are discouraged from simply cleaning up or throwing mail away on their own. Instead, White House staff must sort everything carefully first, so no important piece of history ends up in the trash by accident.

9

Join normal family outings

Imagine the scene of the president casually arriving at his child’s school one morning. As we would assume, there are security restrictions that prevent presidents from attending a child or grandchild's concert or sporting event. These restrictions affect the entire First Family, but they also keep everyday situations from turning chaotic.

10

Scroll through a normal inbox

Even the president’s inbox has personal security. People can send a message to the president online, but it does not go straight to a personal email account; it actually goes through the official White House contact form first. Then staff members read it, sort it, and decide where it should go. Since presidential emails can become part of the public record, they must be saved and handled carefully.

1

Football

Although born across the Atlantic as a mix between rugby and soccer in 19th-century England , football as we know it today was largely developed at Yale University, which formed its own football program in 1872. The line of scrimmage, the snap, and the system of downs were all American additions.

2

Baseball

Though derived from English stick-and-ball sports like cricket, baseball is called "America’s pastime" for a reason. By the mid-19th century, rudimentary versions of the game were popular across the country, but they varied greatly. The first official version of the game was created in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright for the New York Knickerbockers Club .

3

Basketball

Its inventor was Canadian, but we can claim basketball as an American sport, on account of it being developed in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1891, P.E. teacher James Naismith, hailing from Almonte, Ontario, was looking for a way to keep his students active without exposing them to the harsh December weather. Equipped with a soccer ball and two peach baskets as rudimentary hoops, he developed a basic set of rules and created one of our most competitive sports.

4

Ice hockey

Stick-and-ball games have been played for centuries, and records show they existed in ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Persia. Many of these games were brought to America by settlers, where they came across Native American versions, such as lacrosse. But who decided to play on ice? The Canadians, who had long winters and plenty of icy surfaces to spare . In time, ice hockey became much more popular in North America than its field counterpart.

5

Golf

Originating in 15th-century Scotland and initially played by using bent sticks to hit pebbles into sand dunes, this game was so popular that it was banned between 1457 and 1502 because it distracted soldiers. Golf was one of the first games brought to America by Scottish immigrants , and there are 17th-century records about broken window complaints in New York City as a result of its popularity.

6

MMA

Martial arts have been practiced for centuries, often in a mixed format. The Ancient Greeks played pankration , a mix of wrestling, boxing, and street fighting. The MMA that we know today emerged in Denver in the 1990s with the Gracie brothers , of Brazilian origin and with a background in martial arts, who created a single-elimination tournament featuring players from several martial arts and combat disciplines. Though it initially caused a strong reaction due to the violence of the sport, it became accepted as the rules were defined, and has become a global sport.

7

Soccer

Though played for centuries by many cultures, modern soccer emerged in 1863, when the first rules of the English Football Association were written, separating it from rugby by forbidding the use of the hands to handle the ball. The word ‘soccer’ itself is British as well, a result of students shortening association to assoc/asoccer and then soccer . While the name never stuck in Britain, it did in America.

8

Tennis

Did you know that original tennis used the palm of the hand instead of a racket? Invented in France around the 12th century by monks, it was called jeu de paume , or "game of the palm". The racket was invented a few centuries down the line by the British. Why is it called tennis? When serving the ball, the monks would shout tenez! (‘take it!’). Handball is still played to this day, with over 2,000 devoted courts in New York City alone.

9

Track and field

With roots going back to Ancient Greece, the first records of track and field are the 776 BC Olympic Games, which included the pentathlon, a combination of a 200-meter race, discus and javelin throws, long jump, and wrestling. In America, track and field is one of the most-played high school sports.

10

Motorsports

Motorsports is a wide category that includes several different competitions, the most popular in the U.S. being NASCAR. The first motor vehicle competitions date back to late 19th-century France, where races were a way for inventors to test and promote their new "horseless carriages." The first motor race in America was held in 1895 in Illinois, and it sparked an interest in the sport, which led to the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few years later.