Things to do / Travel Guide
Washington, DC Fun Facts
- The average $1 bill (printed at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving) remains in circulation for a period of 22 months.
- Each day the Bureau of Printing and Engraving produces some 35 million individual notes valued at $635 million.
- The longest speech ever in the United States Congress went on for more than 24 hours straight, delivered by Senator Strom Thurmond in 1957.
- Washington DC ranks second to the entire state of California in the amount of federal employees living there.
Fun and Interesting Facts About Washington
- The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere is found in the Metro Station of the DC suburb of Wheaton and is a 500 foot-long ride, more than twice the length of an average city block.
- The corridors of the Pentagon are nearly 18 miles long. With 6.6 million square feet of space, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest buildings, larger than even the Empire State Building.
- The first name of Washington DC, Columbia, popularly depicted as a woman, is the same icon which is seen across the world introducing films produced by Columbia Pictures.
Baltimore, Maryland Fun Facts
- Baltimore is home to the first umbrella factory in America, established in 1828.
- The first railroad station in the U.S. was built in Baltimore in 1830. You can still visit Mount Clare Station. It was built by the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad Company.
- "The Star Spangled Banner," America's national anthem, was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 while overlooking the Baltimore Harbor while Fort McHenry was under attack.
- The first school on American soil was the King Williams School of Maryland, opened in 1696.
- Because of its proximity to the crab-filled Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore, Maryland is known affectionately as "Crab City."
- Edgar Allen Poe mysteriously passed away in Baltimore. You can visit his tombstone at Baltimore's Westminster Hall and Burial Ground—a bit bleak, but also a fun afternoon outing!
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