Flag:
13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory.
note: The design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
Capital: Washington DC (DC=District of Columbia)
Langauges:
English 82.1% (official), Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census). Note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Currency: US Dollar ($)
Did You Know?
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The United States is the world’s third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent.
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The American flag is also known as the ‘Stars and Stripes’ or the ‘Star-spangled Banner’. New York is known as the ‘Big Apple’. The origin of the name is debatable. In the 1970′s this toponame (place name) was used during a promotional campaign for New York.
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The USA is so large that it has three time zones from the East Coast to the West coast.
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The Statue of Liberty wa givin to the people of the USA by the people of France. Part of the inscription engraved on it are the words (by Emma Lazarus). ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…’
