The current United States flag was designed by a high school student

Robert Heft, born in Saginaw, Michigan, was the designer of the 50-star flag.
He designed the current U.S. flag in 1958 when he was 17 years-old for a class project. He unstitched the blue field from a family 48-star flag, sewed in a new field, and used iron-on white fabric to add 100 hand-cut stars, 50 on each side of the blue canton.

He originally received a B- for the project. After discussing the grade with his high school teacher, Stanley Pratt, it was agreed that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959. According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an A for the project. Go to LINK to see the video.

Niagara Falls | MadMoodTV

Niagara Falls and the gorgeous scenery is very beautiful in the Canadian-US border. LINK: Youtube

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Formerly a military training ground, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is now part of the famed Walker Art Center and the largest urban sculpture garden in the U.S. In this video, tour guide Gary White focuses on seven pieces of the 40 permanent installations, filling in background details and some of the park's history along the way. LINK: Youtube

Time Lapse of Guy Walking Across America

[YouTube - Link]

From New York across Indiana, Illinois, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Nevada to California, a film crew with a Canon 5D followed a guy on a long walk across the U.S. Thanks to some amazing stop motion photography, you can see the journey that took just a couple of weeks in under two minutes.
- Via: frequency, Via: Neatorama

Gorillaz - Stylo - Official Music Video (HQ)

Official Music Video For Song "Stylo" By The English Hip Hop / Rock Band Gorillaz, Taken From The Album Plastic Beach Upcoming On March 8 In UK, March 9 In USA 2010, Check It Out. Which is out now. LINK: Youtube

Luxury Mattress Costs $33,000

There’s a growing market in luxury mattresses. The most expensive made in the United States is the Palais Royale by E.S. Kluft & Co., which costs $33,000. It contains 10 pounds of cashmere and its coils are tied together by hand with Italian twine. The price only goes up for higher-end, imported European models:

At $69,500—roughly the price of a Porsche Cayenne S hybrid SUV—there’s the Vividus king-size mattress set from Hästens Sängar AB, of Sweden. Hästens says it takes 160 hours to assemble this mattress entirely by hand, which has a Swedish-pine frame with thick layers of horsehair, cotton, flax and wool inside. The company says since introducing the mattress in 2006, it has sold 250 of them world-wide.

There’s an arms race under way in the world of luxury mattresses that jittery economists and sluggish home sales seem unable to stop. Even at the middle-to-upper-middle tiers, mattress prices are creeping up as companies cater to mainstream demand for luxurious sleep.

Voon. At the link, you can view a cross section of the Palais Royale.

Link, Via: Marginal Revolution | Photo (unrelated) Via: Flickr user aralbalkan used under Creative Commons license, Via: Neatorama

TOP 10 LARGEST HOMES IN THE UNITED STATES

“These are the ten largest homes in the United States by square footage that were built before 1950. All ten of these mansion homes are big tourist attractions today that collectively receive over 5 million visitors annually. Ironically the only largest home on the list that is not currently open to the public is the only home owned by the public.” LINK

Tallest Lighthouses in the United States

Check out the ten tallest lighthouses in the United States. These are all beautiful structures to see and most are open to the public and allow visitors to climb to the top for amazing views.

Today all these lighthouses are automated but in the old days the lighthouse keepers had to climb the stairs to the top at least twice a day. That’s well over 200 steps and if you have ever climbed one of these tallest lighthouses it’s a workout especially on the legs.

Three of the lighthouses are in North Carolina while New Jersey, Virginia and Florida each have two and the last one is in New York.

Link, Via: Neatorama

2-year-old girl is a whiz at geography

Harika Petchetti, 2, is not only already reading, but she's a budding geography whiz.

Her love for geography started when her seven year old brother was studying for a geography bee and she learned alongside him.

Upstairs in her home, Harika's parents have put up a map of the US and a map of the world.

She knows all of the states as well as all of the countries of the world and their capitals.

With news video at this LINK.

Buy, Buy American Pie

Uncle Sam points out the problems we have when we buy cheap products from China. "Buy, Buy American Pie" was written and performed by the Capitol Steps.

This is a parody and involves exaggeration. Some of these products are made in the United States.LINK, Via: Youtube

DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2008 (Viva La Pop) - Mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits

A Mashup of the Top 25 Hits of 2008, according to Billboard. LINK: Youtube

Tracklist:

Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain - Low
Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
Alicia Keys - No One
Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major - Lollipop
Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic - Apologize
Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown - No Air
Sara Bareilles - Love Song
Usher Featuring Young Jeezy - Love in This Club
Chris Brown - With You
Chris Brown - Forever
Ray J & Yung Berg - Sexy Can I
Rihanna - Take a Bow
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
T.I. - Whatever You Like
Rihanna - Disturbia
Rihanna - Don't Stop the Music
Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine
Chris Brown Featuring T-Pain - Kiss Kiss
Ne-Yo - Closer
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes
Pink - So What

Kangaroos On the Loose in America

Read about four different sightings of wild kangaroos in the United States. Not surprisingly, some people believe that the mystery animals of North America are paranormal manifestations of some kind. But that might be jumping to conclusions.

Various theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the bizarre phenomenon, but to date no satisfactory answers have been found. Some commentators suggest that kangaroos in the United States are the shy descendants of animals that, on some unknown occasion in the past, escaped from a circus or zoo. One rational explanation is that they are native marsupials not yet officially discovered or classified; however, the only evolutionary ancestors come from South, not North, America.

Link, Via: Neatorama

From the Upcoming Queue, submitted by MrGhaz.

Raw Video: Bongs Disguised As Xmas Ornaments

U.S.Customs officials say they got a surprise when they found 316,000 glass bongs disguised as Christmas decorations at the Los Angeles harbor. The drug pipes were shipped from China and are estimated to be worth is more than $2.6 million. (Nov. 19) LINK: Youtube

U.S. coin collection

"U.S. coin collection p.1 Penny's" LINK: Youtube

"U.S. coin collection p.2 Nickles" LINK: Youtube


"U.S. coin collection p.3 Dimes" LINK: Youtube


Here are the links for the remaining 3 videos that go with this set.
U.S. coin collection p.4 Quarters
U.S. coin collection p.5 Half Dollars
U.S. coin collection p.6 Dollars

Ron Arad’s Bookcase Shaped Like the United States of America

The meaning behind the name of Ron Arad’s USA-shaped bookcase (Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends - whaaaa?), but it’s easy to see how cool it would be hanging on the wall!

It’s currently being exhibited at the Timothy Taylor Gallery: Link - Via: otto, Via: Neatorama

Snowmobile Water Skipping...

It's almost spring in the USA the lakes are melting... LINK

The 10 Weirdest U.S. Museums

If you're in the US and didn't know there are so many odd museums all over the country, it's time for a road trip. For those outside, here's an even better reason to visit the country and see what are the downright weird attractions.

The 10 Weirdest U.S. Museums. Via: Presurfer

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of something bigger, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln but a nation where all men were free and equal was destined to be. At the turn of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt saw that in our nation was the possibility for greatness. Our nation was changing from a rural republic to a world power. The ideals of these presidents laid a foundation for our nation as solid as the rock from which their figures are carved. Each man possessed great skills and leadership of the brand our nation needed for the times.
I have been to Rapid City, South Dakota but never made it to Mount Rushmore.Which we also call the Black Hills. They also have an airforce base ther where I watched the Thunderbirds do there air show. LINK