{"id":2092,"date":"2010-07-05T13:01:57","date_gmt":"2010-07-05T20:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=2092"},"modified":"2010-07-05T13:02:25","modified_gmt":"2010-07-05T20:02:25","slug":"100-great-things-about-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/05\/100-great-things-about-america\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Great Things About America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Fortune BLOG<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s time for a breather, America. Fire up the grill, ice down the drinks, and pop open that patio umbrella. Health care, the oil spill, Afghanistan, China, Elena Kagan and financial reform will all be waiting on Tuesday, July 6th. We promise. What won’t be, though, is the chance to lean back and remember why we care enough about our country to spar over these things and in the end, remain united.<\/p>\n

“Freedom,” Albert Camus pointed out, “is nothing else but a chance to be better.” For 234 years, America has strived, fought, invented, pushed, pulled and dragged itself towards the better. Fortune<\/em> was keen to enumerate our progress.<\/p>\n

There’s no claim to ranking or exclusivity here, so leave the nitpicking aside for another day, though feel free to add to our list in the comments section. Without further ado, and in almost no particular order, we present the Fortune<\/em> 100 Great Things About America.<\/p>\n

1. The Internet<\/p>\n

Oh yes, invented in the USA — maybe Al Gore helped.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights<\/p>\n

3. Baseball<\/p>\n

America’s pastime\u2026steroids or not<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

4. Mount Rushmore<\/p>\n

Home of the original “your face here” gimmick<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\"\"<\/p>\n

5. Food in New Orleans<\/p>\n

If you can remember it the next morning<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

6. Rock and roll<\/p>\n

Find a Beatles or Stones song uninfluenced by American music. Just try.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

7. Hawaii<\/p>\n

Mauna Kea, Kaua’i\u2026you gotta see it to believe it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

8. iPod, iPad, and everything Apple<\/p>\n

9. Barbecue<\/p>\n

Carolina, Mississippi, K.C., Memphis\u2026it’s all good.<\/em><\/p>\n

10. Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

Who needs a German car? We’ll take the classic.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

11. Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

This article that mentions a popular fact site is a stub. You can help us by expanding it.<\/em><\/p>\n

12. Buffalo<\/p>\n

Because this is a real sentence: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. Don’t believe us? Check on #11.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

13. Slam dunks<\/p>\n

Thanks to Doctor J<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

14. Broadway<\/p>\n

If the Lion King ever closes, Cats will come back.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

15. Bluebirds<\/p>\n

Listen to mine sing<\/em><\/p>\n

16. Google<\/p>\n

Because no one stands up to China better<\/em><\/p>\n

17. Mark Twain<\/p>\n

The original American bad-ass<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

18. The national anthem<\/p>\n

19. Iced drinks<\/p>\n

When will the rest of the world figure this out?<\/em><\/p>\n

20. Beaches<\/p>\n

Cape Cod, Kiawah, Zuma — ours are better.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

21. Madison Square Garden<\/p>\n

A little threadbare but still the biggest stage in America’s biggest city<\/em><\/p>\n

22. Delivery pizza<\/p>\n

23. The Grateful Dead<\/p>\n

Long may the followers of Uncle John’s Band live on.<\/em><\/p>\n

24. YouTube<\/p>\n

We keep clicking on home videos even after Charlie bit our finger — again!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

25. The Super Bowl<\/p>\n

The parties, the ads — oh and a sports game, too<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

26. Fishing<\/p>\n

China rules the commercial catch, but more people fish for fun here than anywhere else.<\/em><\/p>\n

27. Monopoly<\/p>\n

A game we sometimes play in real life, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

28. The Big Apple Circus<\/p>\n

Where joy and, occasionally, fear comes in clown twelve-packs by tiny car<\/em><\/p>\n

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29. M&M’s<\/p>\n

Imitators don’t stand a chance<\/em><\/p>\n

30. Facebook<\/p>\n

Friend us? Just kidding\u2026 but seriously. Please friend us.<\/em><\/p>\n

31. Thanksgiving<\/p>\n

Loosen your belt and watch the parade<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

32. Pickup trucks<\/p>\n

Our nation’s first outlet for unfunny bumper stickers<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

33. The Simpsons<\/p>\n

May Bart and Lisa never make it to high school.<\/em><\/p>\n

34. Oprah Winfrey<\/p>\n

But after 2011, no more free cars for the audience<\/em><\/p>\n

35. Frisbees<\/p>\n

Not just for dogs<\/em><\/p>\n

36. Mad Men<\/p>\n

Jon Hamm + Christina Hendricks = cooler than the actual ’60s<\/em><\/p>\n

37. New York\/Boston sports rivalry<\/p>\n

For our safety, we decline to comment.<\/em><\/p>\n

38. MRI machine<\/p>\n

Perfect for after that Yanks-Sox game<\/em><\/p>\n

39. Patagonia<\/p>\n

The first to make polyester clothes out of old plastic bottles<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

40. Archie Comics<\/p>\n

Betty or Veronica: 68 years and the debate rages on<\/em><\/p>\n

41. The Golden Gate Bridge<\/p>\n

Dirty Harry meets Full House. Uh oh.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

42. Jazz<\/p>\n

Even before Ken Burns discovered it<\/em><\/p>\n

43. Fantasy football<\/p>\n

44. S’mores<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

45. Trader Joe’s<\/p>\n

If cheap wine were apples, we present the modern Johnny Appleseed. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

46. The 4th<\/sup> of July<\/p>\n

47. Harley Davidson<\/p>\n

The motorcycle company that has survived both the Great Depression and the Hybrid Obsession<\/em><\/p>\n

48. March Madness<\/p>\n

So crazy it spills into April<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

49. Scrabble<\/p>\n

As Facebook proved, it’s Scrabulous<\/em><\/p>\n

50. Kegs<\/p>\n

Even useful when empty, as moorings<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

51. Slip ‘N Slide<\/p>\n

Simple. Genius.<\/em><\/p>\n

52. Ice cream<\/p>\n

Ben and Jerry’s, Breyers, soft serve\u2026 ours freezes the competition<\/em><\/p>\n

53. Yellowstone National Park<\/p>\n

54. Oreos<\/p>\n

This choice bribed by the secret dairy farmers’ cartel<\/em><\/p>\n

55. Edward R. Murrow<\/p>\n

A journalist who was cool? Sigh.<\/em><\/p>\n

56. Restaurant week<\/p>\n

The one week a year when snooty waiters have to play nice<\/em><\/p>\n

57. Washington D.C. monuments at night<\/p>\n

Lincoln looks good<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

58. Bugs Bunny<\/p>\n

Every parent’s dream: he’s nice to doctors and he eats his veggies<\/em><\/p>\n

59. Etch A Sketch<\/p>\n

Don’t shake away our faith in this one<\/em><\/p>\n

60. Coca-cola<\/p>\n

Hmmm\u2026 what does the “coca” stand for again?<\/em><\/p>\n

61. Flip flops<\/p>\n

Not the John Kerry kind, though both can be found on Nantucke<\/em>t<\/p>\n

62. Vegas weddings<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

63. Napa wine<\/p>\n

If anyone orders Merlot, we’re leaving<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

64. Willie Nelson<\/p>\n

Trigger<\/em><\/p>\n

65. eBay<\/p>\n

The only place where you can buy a single cornflake<\/em><\/p>\n

66. Blueberries<\/p>\n

Our favorite fruit that can’t check email<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

67. The Rockettes<\/p>\n

E-leg-trifying!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

68. Charles Barkley<\/p>\n

Hosting Saturday Night Live and pitching for T-Mobile, Sir Charles is now larger than life<\/em><\/p>\n

69. Blue jeans<\/p>\n

Levi Strauss invented the modern version only to see them become boringly ubiquitous<\/em><\/p>\n

70. County fairs<\/p>\n

We recommend you eat your corndog after swinging that sledgehammer at the High Striker game<\/em><\/p>\n

71. The Oscars<\/p>\n

A celebration of everything good and awful about Hollywood<\/em><\/p>\n

72. Veterans<\/p>\n

Thank you<\/em><\/p>\n

73. Steakhouses<\/p>\n

Thankfully, not rare<\/em><\/p>\n

74. The Tiffany box<\/p>\n

The only package more powerful than its contents<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

75. Sports mascots<\/p>\n

The San Diego Chicken vs. the Phillie Phanatic<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

76. The Great Lakes<\/p>\n

77. Salt water taffy<\/p>\n

Delicious even though they contain neither salt nor water<\/em><\/p>\n

78. Roller coasters<\/p>\n

Possibly the only 30-second activity worth a three-hour wait<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

79. HBO<\/p>\n

Even if we’re unsold on the vampire craze<\/em><\/p>\n

80. The Everglades<\/p>\n

Where else would you go to get drunk and wrestle an alligator?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

81. Bonnie and Clyde<\/p>\n

Do you and your honey bunny rob banks? No? Then sit down.<\/em><\/p>\n

82. Chewing gum<\/p>\n

But please, remember that it’s a silent activity<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

83. The light bulb<\/p>\n

And we just keep inventing better ones!<\/em><\/p>\n

84. Religious freedom<\/p>\n

From Pilgrims to scientologists<\/em><\/p>\n

85. Bagels<\/p>\n

If you’ve never tried one, come to New York and make your first one an H&H<\/em><\/p>\n

86. Judd Apatow films<\/p>\n

87. The Billboard 100<\/p>\n

Measuring our music since 1958<\/em><\/p>\n

88. Chipotle<\/p>\n

And the guacamole really is worth the extra $2.25<\/em><\/p>\n

89. Dalmatians on fire trucks<\/p>\n

Black and white and red all over<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

90. Disney movies<\/p>\n

Not yours, Nicholas Cage. The old school, animated ones<\/em><\/p>\n

91. New Year’s Eve<\/p>\n

Every country has one, but they all watch Times Square<\/em><\/p>\n

92. Elvis Presley<\/p>\n

A hound-dog and the King<\/em><\/p>\n

93. Cowboys<\/p>\n

94. Turducken<\/p>\n

A true American delicacy: a chicken in a duck in a turkey<\/em><\/p>\n

95. Netflix<\/p>\n

The only movie rental survivor<\/em><\/p>\n

96. Spring Break<\/p>\n

We plead the Fifth<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

97. Escalators<\/p>\n

First used commercially in Yonkers, NY in 1899\u2014who knew?<\/em><\/p>\n

98. Stand-up comedy<\/p>\n

Unless you are singled out<\/em><\/p>\n

99. Redwood trees<\/p>\n

The oldest is 2,200 years old<\/em><\/p>\n

100. Bendy straws<\/p>\n

Invented by a Cleveland entrepreneur\u2014and perhaps Ohio’s most significant contribution, though we tip our hats to the Wright Brothers and its 8 U.S. Presidents<\/em><\/p>\n

101. Charlie Brown<\/p>\n

Sorry, Charlie, maybe next time you’ll crack the top 100<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Happy Birthday America!<\/p>\n

Bonus: The Declaration of Independence<\/strong><\/p>\n

(July 4, 1776)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a quick reminder about why we are celebrating today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Click image twice to enlarge.)<\/p>\n

Since the image is somewhat difficult to read, here is the most famous (and my favorite) section of our Declaration of Independence:<\/p>\n

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full text here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Happy birthday America. Thank you for my freedom and liberty. May we celebrate your peerless greatness as a nation for many, many, many more happy birthdays in the future. (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Fortune BLOG It’s time for a breather, America. Fire up the grill, ice down the drinks, and pop open that patio umbrella. Health care, the oil spill, Afghanistan, China, Elena Kagan and financial reform will all be waiting on Tuesday, July 6th. We promise. What won’t be, though, is the chance to lean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2092"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2095,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions\/2095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}