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The Louisiana Purchase doubled the United States

In 1803 the United States bought 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million, roughly 4 cents an acre.

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The land lay west of the Mississippi River, and the purchase doubled the size of the country. The treaty was signed on April 30, 1803.

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The Homestead Act offered 160 acres of land

The Homestead Act of 1862 granted adult heads of families 160 acres of public land for a small fee and five years of residence.

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The first satellite was the size of a beach ball

Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was about the size of a beach ball and weighed 183.9 pounds.

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The Liberty Bell is mostly copper

The Liberty Bell is bronze, about 70 percent copper and 25 percent tin, and weighed 2,080 pounds when it was ordered.

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