[The list: 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100]
26. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
If those oversized balloons don’t fill you with nostalgic joy, you might want to check your pulse.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP—Getty Images
27. The Amish
No TVs. No Apple products. No electricity. And yet they thrive. Fascinating.
28. Billy Joel
Long Island’s piano man.
29. Harlem Shake
How do they do that?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJiSSAMNWw&w=545&h=307]
30. Muhammad Ali
He floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.
31. The Price is Right
A show so great, not even Drew Carey can mess it up.
Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images
32. Mall of America
America’s real national cathedral.
33. The Wizard of Oz
Brilliant as musical, as camp, as metaphor for the Gold Standard.
Courtesy of Corbis
34. Fallingwater House
Timemagazine couldn’t have described it more succinctly in 1938, calling it “Wright’s most beautiful job.”
35. Chicken and waffles
Is it breakfast? Is it dinner? Who cares. It’s one of the finest gifts the South has given us.
Courtesy of Corbis
36. OK Cupid/Online dating
Helping you find “true love” at the click of a mouse.
37. The Federal Reserve
Keeper of our currency, and trusty steward through the latest economic malaise.
Jay Mallin/Bloomberg—Getty Images
38. Stan Lee/Marvel
Never have more freaks and geeks — and billions of dollars — come from the mind of one man.
39. Buffalo wings
Add beer and sports, and you have the American Holy Trinity.
Courtesy of Corbis
40. Cotton Candy
Sugar, air, and coloring come together to give you your childhood back.
41. Selfies
Taking self-absorption to a whole new level.
42. Long Island Iced Tea
What’s more American than every single kind of liquor thrown together?
43. The Coen Brothers
Name a bad Coen brothers’ movie. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
Courtesy: Jean-Christian Bourcart
44. Post-its
Making you look busy at work since 1968.
45. Little League
No agents, no egos, no steroids – the pastime at its purest.
46. The Jersey Shore boardwalk
Snooki and Chris Christie can agree, this iconic summer destination will surely bounce back after Hurricane Sandy.
Courtesy of Corbis
47. Beer pong
At Dartmouth, they play it with paddles. In the Northeast, some call it Beirut. But regardless, we all know how this thing works.
48. Doritos Locos tacos
A veritable job creator. Number of American jobs generated by the tacos in the past year: 15,000.
49. Southern hospitality
“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” — Blanche DuBois
50. The New York Times Crossword
Can anyone actually finish these?
Courtesy of Corbis