7 Most Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Chicago

Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 and is now the third most populous city in the United States. It’s known for being a busy hub with something always going on. A true city that never sleeps! What a fun city to be in. Chicago is filled with a rich history of many famous inventers, notable celebrities, and prestigious Universities. What you might not know, however, are some of the other crazy fun facts about this city. There are tons of them! Everyone knows that the deep dish pizza was invented here, but did you also know Chicago is home to the first successful open heart surgery? We didn’t think so! Read through the 7 most interesting facts you didn’t know about Chicago to see what this city is really all about. Then, share with your friends and see who knew the most facts in the list.

First Open Heart Surgery was Performed in Chicago

Over 120 years ago, in 1893 to be exact, Chicago surgeon Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery. A man entered Provident Hospital with a stab wound dangerously close to his heart. Dr. Williams operated on the man, repairing the heart’s lining surgically and the patient recovered fully within two months. This not only was a great strive medically, but was also a large step in the fight for equality as Dr. Williams was one of the nation’s few African American cardiologists at the time. How crazy is it that Chicago is home to something so medically and historically life changing?

Chicago is Home to late American Film Director John Hughes

John Hughes is an iconic film director that spent the majority of his life growing up in a suburb of Chicago and even attended Glenbrook North High School. Many of the films Hughes later went on to direct were shot in and around the Windy City, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and Sixteen Candles (1984). In Home Alone (1990) the church, Trinity United Methodist and the pharmacy are still available to see in Chicago today. The Breakfast Club (1985) was all filmed in Maine North High School, which is now a government building. If you’re in these areas, stop by and see the landmark places where filming took place.

Chicago Rriver is the Only River in the World that Flows Backwards

The reversal of the Chicago River was a pioneering, massive public works effort that saved the Chicago region from waterborne diseases caused by sewage contamination of its drinking water supply - Lake Michigan. The City's sewers discharged human and industrial wastes directly to its rivers, which in turn flowed into the lake. In 1889, the State of Illinois enacted a law enabling creation of the Sanitary District of Chicago for safeguarding Chicago's water supply. It would do so by constructing canals to make the Chicago River flow backwards, away from the lake. Isn’t this crazy? Many would have looked at the river and never known a difference.