Some People Don't Know These 8 Things Came From Washington DC

There are a few theories about the origin of the seventh inning stretch but this one is our favorite! The story is that in 1910, President William Howard Taft was watching the opening game of the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium. During the seventh inning he stood up because he was feeling cramped in his seat. The crowd thought he was leaving so they all rose out of respect. And that’s how the seventh inning stretch was born!

Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph message in 1844 from Washington DC to Baltimore. The first message was a quote from the Bible.

The Rickey is one of the "official" cocktails of DC because it was born here! In the late 1880s, Joe Rickey, a lobbyist, was drinking in a DC bar called Shoo’s. The story is he taught bartender George Williamson how to make it and the Rickey would go down in history.

Another delicious food concoction made in DC is the half-smoke. This delicious sausage delicacy was originally made and sold by DC’s Briggs and Co. meatpackers in 1950.

Dr. Charles Drew, a native Washingtonian, is credited with creating blood banks during World War II. It is said that Dr. Drew’s efforts helped medics save thousands of lives for the Allied forces.

Go-go music is a regional music style blending funk, rhythm and blues and hop hop. It started in DC in the late 60s and early 70s. Many people tribute go-go to Chuck Brown, who was known as "The Godfather of Go-Go" but there were many bands and musicians in the DC clubs who started playing the style at that time.

Yes, those handy office supplies were in fact created in DC! Washingtonian Louis Baltzey invented the binder clip in 1910.

Inventor Benjamin Banneker created America’s first clock in the 1700s after studying the components of a pocket watch. Banneker would contribute to the country in many other ways including being one of the architects who helped to plan DC.