The Latin phrase 'E pluribus unum' (one from many), adopted by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as the motto for the Second Continental Congress, was later chosen to grace the Great Seal of the newly formed United States.
The motto's source? A poem (entitled "Moretum") attributed to Virgil which had been featured on the cover of Gentleman's Magazine. The poem's subject? A recipe for salad!
[Where were the Library of Congress's original copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence kept during WWII? Fort Knox, Kentucky.]
Sources
M. Driscoll, ed., 5087 Trivia Questions & Answers
