Insane things you never knew about the Mall of America - Besides the principles of liberty and diplomacy, it has also been said that the United States was born out of consumerism. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday being ingrained in our culture and online shopping becoming a way of life, it comes as little surprise that Americans like to shop. Perhaps this is why America's largest mall in Bloomington, MN, brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Check out the following gallery to see some of the most shocking facts about the Mall of America.

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Population-wise, it could be a country - With over 40 million annual visitors, the mall's tourism makes up more than the entire population of Canada.

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It's a Nickelodeon lover's dream - The mall is home to the world's largest Nickelodeon-based theme park, Nickelodeon Universe.

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All the rides imaginable - The park has 24 amusement park rides, including a roller-coaster that spans the mall's atrium.

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It's truly gigantic - With 4.87 million sq ft, the Mall of America is the largest mall in the country.

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How big is that exactly? - You could fit seven Yankee Stadiums inside the mall. 

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That's not all - You could also comfortably store 32 Boeing 747s or 258 Statues of Liberty inside the mall.

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It has an impressive aquarium - The Mall of America's marine exhibit holds roughly 1.2 million gallons of water. 
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Under the sea (sort of) - Feeding all the marine creatures at the Mall of America's aquarium requires a staggering 100 lbs of food per day. 
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It's actually pretty eco-friendly - According to its site, the Mall of America recycles over 32,000 tons of trash every year—that's 60% of its total waste! They also use water efficient toilets, which save roughly 1.4 million gallons of water every year.

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Turning fat into fuel - The mall transforms leftover fat from their food court fryers into 4,000 lbs of biodiesel every month.

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It's a land of lost toys - Over 170,000 Lego pieces have been lost in the Lego play area, according to Minnesota Fun Facts. 
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Hitting the books while you shop - The famous shopping center actually used to have a high school inside of it, according to Star Tribune. 
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It was insanely expensive to build - The Mall of America cost roughly $650 million to construct in 1992, according to Minnesota Fun Facts.

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Cartoon champion - The Mall of America holds the world record for amassing the most Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at one time (836), according to CBS Minnesota. Everyone got a free mask and a T-shirt.

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Thousands of workers - The mall employs over 11,000 employees year-round, and up to 13,000 during the holiday seasons.

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A sporty past - Before the Mall of America was built, the land was home to the Metropolitan Stadium, where the Twins and Vikings used to play.

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Time is money - If you spent a mere five minutes in every store, it would take you approximately 43 hours to get through the entire mall.

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Raking in the cash - The Mall of America brings in about $2 billion to the state of Minnesota every year, according to their site.

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A solar energy superdome - Despite Minnesota's bitterly cold winters, the mall has no central heating system. The mall stays 70ºF year-round thanks to the 1.2 mi of skylights, in addition to light fixtures and the body heat of shoppers, believe it or not.

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Fabulous flora and fauna - Instead of buying artificial air purifiers, the MOA instead had 30,000 plants and over 300 trees planted in the mall. Fun fact: 65 semi-trucks were used to transport all these trees.

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Speaking of greenery... - Instead of spraying thousands of plants with pesticides, over 72,000 ladybugs were released in the mall to protect the flowers and trees from invasive insects. 
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It was home to a major stunt - In 2013, Serge Vorobyov was arrested for disorderly conduct when he threw $1,000 off the fourth-floor balcony at the Mall of America on Black Friday.

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Ready to shop? - There are over 520 stores in the mall.

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Cue the wedding bells - The Mall of America's Chapel of Love has held over 7,000 weddings since its opening.

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Building materials abound - Building the Mall of America required roughly 13,300 tons of steel. To put that in perspective, that's almost twice as much as the amount of steel used to build the Eiffel Tower.

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Endless festivities - The mall hosts over 350 events every year.

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You barely have to step foot outside - If you're visiting in winter, there's no need to run from the snow. There is actually a light rail that runs straight from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport to the Mall of America.

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Tourism hub - With over 40 million annual visitors, the Mall of America is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.

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It has a magnificent mirror maze - The Mall of America boasts one of the world's largest mirror mazes, at 2500 sq ft. 
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