Essentials: San Francisco

1) Fog is omnipresent here. San Francisco’s residents have even dedicated an Instagram page to the weather phenomenon, which is named after "Karl the Giant" from the movie "Big Fish". Under the handle @karlthefog (300,000 followers!), they post wonderfully foggy photos. 

2) The world is colorful! In 1978, US artist Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flag for Gay Freedom Day in San Francisco. Today, it is a global symbol of tolerance. 

3) Golden Gate Park is bigger than Central Park in New York. There is enough room for a golf course, baseball diamonds, and sprawling meadows – as well as the 1888 Koret Playground (formerly "Sharon Quarters"), believed to be the first in the USA. 

4) The hippie anthem "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" was written by John Phillips in just 20 minutes in 1967 as an advertisement for a music festival. His buddy Scott McKenzie had his only hit with the song. 

5) Not the Chinese, but the Japanese immigrant Makoto Hagiwara is credited with inventing the fortune cookie. In his San Francisco teahouse, he sold cookies filled with sayings from the beginning of the 20th century. Later, Chinese immigrants took over the fortune cookie business.