Composed of largely skeletal muscle and attached to nearby bones to prevent us from swallowing it, anatomically the tongue is considered a "muscular hydrostat," because it lacks any direct bone support and is anchored at only one end.

Other muscular hydrostats in nature that share these qualities with the human tongue include an elephant's trunk, the whole bodies of worms, and the "feet" of mollusks (i.e., the arms or tentacles, like on an octopus).

In the history of the United States, only two men have been elevated to the rank of six-star general: George Washington (awarded posthumously), and John Pershing, awarded in 1919 for commanding the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. Douglas MacArthur was offered a promotion to the rank but declined for a variety of reasons.

The rank is so seldom given that the U.S. Army has yet to authorize an insignia for it. Although not found in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines, the U.S. Navy's equivalent is Admiral of the Navy, awarded to just one man, George Dewey, in 1899.