 Experts say they were fired at British soldiers in 1775 during the event known as the Shot Heard Round the World. They'll now be on display at a local museum. One of the benefits of our whole federal system, at least in theory, is that it provides some insulation from bad government. If your state is being run to the ground by incompetent politicians, then you can just move to another state. And if a local politician is doing a terrible job, then at least he's not wrecking the rest of the country, too.