(Hey, it's an American institution! It has a Spider-Man actor in it! It's now the second-longest-running TV show ever! It used to have a weird-ass 45-minutes-a-day runtime, which amuses me! It's had a slew of spinoffs, including one that used that guy from Twin Peaks and Carnivale!)
NOTE: Some facts provided by Wikipedia's General Hospital page. One or two I knew off the top of my head. Fear me. (And I barely watched General Hospital back in the day.)