Did
You Know???
Alaska:
More than 1/2 the coastline of the entire
United States is in Alaska.
Amazon: The Amazon rain forest
produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into
the Atlantic Ocean that more than 100 miles at
sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the Ocean. The
volume of the Amazon River is greater than the next 8 largest rivers in the
world combined and 3 times the flow of all the rivers in the United States.
Antarctica: is the only land
on our planet that is not owned by any country. 90% of the world's ice covers Antarctica. The ice also represents 70% of all the fresh
water in the world. As strange as it
sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert! The average yearly precipitation is about 2
inches, although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice). Antarctica is the driest place on the planet
with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi Desert.
Brazil:
gets its name from the nut....not the other
way around.
Canada: has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an
Indian name for “Big Village”.
Chicago: Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Detroit: Woodward Avenue
in Detroit, Michigan carries the designation M-1; it was so named because it
was the first paved road anywhere.
Damascus, Syria: was flourishing a
couple of thousand years before Rome
was founded in 753 BC, making it the
oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul, Turkey: is the only city
in the world located on 2 continents (Europe and Asia).
Los Angeles: The full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Sanora la Reina de Los
Angeles de Porciuncula...and can be abbreviated to 3.63 % of its size: L.A.
New York City: The term “Big Apple” was coined by touring jazz musicians in the
1930's who used the slang expression “apple” for any town or city. Therefore, to play New
York City is to play the “big time”...and thus The Big
Apple! There are more Irish in New York City than there are in Dublin, Ireland.
There are more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy. There are more
Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ohio:
There are no natural lakes in the state of
Ohio; every one is man made.
Pitcairn
Island: The
smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia at just 1.75
square miles/4.53 square meters.
Rome: The first city to
reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 BC. There is a
city or town called Rome on every continent.
Siberia:
(north of Russia) contains more than 25%
of the world's forests.
S.M.O.M. The actual
smallest sovereign entity is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It is
located in the city of Rome, Italy...has an area of 2 tennis courts and has a population of 80 ...20 less than the Vatican. It is
a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.
Sahara Desert: In the Sahara Desert,
there is a town called Tidikelt,
Algeria, which did not receive a drop of rain for 10
years. Technically, the driest place on
Earth is in the valleys of Antarctica near Ross Island. There has been no rainfall there for 2
million years!
Spain: literally means, “the land of rabbits”.
St. Paul, Minnesota: This city was originally
called, “Pig's Eye” after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the
first business there.
Roads:
showing a picture of narrow winding dirt road with sign,
“Rough Road next 165 km.
Maximum
speed 70 km/h.”
Chances that a road is unpaved: in United States = 1%
in Canada = .75%
Russia: The deepest hole
ever drilled by man is the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia. It reached a depth of 12,261 meters (about
40,226 feet or 7.62 miles). It was drilled for scientific research and gave up
some unexpected discoveries...one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen ~ so massive that the mud coming from
the hole was boiling with it.
United
States: The
Eisenhower Interstate system requires that 1 mile in every 5 miles must be
straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in time of war or
other emergencies.
Waterfalls: The water of
Angel Falls (the world's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979
meters). They are 15 times higher than
Niagara Falls. Angel Falls is best seen
by charter plane from a city along the Orinoco River. For those seeking adventure, an 8-day/7-night
hiking trek through jungles, grasslands and hidden canyons is available.
Closing
Statement ... by Author of this Article:
I
have always said, “You should learn something new every day.
Unfortunately,
many of us are at that age...
Where
what we learn today ... we forget
tomorrow.
But,
give it a shot, anyway!
( Grateful
thanks to an ardent reader for sending
these Extraordinary Facts to me)
“Pearls of Wisdom”
Go
to foreign countries and you will get to know
the
good things one possesses at home.
(Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe)
It
might be a good idea if various countries of the world
would
occasionally swap history books…just to see
what
other people are doing with the same set of facts.
(Bill
Vaugh, journalist 1915-1977)
Even
as individuals become families and families become communities ~
and
communities become nations, so
eventually nations draw together in peace.
(Marjorie
Watts)
Merle Baird-Kerr . . . written February 10,
2012
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or e-mail ... inezkate@gmail.com
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