Alaska
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States
is in Alaska.
Amazon
The Amazon rain forest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into
the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of
the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned
by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is
the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Canada
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning "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, named so because it was the first
paved road anywhere.
Damascus,Syria
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
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located
on two continents.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la \Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula--and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
New York City
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin,
Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome,
Italy; and 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 manmade.
Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people
was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome
on every continent.
Siberia
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
S.M.O.M.
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is
located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two
tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20
less people 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 named Tidikelt,
which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in
the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has
been no rainfall there for two million years.
Spain
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'
Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%,
in Canada: 75%.
Texas
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas.
It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only
3 inches wide.
United States
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile
in every five must be straight. These straight sections
are usable as airstrips in times 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.
We should learn something new every day!
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