More Random Yet Interesting Travel Facts

The first interesting Travel Facts article was just not enough, I still have over a hundred more! And given the success of my #TravelFacts hashtag on Twitter I figured that I might as well publish a fresh update here 😉

More Strange & Interesting Travel Facts  

• Adelaide, Australia has two claims to fame: many churches, and it is the capital of only Australian state never to have received convicts. However now it is now also known as the City of Corpses thanks to its many serial killers. Go figure.
• Tasmania is one of the world’s major suppliers of legal opiate products. The government maintains strict controls over farming areas output of opium.
• Europe is home to both world’s smallest country, Vatican City State, and the largest, Russia (by both population and area).
• Australia has more than 28 times the land area of New Zealand, but its coastline is not even twice as long.
• The women of Iceland earn two-thirds of their nation’s university degrees.
• Istanbul is the only metropolis in the world bridging two continents. If you are considering breakfast in Asia and lunch in Europe, Istanbul is the place for you! Throughout history, the city has been the capital of many empires. Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “If the earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.” Istanbul was also Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2010, a program initiated by the European Union.
• A village in Wales, United Kingdom, contains 58 letters and is the longest European one-word place-name. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch means “St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio of the red cave.” The shorter, alternate version of this name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. (Personally, I cannot pronounce either — can you?)
• Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the name of a hill in New Zealand.



• There is also Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä, located in Finland, Siemieniakowszczyzna in Poland, and Newtownmountkennedy in Ireland.
• Australia was founded by convicts yet has a current homicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 population. By contrast, the United States was founded by religious zealots and today has 6.3 homicides per 100,000, almost 400% greater!
• Bob Hawke, once Prime Minister of Australia, was immortalized by Guinness Book of Records in 1954 for chugging 2.5 pints of beer in 11 secs. He spent most of his life in politics and credits his success to this day to that beer chug.
• Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.

• Two-thirds of the world’s executions occur in China (and yes, that is a current figure).
• Single guys should check out The Virgin Islands, where the women outnumber the men.
• 0.02% percent of the Australian land mass is used by mines. More land is occupied by pubs.
• The rear section of an airplane gives you the bumpiest ride because that is where you feel turbulence the most.
• Las Vegas has the most hotel rooms of any city in the world — although Dubai plans to catch up by 2016.
• At any give hour there are 61,000 people airborne over the United States.
• For each person in Australia there are two sheep and over 16 rabbits, the latter introduced in 1859 by one enterprising man who brought 24 wild rabbits from England in an effort to remind him of home.
• Teachers make up 7.8% of Iceland’s labor force — and they only have to teach 38 weeks per year.
• Tasmania is said to have the cleanest air in the world.
• Chinese, Spanish, and English are three most commonly spoken languages of world. Other popular ones include: Bengali, Hindi/Urdu, Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian.
• Australia’s first police force was a band of 12 of the most well-behaved convicts.
• There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium. Also, Belgians consume (in average) 150 liters of beer per person per year.
• Canada grants the most new citizenships per capita in the world. #2 is Belgium.
• Got a parking ticket in Finland? Better just pay up — it is the least corrupt nation in the world.
• Cutting down a cactus in America carries a twenty five year prison sentence, if caught.
• The world’s biggest chocolate selling point is Brussels National Airport.
• The island nation of Tuvalu generates income from the commercialization of the ‘.tv’ web address.
• The Foire de Libramont is the largest agricultural, forestry and agri-food fair in Europe.
• Bulgarians shake their heads from side to side to mean ‘yes’ and nod up and down to say ‘no’.
• If you are looking for work, just go to the Falkland Islands! They have full employment and a labor shortage.
• The largest Freemason temple on the European continent is the Great Temple in Brussels (at 79, Rue de Laeken).
• Libya is the only country with a single-colored flag. It’s green. UPDATE: It has since be changed back to their old flag; red, black and green and with a white crescent and star in the center.
• Almost half of Ecuador is subject to environmental protection.
• The United States has the world’s highest number of McDonald’s restaurants per capita. Americans also die of obesity more often than any other nation, with more deaths than Mexico, Germany, Spain, Austria and Canada combined. Hooray for us?!

Whew, that is a lot of interesting travel facts.

Oh you were expecting all 150 new travel facts here, now? Pace yourself… I’m saving the best ones for last! 😉

That’s Right, There’s Plenty More! Read Part #3

  I may not be the first person to ever tweet #TravelFacts randomly, but I am the first to popularize it. Even to this day it continues…

Know of any other travel facts?

Share them below!

Join in the adventure       theHoliDaze   @the_HoliDaze