Random Travel Facts: The Final Round

It is with a little bit of sadness that I announce this final round of #TravelFacts. While I am sure more exist, by this point there are just too scattered and obscure for me to focus my time hunting for. The day I get an intern though…

If you know of any that I have missed, now is your last chance to share them below! If you have one that makes any of us here at the HoliDaze go WOW then I have a gift for you! 😉

 

  • Of the eight countries which include the word “democratic” in their conventional long form name, three are dictatorships: North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) and the Democratic republic of the Congo.
  • Like living in cities? Guadeloupe, Nauru, Monaco, Singapore, Gibraltar and Bermuda are only nations that are 100% urbanized.
  • Looking for geniuses? Head straight to Iceland. There are more than 3 Nobel Prize Winners for every million Icelanders.
  • Per capita, South Africa has the most assaults, rapes, and murders with firearms.
  • Moldova has one of the smallest artillery forces in Europe, and the highest rate in the world of death by powered lawnmower.
  • You’re 66 times more likely to be prosecuted for a crime in the USA than in France.
  • More than 90% of people in Bhutan, Burundi and Burkina Faso are involved in agriculture.The corrupt banana industry
  • Dollar is the most common currency name, followed by franc, pound, dinar, peso, and rupee.
  • Costa Rica leads the world in per capita exports of bananas, cassava, melons, and pineapples to the United States. Unsurprisingly, they’re also first in pesticide use. Tsk tsk tsk…
  • Iceland has many, many more tractors per 1,000 hectares of cropland than any other nation – more than twice that of the next highest country, Slovenia.
  • When translated, the Himalayas means the ‘abode of snow.’ They cover 75% of Nepal.
  • Although the Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world, it is also the youngest.
  • Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine of them are contained within the Nepal Himalayas.
  • In Scotland you are on the wrong side of the law if you are drunk and in possession of a cow. (That sounds like a challenge!)
  • Windsor Castle in England is the oldest royal residence in the world that is still being used by the royal family.
  • Venezuela is one of the happiest and most murderous places in the world.
  • Contrary to the popular belief that Big Ben refers to the world famous clock, it is actually the name of the thirteen-ton bell. The tower itself is known as St. Stephen’s Tower.
  • Australians have a whopping 380,000 sq miles of land per person — and yet 91% live in urban areas.
  • People trust Swedes! Swedish companies are the world’s least-likely to be perceived as paying bribes.
  • The top five countries of origin for refugees are all in Africa.
  • In Germany and Italy, every second person owns a car.The female beard really exists
  • In New Mexico it’s forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public (how far do they carry this law?). Also, its illegal to spit on the steps of the opera.
  • North Korea spends more percent of its total GDP on their military than any country in the world.
  • Bangkok has the longest city name in the world — at least when it’s formally written in Thai: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.
  • Laos is pronounced Lao — the ‘s’ is silent. Also, it’s full official name is Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
  • Bermuda is comprised of 181 islands that are coral covered and lava-based. There is only 155 miles of roadways on the islands. It is the oldest of all British colonies.
  • Andorrans live the longest, four years longer than in neighboring France and Spain.
  • In New York women may go topless in public — if it is not being used as a business.
  • A three-minute local phone call in Ecuador costs 60 U.S. cents, 60 times as much as in Ukraine, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, or Uzbekistan.
  • Per capita, there are more golf courses in Bermuda than in any other location in the world. There are seven 18-hole and two 9-hole golf courses situated in only 20.75 square miles.
  • Looking to invade a country by sea? Try Canada! They have only 9k Navy personnel guarding longest national coastline in world.
  • Hvar is Croatia’s sunniest island with an average of 2715 hours of sunshine a year, and whenever snow falls in Hvar an overnight stay in any of the island’s hotels is free of charge.The beaches of Antigua
  • Improperly swiping your Oyster card charges you the maximum fare. This makes Transport For London extra £18 Mil (€21.5M) a year!
  • Almost 80% of international tourists come from European & North American countries. East Asia, Australia, & New Zealand make up 15%.
  • Antigua is home to 365 beaches, enough to visit a different one for every day of the year.
  • If someone you know died from falling out of a tree, you’re probably Brazilian.
  • Yellowstone is the most extensive geothermal area on earth. It has over 10,000 thermal wonders, and more geysers than the rest of the world put together.

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About Derek Freal

"Some people eat, others try therapy. I travel."   Cultural enthusiast. Adrenaline junkie. Eater of strange foods. Chasing unique and offbeat adventures around the world since 2008. Derek loves going to new destinations where he does not speak a word of the local language and must communicate with hand gestures, or places where he is forced to squat awkwardly to poo -- supposedly its healthier and more efficient. For more information (about Derek, not squat pooing) including popular posts and videos, check out his bio.

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