Did You Know ... ? The Greek capital was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The Parthenon’s slightly tilted columns would touch — if they were more than a mile high. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Ancient Athenians considered it barbaric to drink wine without
Did You Know ... ? Amsterdam is Holland’s legal capital, but the Hague is the seat of government. There are 600,000 bicycles in Amsterdam. Although marijuana and hashish are legal in the city, oral decongestants are not. There are more than 500,000 bulb flowers on city lands, but just one
Did you know ... ? About a quarter of the people in Wales speak the Welsh language. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com is the world’s longest Internet domain name. All early references to King Arthur were written in Welsh, or in Latin by Welshmen. T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, was born in Porthmadog,
Did You Know ... ? The Kinh (Viet) account for close to 90% of citizens, but Vietnam has another 53 ethnic groups. The country’s paper currency is really plastic. Vietnam is only 31 miles across at its narrowest east-to-west point. For Americans, it was the Vietnamese War, but for the
Did You Know? Each year, Uruguayans consume more than 200 pounds of meat, more than Argentinians. The country is, officially, the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. Uruguay is a Guarani Indian name that means river of the painted birds. Uruguay’s national anthem is the world’s longest (11 verses lasting about five
Did You Know? Evidence at Sharjah suggests human occupation of the UAE dates back to 85,000 B.C. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 1,716.5 feet, became the world’s tallest structure when inaugurated in 2010. Dubai boasts the world’s largest gold market with around 11 tons of gold on site at
Did you know ... ? Christopher Columbus named these islands for St. Ursula and her 11,000 maidens. Taxes on exported rum yield more than $24 million annually for the government. Tourism accounts for 80% of GDP and employment. Seven flags have flown over the islands: Spanish, Dutch, English, French (twice),
Did You Know? Public nudity is illegal on all the islands, many of which are uninhabited. After astronaut John Glenn ended man’s first orbital flight (1962), he first touched land on Grand Turk Island. There are an estimated 1,000-plus shipwrecks in TCI waters. Intermittently since 1917, Islanders and Canadians have
Did You Know ... ? The world's first coins were minted in ancient Sardis where Croesus was king. The long-haired angora cat originated naturally in central Turkey and is regarded as a national treasure. Tulips and coffee came to Europe and the West via Turkey. The early church’s Nicene Creed
Did You Know...? More than 1,200 butterfly species flutter in Thailand. Thai waters are home to more than 200 species of coral. Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation never ruled by a Western power. Thai paper money is really plastic. The word Thailand means land of freedom. Siam today
