Did You Know ... ? Cancun originated as a Mayan name meaning serpents’ nest. The Maya had the only fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas. The base coral in the Cancun reef system is estimated to be 125,000 years old. The City, Latin America’s largest discotheque, accommodates 5,000.
Did You Know ... ? DNA, the neutron and the electron were discovered at the Old Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. The word blazer originated as the name for bright red jackets worn by boat club members at St. John’s College Wicken Fen is Britain’s oldest nature reserve (1899), started with
Did you know ... ? The Calgary Stampede, billing itself the world’s richest rodeo, offers $1.75 million in prizes. The Olympic Hall of Fame in Calgary is the world’s largest Olympic museum. The largest collection of dinosaur bones was found in the Alberta Badlands near Calgary. Calgary has Canada’s youngest
Did You Know ... ? Cheops Pyramid (aka Great Pyramid) is the world's tallest (450 feet) and covers 13 acres. There are 5.5 million registered cars in Cairo. Tahrir, the name of the square made famous by the 2011 Arab Spring, means Freedom in Arabic. By 1340, Cairo -- with
Did You Know? At 460 feet, the widest avenue in the world is Av. 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires. The first explorers on the Rio de la Plata were killed and eaten by cannibals. Buenos Aires boasts South America’s oldest subway system (1913). Founded first in 1536, the city
Did You Know? Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel built the iron-columned West Railway Station in Budapest. Budapest’s springs feed the city’s spas with 19 million gallons of thermal water daily. Continental Europe’s first subway opened in Budapest in 1896. Budapest’s Parliament building has 365 towers and 691 rooms. Erno Rubik, inventor of Rubik’s
Did You Know ... ? The Manneken Pis fountain has a large wardrobe; it includes an Elvis jumpsuit. The Belgian capital counts 1,800 restaurants. Brussels claims Europe’s oldest shopping arcade, Galeries St. Hubert (1847). The city’s law courts stretch over more ground than St. Peter’s in Rome. The spire on
Did You Know ... ? The art of diamond polishing was invented in 15th century Bruges. Philip I, the first Hapsburg ruler in Spain (1478–1506), was born in Bruges. The carillon in Bruges’ famed Belfry has rung every quarter hour for nearly seven and a half centuries. Bruges was the
Did You Know? Brighton’s Sea Life Centre is the world’s oldest operating aquarium (1872). The Royal Pavilion was used as a military hospital during World War I. Brighton’s earliest bathers entered the sea camouflaged by bathing machines (18th century). Brighton was the site of Britain’s first purpose-built pleasure pier (1823).
Did You Know? Berlin was divided for its first 500 years; it was two trading towns: Colln and Berlin. Forests and lakes cover close to 25% of the city's total area. Berlin, at 341 acres, covers nine times the area of Paris. During the 11-month 1948-49 Berlin airlift, the Allies
