Alaska
--More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
--In 1867 the United States paid Russia only $7.2 million (2 cents an acre) for Alaska
Amazon
--The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of 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, is ice.
--Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Australia
--The Nullarbor Plain of Australia covers 100,000 square miles without a tree.
--Australia is the only continent on earth without an active volcano.
--There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people.

Belgium
--Belgium is the only country that has never imposed censorship for adult films
Bhutan
--In the kingdom of Bhutan, all citizens officially become a year older on New Year's Day
--In 1980, Bhutan was the only country in the world with no telephones
Brazil
--Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

Canada
--Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village'.
--The world's longest street is in Canada - Toronto's Yonge Street which runs 1,190 miles.
Chicago, IL, USA
--Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

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.
Detroit, MI, USA
--Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Denmark
--The oldest national flag still in existence, is in Denmark, it dates back to the 13th century.

England
--Big Ben is actually the name of the largest bell inside the London clock tower, not of the clock itself.

France
--Every year in France there is a "Thieves Fair" where people are encouraged to try to steal things from the stalls

Iceland
Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult.
Ireland
--Windmills always turn counter-clockwise, except for the windmills in Ireland
Istanbul, Turkey
--Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
Italy
--Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy.

London, UK
--In the great fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down but only 6 people were injured.
Los Angeles, CA, USA
--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.

Nauru
--Nauru is the only country in the world with no official capital
Nepal
--Nepal is the only country that doesn't have a rectangular or square flag
New York City, NY, USA
--The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
--There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland;
--There are more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy;
--And more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Ohio, USA
--There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, everyone is manmade.

Peru
--There are no public toilets in Peru.
Pitcairn Island
--The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq. Miles/4,53 sq. Km.
Portugal
--In 1949, the temperature in part of Portugal soared to 158 degrees F for a couple of minutes. No one knows why.

Rome
--The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 BC.
--There is a city called Rome on every continent.
Russia
--The deepest hole ever drilled by man is the Kola Super deep Borehole, in Russia. It reached a depth of 12,261 meters (about 40,226 feet or 7.62 miles). It was drilled for scientific research and gave some unexpected discoveries, one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen - so massive that the mud coming from the hole was boiling with it.

Sahara Desert
--In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, Algeria, 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.
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, and has an area of only two tennis courts, and, as of 2001, had a population of only 80 people - 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.
Spain
--Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits'.
St. Paul, MN, USA
--St. Paul, Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.
Sudan
--Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt. There are at least 223 pyramids in the Sudanese cities of Al Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal and Meron. They are generally 65-100 ft (20 to 30 meters) high and steep sided.
Sweden
--There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt every year.

The Netherlands
--The Netherlands has built 800 miles of massive dikes and sea walls to hold back the sea. If it were not for these walls, 40% of the country would be flooded.
--The Netherlands is the lowest country in the world. It is estimated that 40 percent of the land is below sea level.
Turkey
--Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in the ancient Southeastern Turkish town of Lycia early in the 4th century.
--In Turkey, in the 16th and 17th centuries, anyone caught drinking coffee was put to death

United States
--The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five miles must be straight road. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved:
--In the U.S.A. = 1%;
--In Canada = 75%

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.