Amazing Facts from Around the World

Geography

• The world's largest desert is the Antarctic Desert, covering an area of about 14 million km².
• The world's largest waterfall, by volume of water, is actually located underwater and is called the Denmark Strait Cataract.
• Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, is the highest mountain peak, standing at 8,848 meters above sea level.
• The world's longest river is the Nile River, stretching approximately 6,695 kilometers from its source to its delta.

History

• The oldest known civilization is the Sumerian civilization, which dates back to around 4500 BCE in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
• The Great Wall of China, built to protect the Chinese Empire from invasions, stretches over 13,000 miles (21,000 km) in length.
• The ancient city of Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.
• The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, marked the end of World War I and imposed penalties and reparations on Germany.

Science

• The human nose can detect over 1 trillion different scents.
• The largest living organism in the world is a fungus called Armillaria ostoyae, covering over 2,200 acres in Oregon, USA.
• The fastest land animal is the cheetah, reaching speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour.
• The largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter, with a diameter of approximately 142,984 kilometers.

Culture

• The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896, lasting only 38 minutes.
• The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese, with over 1 billion speakers.
• The first email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, who also invented the "@" symbol as a way to address messages.
• The highest-grossing film of all time is Avatar (2009), directed by James Cameron.