Geography and Space-Page 5

Bizarre Fact #201:
Did you know...
The chiao is an official unit of currency in China. Also known as jiao, it is a copper-zinc coin that is one-tenth of a yuan and equal to 10 fen.

Bizarre Fact #202:
Did you know...
The city of Dallas is known as "The Big D."

Bizarre Fact #203:
Did you know...
The city of Istanbul straddles two separate continents, Europe and Asia.

Bizarre Fact #204:
Did you know...
The company that makes Icee Drinks is in Edwards.

Bizarre Fact #205:
Did you know...
The country of Costa Rica does not have an army.

Bizarre Fact #206:
Did you know...
The Dominican Republic was called Santo Domingo when it first gain independence.

Bizarre Fact #207:
Did you know...
The exact geographic center of the United States is near Lebanon, Kansas.

Bizarre Fact #208:
Did you know...
The first people to arrive on Iceland were Irish explorers, in 795 A.D.

Bizarre Fact #209:
Did you know...
The first PTA was in Crystal Springs.

Bizarre Fact #210:
Did you know...
The forest of Canadian Lake District is so dense that during winter the snow stays on top of the trees and the forest floor stays bare.

Bizarre Fact #211:
Did you know...
The German Bundestag, or Parliament, has 672 members and is the world's largest elected legislative body.

Bizarre Fact #212:
Did you know...
The Hudson River along the island of Manhattan flows in either direction depending on the tide.

Bizarre Fact #213:
Did you know...
The International Checkers Hall Of Fame is in Petal.

Bizarre Fact #214:
Did you know...
The King and Queen of the Gypsies are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian.

Bizarre Fact #215:
Did you know...
The largest city in Africa is Cairo in Egypt.

Bizarre Fact #216:
Did you know...
The largest country in Africa is the Sudan. The Arc of the Covenant is said to be located in Axum, Ethiopia.

Bizarre Fact #217:
Did you know...
The largest island in the Mediterranean sea is Sicily.

Bizarre Fact #218:
Did you know...
The largest lake in South America is Lake Maracaibo.

Bizarre Fact #219:
Did you know...
The many sights that represent the Chinese city of Beijing were built by foreigners: the Forbidden City was built by the Mongols, the Temple of Heaven by the Manchurians.

Bizarre Fact #220:
Did you know...
The McCoy Federal Building in Jackson is the first federal building in the U.S. named for an African American.

Bizarre Fact #221:
Did you know...
The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to protect the property rights of married women.

Bizarre Fact #222:
Did you know...
The most remote island in the world is Tristan da Cunha, which is above the sub-Antarctic zone.

Bizarre Fact #223:
Did you know...
The national anthem of the Netherlands "Het Wilhelmus," is an 'acrostichon.' The first letters of each of the fifteen verses represent the name "Willem Van Nassov."

Bizarre Fact #224:
Did you know...
The Nile river flows North.

Bizarre Fact #225:
Did you know...
The official, neutral name of Switzerland, which has multiple official languages, is the latin "Confederation Helvetica", or the Helvetic Confederation, thus the "CH" on license plates, stickers and e-mail addresses.

Bizarre Fact #226:
Did you know...
The oldest field game in America is Stickball founded by the Choctaw Indians of Philadelphia.

Bizarre Fact #227:
Did you know...
The oldest Holiday Inn is in Clarkesdale.

Bizarre Fact #228:
Did you know...
The only borough of New York City that isn't an island or part of an island is the Bronx.

Bizarre Fact #229:
Did you know...
The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.

Bizarre Fact #230:
Did you know...
The original fifty cent piece in Australian decimal currency had around $2.00 worth of silver in it before it was replaced with a less expensive twelve sided coin.

Bizarre Fact #231:
Did you know...
The Philippines consist of 7,100 islands.

Bizarre Fact #232:
Did you know...
The Pole of Inaccessibility is pretty darn inaccessible. It's the point on the continent of Antarctica that is farthest in all directions from the seas that surround it. It lies on the Polar Plateau. The term "Pole of Inaccessibility" is also sometimes used to refer to the point in the Arctic Ocean equidistant from the surrounding landmasses (approximately 400 miles from the North Pole, which should tell you how hard it is to track down Santa Claus in his off-season).

Bizarre Fact #233:
Did you know...
The Republic of San Marino is the world's smallest republic (24 sq. miles) and possibly the oldest state in Europe (founded 4th century AD, according to tradition.)

Bizarre Fact #234:
Did you know...
The royal house of Saudi Arabia has close to 10,000 princes and princesses.

Bizarre Fact #235:
Did you know...
The Sahara desert is expanding half a mile south every year.

Bizarre Fact #236:
Did you know...
The San Blas Indian women of Panama consider giant noses a mark of great beauty. They paint black lines down the center of their noses to make them appear longer.

Bizarre Fact #237:
Did you know...
The smallest country in Central America is El Salvador.

Bizarre Fact #238:
Did you know...
The smallest 'country' in the world to have its own top-level domain name is Norfolk Island, off the coast of Australia.

Bizarre Fact #239:
Did you know...
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq miles/4,53 sq km.

Bizarre Fact #241:
Did you know...
The smallest state in the US has also the longest name. The official name of Rhode Island is Rhode Island and Plantation Provinces.

Bizarre Fact #242:
Did you know...
The Sphinx sits on guard over the Great Pyramids.

Bizarre Fact #243:
Did you know...
The state of Oregon has one city named Sisters and another called Brothers. Sisters got its name from a nearby trio of peaks in the Cascade Mountains known as the Three Sisters. Brothers was named as a counterpart to Sisters.

Bizarre Fact #244:
Did you know...
The state of Oregon has one city named Sisters and another called Brothers. Sisters got its name from a nearby trio of peaks in the Cascade Mountains known as the Three Sisters. Brothers was named as a counterpart to Sisters.

Bizarre Fact #245:
Did you know...
The surface area of the Earth is 197,000,000 square miles.

Bizarre Fact #246:
Did you know...
The three winter months in the southern hemisphere are June, July and August.

Bizarre Fact #247:
Did you know...
The twin towers of New Yorks World Trade Center contain 208 elevators. Elevators rank as the safest form of transportation, boasting only one fatality every 100 million miles traveled. Stairs, in comparison, are five times more dangerous.

Bizarre Fact #248:
Did you know...
The U.S. mint in Denver, Colorado is the only mint that marks its pennies.

Bizarre Fact #249:
Did you know...
The U-S Park Service says the older Old Faithful gets, the more the geyser at Yellowstone National Park slows down. In the 1950s, it erupted every 62 minutes. Lately, it's been erupting every 77 minutes. Some experts say Old Faithful may someday just stop.

Bizarre Fact #250:
Did you know...
The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second oldest in the country.