0 of 22
- Many of us love soaking up the sun on a spectacular white-sand beach in the likes of the Caribbean, Hawaii or the Maldives. But would you still dream of it if you knew that many white-sand beaches are actually made up of parrot fish poo? Here’s the science bit: parrotfish scrape algae off coral. Chunks of coral come off with the algae, and end up in their digestive tract. When digested, that coral is turned into a fine powder that the fish excrete. One giant humphead parrot can produce 11,000 pounds of ‘poop sand’ per year, meaning a significant amount of sand on many white beaches will have been eaten and pooped out by parrotfish. Nice.
- Sweden reportedly has the world’s most islands, boasting 267,570 of them (yep, really), making it the world’s ‘island capital’. Fancy a visit? Apparently, Marstrand is a top choice.
- Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo has the most lightning on the planet. There are 150 nights of lightning per year, 10 hours a day and approximately 280 times per hour.
- No, you’re not hallucinating. Goats in the village of Tamri in Morocco climb local argan trees so they can munch on the nourishing olive-like argan berry.
- Ok, that’s not entirely true, but the strange landscape in Danxia, in China’s Gansu Province, has naturally red sandstone and rainbow effect from stunning colourful mineral deposits.
- Turkeys ancient underground caves of Cappadocia are a big pull for tourists for their surreal beauty creating an awesome landscape. But did you know they were actually inhabited cities? The deepest was Derinkuyu, at 279ft deep, which, at its peak, may have housed up to 20,000 christians trying to flee persecution from the Roman Empire.
- No matter how much you love Las Vegas, you couldn’t cover it all! It would take you more than 400 years to spend a night in all of Las Vegas’ hotels.
- The one-woman town of Monowi, Nebraska is the only officially incorporated municipality with a population of one. The sole, 83-year-old resident is the city's mayor, librarian, and bartender.
- The number of bourbon barrels in Kentucky outnumbers the state’s population by more than two million.
- Scared of terrifying large reptiles with enormous teeth that can literally eat you? Well, South Florida is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist in the wild. So might not be on your bucket list.
- Did you know that in Japan watermelons are square? Apparently this growing method was developed so that people could fit them better into their fridges. Kinda makes sense, right? The melons are grown in boxes and assume the shape of the container. They tend to appeal to wealthy or fashionable consumers because they cost anywhere from two to three times a normal watermelon .
- Singapore is the largest country in the world that has no farms at all. The island’s five million residents consume food that is entirely imported. But why? We hear you cry. It’s basically because the island is so developed that it’s covered in businesses and buildings. It is one of the richest countries in the world but cannot independently feed its own citizens.
- Canada is the second largest country in the world and boasts over 60 per cent of all the world’s natural lakes - that’s more than the rest of the world combined.
- Yep, the Sahara Desert is not actually the driest place on Earth - that accolade goes to Ross Island in Antarctica, where it hasn’t rained for millions of years. The Atacama desert is the second driest place in the world, with the Sahara coming in at third place.
- Well, you’ll have to head to inner Mongolia to see the largest city in the world. The city of Hulunbuir is about half as big as France. However, there are only 2.5 million inhabitants, with large swathes of grassland surrounding the industrialised centre.
- Monaco might be the second smallest country in the world by area (Vatican City is the smallest) but it packs a punch population-wise. It is the most densely-populated country in the world and is home to the largest number of millionaires and billionaires in the world per capita. Ker-ching.
- Do you love a driving holiday? Well you should tackle the Pan-American Highway, which is the world’s longest drivable road. It’s a whopping 30,000 miles long, and stretches from Canada to South America.
- The Eiffel Tower in France is so popular that its lifts travel a combined distance of 64,000 miles a year.
- Dubai is not only home to 20 per cent of the world’s cranes, but it also boasts the world’s tallest structure (the 2,716 ft-high Burj Khalifa), the world’s tallest hotel (the 72-storey, 1,165 ft JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Hotel), the world’s largest shopping centre (the Dubai Mall), and the world’s biggest aquarium (in the Dubai Mall).
- Standing at 1,000 metres, Andorra is the highest capital in Europe. It's a tiny independent principality situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains. It's known for its ski resorts, and a tax-haven status that encourages duty-free shopping.
- The First World Hotel in Malaysia is the biggest in the world with 7,351 rooms.