We live in A Wondrous World! And from time to time at least, it’s worth remembering this and putting a wide smile on our faces. Banal as it may seem, today’s article is not about anything in particular, but simply about the curiosities of the place we call home.
So, without further ado, did you know…
- Over 70% of people around the world fear spiders more than they fear death. I mean really, statistically speaking! And speaking of fears, did you know that Walt Disney, the “father” of Mickey Mouse, was actually afraid of mice?
- Pearls dissolve in vinegar.
- In New York, over half of the population does not own a car. This is a rare case in metropoles and the only case in the United States of America.
- Testudo Radiata turtles can live to be over 200 years old.
- Octopuses have been around since before the dinosaurs.
- You’d say lemons are sour and they do contain a lot of Vitamin C. But did you actually know that lemons have more sugar than strawberries?
- Leonardo da Vinci actually anticipated the creation of the pendulum clock as early as 1491? This invention actually only happened in the 17th century.
- You may know her as Oprah Winfrey, but actually the birth name of the show business woman is spelled Orpah. The name was chosen by her aunt after a Biblical character.
- Reindeer eat bananas. (Don’t ask me how they can procure them!) Anyway, according to tradition, the names of Santa’s reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and of course the “red-nosed reindeer” Rudolf.
- You’d imagine English is the “lingua franca” of the world; and we’re not saying it’s not. But the most popular language – as well as the most spoken, as it seems – is Mandarin Chinese. English, French and Chinese are the top three languages spoken worldwide.
- The Carpathian mountains host the largest European population of mountain lions, wolves and bears.
- Also, on a Bucharest city tour, you will encounter the Romanian replica of the Parisian Arc de Triomphe. In the past, Bucharest was called “the Little Paris”.
