Dear Clients and Friends,
A high school friend of mine sent out these trivia items and I found them to be fun. Here’s to a like read for each of you.
ALASKA
More than half of the coastline of entire United Sates is in Alaska.
AMAZON
The Amazon rain forest produces more than 20% of the world’s oxygen.
Also, the Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that more than 100 miles out to sea, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon River is greater than the next 8 largest rivers in the world combined and 3 times the flow of all the rivers in the United States.
ANTARCTICA
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. 90% of the world’s ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents 70% of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average precipitation is about 2 inches per year. And although it’s nearly completely covered in ice, it is actually the driest place on the planet with humidity lower than the Gobi Desert.
CANADA
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combines. “Canada” is an Indian word meaning “big village.”
DAMASCUS, SYRIA
Damascus, Syria was flourishing a couple thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Istanbul is the only city in the world located on 2 continents.
LOS ANGELES
The full name of Los Angeles is: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels) and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
NEW YORK CITY
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. So to play New York was to play the big time – The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in NYC than in Dublin, Ireland.
There are more Italians in NYC that in Rome, Italy.
There are more Jews in NYC that in Tel Aviv, Israel.
OHIO
There are no natural lakes in Ohio. Every single one is man-made.
PITCAIRN ISLAND
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia at just 1.75 square miles.
ROME
The first city to reach a population of 1 million was Rome, Italy in 133 BC.
There is a city named Rome on every continent.
SIBERIA
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world’s forests.
S.M.O.M.
The smallest sovereign entity in the world is Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located int eh city or Rome, Italy and covers the area of 2 tennis courts. As of 2001 it had a population of 80 – 20 less than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, use as the Vatican is.
SAHARA DESERT
In the Sahara Desert there is town called Tidikelt that did not receive a drop of rain for 10 years. (The driest place on Earth though, is in the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has been no rainfall there for 2 million years.)
ROADS
Chances that the road is unpaved:
in the United States: 1%
in Canada: 75%
RUSSIA
The deepest hole ever drilled is the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia. It went down 12,261 meters.
UNITED STATES
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that 1 mile in every 5 must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war other emergencies.
WATERFALLS
The water of Angel Falls (the world’s highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet – 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.
Have a great week and of course contact us if you or yours have a Family Law, Real Estate or Estate Planning matter for us to represent you on, or at no cost or obligation to answer any of your initial questions on.
Best,
Ron