14 Strange & Interesting Facts Worldwide<http://www.theworldgeography.com/2011/08/14-strange-interesting-facts-worldwide.html> Website http://www.theworldgeography.com/2011/08/14-strange-interesting-facts-worldwide.html
*1. Sudan Has More Pyramids Than Egypt* <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gbPVbz_n2I/TlbjnMQLjDI/AAAAAAAABMc/k2e5TvqWzOU/s1600/2833363858_1eb3091bcf_z.jpg> Sudanese pyramids *photo source*<http://www.flickr.com/photos/28374404%40N06/2833363858/> Sudan has more pyramids than any other country on Earth - even more than Egypt. There are at least *223 pyramids* in the Sudanese cities of *Al Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal and Meroë*. They are generally *20 to 30 metres (65 -100 ft) high* and steep sided. *2. Countries Driving on the Left* <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vz2fNibWNWE/TldyO6Z1o7I/AAAAAAAABM8/rex1i6L80I0/s1600/800px-Countries_driving_on_the_left_or_right.svg.png> Red - drives on right; Blue - drives on left *source*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Countries_driving_on_the_left_or_right.svg> Although people in the majority of countries of the world drive on the right side of roads, there are some fifty nations in which people drive on the left. These include England and many former English colonies such as *Australia,New Zealand, India*...etc... but not the U.S. or Canada. There are several non-English countries where people also drive on the left including *Japan*. *3. Country With More Horses Than People* <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mj6Zrfiksf0/TlbUzqirBZI/AAAAAAAABMU/5tcpGyHQvFY/s1600/3182914162_5dbe81e80b_z.jpg> Mongolian horses photo source<http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikechu/3182914162/in/photostream/> The *Mongolian horse* is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the traditional Mongol fashion still hold more than *3 million animals*, which outnumber the country's *human population *(*2,75 million*). Despite their small size, they are horses, not ponies. *4. **The Most Linguistically Diverse Country* <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0Uqtxub2xk/Tlbc81u3njI/AAAAAAAABMY/HqlDEDKhQZ8/s1600/Port-Moresby.jpg> Port Moresby - capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea* *photo source<http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Port-Moresby/photos/824> *Papua New Guinea* is the country that is home to the *most languages, over 750* in all! The most commonly spoken languages in Papua New Guinea, however, are* Motu* and *pidgin English*. *5. Alaska Has a Sand Dunes?* <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CHaWH0ct44U/TlbB0re0MFI/AAAAAAAABME/Dq9r0x8ubu8/s1600/3840456566_793bc3fae4_z.jpg> *photo source* <http://www.flickr.com/photos/nps_wear/3840456566/> The *Great Kobuk Sand Dunes* lie 40 miles above the Arctic Circle, yet summer temperatures there can soar to 100 degress Fahrenheit! One of Alaska's true oddities, in some places, the sand stands *100 feet high*. The three clusters of dunes within the park — the Great Kobuk, the Little Kobuk, and the Hunt River Sand Dunes — cover *25 square miles* and constitute the largest active sand dunes within arctic latitudes. *6. Strange Windmills in Ireland* <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYGboXKqcQU/TlbJSFlThAI/AAAAAAAABMI/QqzRMT8kRGo/s1600/2836378435_f22503ba1a_z.jpg> Elphin Windmill, Ireland *photo source*<http://www.flickr.com/photos/phiznlil/2836378435/> All windmills in Ireland turn in a *clockwise direction*, while the rest of the windmills in the world turn *counter-clockwise*. *7. London Bridge Over Lake Havasu?* <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DOsns7H2XTM/TlbLz4oZHhI/AAAAAAAABMM/VAZ6yQnLgRk/s1600/Lake-Havasu_London-Bridge+%25281%2529.jpg> *photo source* <http://famouswonders.com/lake-havasu/> The original *London Bridge* was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in *Lake Havasu City*. When the bridge, built in the 1830s began to sink into the Thames River in the *1960s*, it was replaced by a more modern concrete bridge. Then, England put the stones up for sale in 1967. A man named Robert P. McCulloch Sr., purchased the bridge on April 17, 1968, at a cost of* $2,460,000*. The *10,246 blocks* were shipped to Arizona and reassembled over a lagoon at the edge Lake Havasu at a cost of $3 Million. The Bridge *opened in 1971*. *8. The Most Isolated City in the World* <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fddpy2PIC5A/TlbOF-mCUFI/AAAAAAAABMQ/MJnHA0QSvg0/s1600/5131407817_d7bab47c49_z.jpg> *photo source* <http://www.flickr.com/photos/outbj/5131407817/> *Perth, Australia*, is the most isolated city on the planet. *200 miles* across *impenetrable desert* from the next city of any size. *9. Power of Amazon River* <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mkrI4EUuM2Q/Tlc9x__ddqI/AAAAAAAABMg/_8bcDZJaClM/s1600/amazon-river-boat-cruises.jpg> *photo source*<http://www.manitiexpeditions.com/maniti/html/expeditions.html> The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, *more than one hundred miles at sea* off the mouth of the river, one can dip *fresh water* out of the ocean. *10. The World’s Longest Train Journey* <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7MjvHolTZkI/TldC4AMQaSI/AAAAAAAABMk/B0saK_I-8wk/s1600/TSR.jpg> *photo source*<http://worldtopjourneys.blogspot.com/2011/03/trans-siberian-railway.html> The Trans-Siberian Railway offers the world’s longest train journey. It takes about *7 days to travel* the *5,580 miles or 9,000 km* between Moscow and Vladivostok. *11. Deforestation* <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ntuK-BtPwqM/TldEtKGO_sI/AAAAAAAABMo/znMyldYvRhM/s1600/deforestation1.jpg> *photo source*<http://year4.chorltonparkblogs.net/2010/12/04/deforestation-2/> About *22%* of the earth's original forest coverage remains. Western Europe has lost 98% or so of its primary forests; *Asia 94%*; *Africa 92%*; *Oceania 78%*; *North America* *66%*, and *South America 54%*. Approximately 45% of the world's tropical forests, originally covering 1.4 billion hectares, have disappeared in the last few decades. *12. Shortest Intercontinental Commercial Flight* <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EeMz8kPjKrM/TldKGjrctDI/AAAAAAAABMw/jgDQ4RXj6ng/s1600/2374019018_4a23b6cb19.jpg> *photo source*<http://www.flickr.com/photos/krm_gib/2374019018/in/set-72157604517637911> Shortest Intercontinental Commercial Flight in the world is from *Gibraltar* (Europe) to *Tangier *(Africa.) Distance is *34 miles*, flight time *20 minutes*. *13. World's Widest Bridge* <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x1LYczsDjpc/TldcAAlm2WI/AAAAAAAABM0/LHiASIC7wU8/s1600/1.1238247000.sydney-harbour-bridge.jpg> *photo source<http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/edtaepn/1/1238247000/sydney-harbour-bridge.jpg/tpod.html> * According to the Guinness World Records, *Sydney Harbour Bridge* is the world's widest long-span bridge -* 16 lanes of car traffic* - 8 lanes in the upper floor, 8 in the lower floor (*double-decker bridge*). The *49 metre (161ft) wide deck* makes Sydney Harbour Bridge the widest long-span bridge in the world. It is also the fifth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world, and it is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring *134 metres* ( *440 ft*) from top to water level. *14. World's Largest Palace Complex* <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j5NdnZWV1Pg/TldhcxuPFXI/AAAAAAAABM4/h779BUngoJw/s1600/26-05.jpg> Aerial view of the Forbidden City, Beijing *photo source*<http://schools.nashua.edu/myclass/lavalleev/Art%20History%20Pictures/ch26/index26.html> The* Forbidden City* was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost *500 years*, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the *ceremonial and political center of Chinese government*. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with *8,707 bays of rooms* and covers *720,000 m2* (*7,800,000 sq ft*). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere.
