Country – Amazing Facts 4 u

New Zealand

Amazing Facts 4 U — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:30:32 +0000

50 Facts About New Zealand | Amazing Facts 4U

Land & Geography

New Zealand is located in the south-western Pacific Ocean and features two main islands, the North Island and the South Island.
The population of New Zealand is about 4.5 million. The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington while the largest city is Auckland. Wellington is in fact the southernmost capital city in the world.
Amazingly a kiwi is not a fruit. It is New Zealand’s native flightless national bird and a slang term for a New Zealander. Kiwis call the fruit “kiwifruit”. They are also known as Chinese Gooseberries.
Amazingly no part of the country is more than 128 km (79 miles) from the sea.
Blue Lake, in Nelson Lakes National Park, has the clearest water in the world.
There are amazingly no land snakes, native or introduced, in NZ. In fact unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have any dangerous or poisonous animals with the one tiny exception of the Katipo Spider.
About one third of the country is protected national park.
The kiwi, a bird native to NZ, is known for pulling windscreen wipers off cars and eating the strips of rubber from windows.
There is a giant albino snail in New Zealand in South Island that is carnivorous.
NZ is home to more species of penguins than any other country.
The Hector’s Dolphin, the world’s smallest marine dolphin, which grows to a maximum length of 1.5 metres, is found nowhere else in the world but in New Zealand waters.
A dolphin named Pelorus Jack regularly guided ships in New Zealand through treacherous waters until his disappearance in 1912.
Amazing fact is in 2008, Henry the tuatara , reptile native to New Zealand became a father for the first time at the age of 111.
New Zealand is in fact home to the giant weta, the heaviest insect in the world. It is heavier than a sparrow and looks like a giant cockroach.

History

New Zealand was first discovered by Europeans in 1642 when Dutch sailor Abel Tasman arrived. He left New Zealand after several of his crew were killed by Maoris, and it was not until 1769 that English Captain James Cook arrived and mapped the land.
The Treaty of Waitangi was in fact signed in 1840 between the British and Maori, making New Zealand a colony of the British Empire.
Captain James Cook, the man who navigated New Zealand, is said to have discovered a cure for scurvy, a disease that results from Vitamin C deficiency, when he played around with medicines.

Places

Lake Taupo extending to 616 square kilometres (or 238 sq miles) was formed by a super volcanic eruption 26,000 years ago which has been the largest known volcanic eruption in the world in the last 70 thousand years. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, is the world’s steepest street. The road has a gradient of 1 in 2.86 at its steepest section, an amazing 38 per cent grade.
Amazing fact is Gisborne airport has train tracks running across the middle of the runway. Quite often, trains and planes have to stop until one moves out of the way.
Ninety Mile Beach is actually only 90 km long.
The Te Waikoropupu Springs in Golden Bay push out more fresh water than any other springs in the world, producing one to two billion litres of water a day amazing enough to supply drinking water to supply the entire population of New Zealand. Also the spring waters are the clearest natural water in the world outside of Antarctica. You can see an average of 63 metres when you look down through the water.
Waitomo Caves in New Zealand’s Waikato region provide spectacular view of the fireflies. The Waitomo River runs underground through the caves where natural light cannot reach. Fireflies high above creates a night-sky effect with groups of fireflies looking like stars.
The world’s first commercial bungee jump was a 43 metre leap off the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown in 1988.
There is a clock in Dunedin which has been amazingly running since 1864, despite never having been wound since it was made.

People Customs & Culture

Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Only 15% of NZ’s population are Maori.
Sign Language is amazingly one of three official languages of New Zealand.
New Zealand is in fact a plastic nation. Almost all personal financial transactions are made with a card including taxis. Cash is very rarely used.
NZ is the least corrupt nation in the world tied with Denmark according to the Corruptions Perception Index.
Amazing fact is one in three Auckland households own a boat.
It is illegal for drug companies to advertise to consumers almost everywhere in the world. The only exceptions are the US and New Zealand.
Amazing fact is in New Zealand , students on their exams are allowed to use text-messaging language. Teachers must treat these abbreviations as standard English and may not penalize students.
3 dogs in New Zealand were taught to drive a modified car around a race track in an effort to show the intelligence of shelter dogs.

Politics/ Legal

Queen Elizabeth II is officially Queen of New Zealand. She is represented in New Zealand by a Governor General, who ratifies all laws put before him or her by the elected parliament of New Zealand.
New Zealand is one of only three countries that have two official national anthems of equal standing. The first is God Save the Queen (the English National Anthem) and the other is God Defend New Zealand. The other two countries with Royal and state anthems are Denmark and Canada.
In 1893 New Zealand in fact became the first country in the world to give all women the right to vote.
Amazing fact is New Zealand was the first country to have all its top positions of power held simultaneously by women in 2006: The Prime Minister (Helen Clark), the Governor General (Dame Silvia Cartwright), and the Chief Justice (Sian Elias), the Queen and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
It’s amazing that New Zealand was forced out of the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) alliance in the 1980’s when it outlawed nuclear arms and power. Even today there are no nuclear power stations in New Zealand.
New Zealand may in fact deny people residency visas if they have too much weight.
The logo of the Royal New Zealand Air Force is the kiwi, a flightless bird which is national bird.
There is a law that states every high school in New Zealand may hold 1 pound of uranium and 1 pound of thorium, for conducting nuclear experiments, and will be fined $1,000,000 in case of a nuclear explosion.
New Zealand was once governed as a part of the territory of New South Wales later a part of Australia. When Australia federated in 1901, New Zealand was offered a place as one of their states. New Zealand refused. New Zealand is still listed as a state of Australia in the Australian constitution, and can join the Australian confederation if they choose to.
NZ has banned all television advertising on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day, and Christmas Day.

Economy

Sheep outnumber humans in New Zealand 10 to 1. In fact only 5% of NZ’s population is human. The rest are animals. Dairy products are New Zealand’s highest earning exports.
New Zealand amazingly produces 100 kg of butter and 65 kg of cheese each year per capita.
It’s amazing that the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy pumped around $200 million into the country’s economy. The New Zealand government even created a Minister for Lord of the Rings, to ensure the most money could be made from the films.

Famous People

New Zealander and Nobel Prize Winner, Ernest Rutherford is known as the father of nuclear physics.
Sir Edmund Hillary , a New Zealander was the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest was and his face is on the New Zealand $5 bill.

Sport

Golf is the most popular participation sport, with more golf courses in New Zealand per capita of population than any other country in the world.
New Zealand has won more Olympic gold medals per capita, than any other country.

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~ By Amazing Facts 4U Team

Burj Khalifa

Amazing Facts 4 U — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:30:09 +0000

30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Burj Khalifa | Amazing Facts 4U

Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world with an architectural height of 2717 feet or 828.0 meters. Its people occupied height is 1918 feet or 584.5 meters.
The design of the tower is inspired by the shape of the Hymenocallis flower. The flower is known for its long petals extending out from its center.
The total cost of building Burj Khalifa was $1.5 billion.
Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this tower was initially named as Burj Dubai but was renamed to Burj Khalifa in honor of UAE president Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The construction work started in 2004 and was completed in 2010.
Burj Khalifa is the tallest tower in Dubai, UAE, Middle East and World beating the next tallest building by more than about 1000 Ft. It is 3 times as tall as Eiffel Tower,15 times the highest point at Niagara Falls and 2 times taller than Empire State Building.
The tower also holds world records for: ‘tallest free standing building’, ‘highest occupied floor’, ‘highest number of stories’, and ‘second highest outdoor observatory deck’.
Burj Khalifa holds the record of 504 metres longest travel distance elevator in the world. It has 58 functional elevators that run at the fastest speed in the world at 18 meters per second.
The observatory deck of the building is located at a height of 1483 feet or 452.1 meters , the second highest in the world. Record for highest outdoor observation deck is now held by Canton Tower which opened in 2011.
There are 163 floors located above the ground and it has only one floor located below the ground.
Burj Khalifa has highest swimming pool installed on the 76th floor, highest mosque in the world at 158th floor and tallest nightclub at 144 floors.
The building is so tall that you can see it from 60 miles away. Entire Dubai and even neighboring country Iran can be seen from top of Burj Khalifa.
At the top in Burj Khalifa temperature drops 6 degrees from base to peak and the winds at the top can reach whooping 90 miles an hour.
Burj Khalifa can accommodate 35,000 people at a time.
It has 2909 stairs from ground floor to 160 level.
Amazingly it has 11 hectares of park area.
Burj Khalifa has 37 office floors. Office space pricing at Burj Khalifa is about $3000 to $5000 per square feet.
Burj Khalifa has Armani Hotel Dubai with 160 guest rooms and suites, 144 Armani private residences and 900 Burj Khalifa residences.
Burj Khalifa has about 3000 parking spaces.
There is a dining restaurant at 122 level at 442 m height and world’s second highest swimming pool at 76 level.
The Gross Floor Area of the tower is 3,331,140 ft2 or 309,473 m2. The Gross Floor Area is the area within the footprint of the tower and does not include connected buildings and adjoining podiums.
Emaar is the developer/owner of the tower and its design architect is American firm Skidmore Owings & Merill.
Turner Construction was the project manager for Burj Khalifa while Besix, Arabtec and Samsung C&T Corporation were its main contractors. Dow Corning Corporation supplied sealants for the tower while Otis Elevator Company supplied the elevators.
During peak construction days, 12,000 workers were engaged every day.
22 million man-hours, 55,000 ton steel bars and 110,000 ton concrete were used to complete the construction of the tower in 6 years.
Steel bars used in the construction of Burj Khalifa if laid down end to end, the total length would be one quarter of the earth circumference.
Total aluminum used in the tower weighs as much as five A380 aircrafts while total concrete used weighs as much as 100,000 elephants.
26,000 glass panels cut individually were used to create the exterior of the building which were fitted by 300 Chinese cladding experts to withstand Dubai’s summer heat.
The building has 12 machines of 13 tons each moving along tracks constructed outside the building.36 cleaners board these machines clean the 26,000 reflective glass panels.
The antenna at the top has a length of 220 meters carrying weight of 3,500 tons.
Burj Khalifa requires a supply of 950,000 liters of water every day through 100 Km of pipelines and total electricity consumption is equivalent to 360,000 bulbs of 100-watt each burning together.

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~ By Amazing Facts 4U Team

Brazil

Amazing Facts 4 U — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:30:55 +0000

33 Amazing and Awesome Facts About Brazil | Amazing Facts 4U

Land & Geography

Brazil is the largest country in South America having a population of 190 million. Brazil covers 3 time zones.
The name Brazil comes from a tree named brazilwood.
Amazingly Brazil is the longest country in the world, spanning approximately 2,800 miles from north to south via land.
The fact is that Brazil is the only country in South America that speaks Portuguese unlike most of the other countries speaking Spanish.
The Amazon River, the 2nd longest river in the world flows through Brazil. It is the largest river in the world in water volume.
Amazingly Brazil contains no desert, high-mountain, or arctic environments.
Brazil has 60% of the rain forests that make up the Amazon rain forests. It also constitutes the world’s 25% of the rain forests. Amazingly 30% of the world’s oxygen comes from the Amazon rain forest.
Very little sunlight makes it through the dense canopy of trees and foliage covering the Amazon rain forest. It is nearly completely dark. In fact, if it started raining, it would take ten minutes before you even got wet!
Brazil has the greatest biodiversity of any country, and the most species of plants, freshwater fish, and mammals. The amazing fact is that it is home to an estimated 4 million species of plants and animals.
The Capybara is the world’s largest rodent at 70Kg and can be seen in herds of 100s in the Pantanal wetlands.

History

Amazingly Portugal claimed the land of Brazil way back in the year 1500. Independence was declared only in 1822.
Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil for almost 2 centuries before it was moved to Brasilia in 1960.

Places / Architecture

The capital of Brazil, Brasilia city was conceived and built by a single plan. Amazingly the city has been planned in the shape of an airplane.
The largest city in the Southern Hemisphere is Sao Paulo. The amazing fact is that outdoor advertising is banned in the city. The decision to dismantle all panels and signs was made in 2007 by the city authorities.
One of the most famous mountains in the world is the Corcovado located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known worldwide for its 98 foot (30 m) high statue of the city’s emblem, Christ the Redeemer, which has been on its summit since 1931.
Isn’t it amazing that Brazil has over 8000 airports, the second-highest number of airports in the world, behind the United States of America, which has over 15000 ?
The amazing fact is that Brazil is the location of the world’s widest road. The Monumental Axis can hold 160 cars driving side by side.

People Customs & Culture

Brazil has official language is Portuguese. The facts say that country has the largest Portuguese-speaking population in the world but 80% of the people can speak English.
The amazing fact is that Brazil has the largest number of Italians outside Italy and the largest number of Japanese outside Japan!
The fact is Brazil has the second highest Christian population in the world. Brazil is also the largest catholic nation in the world.
Amazingly there is no official religion in Brazil, though over 75% of the population are Roman Catholics. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
A Brazilian Model is considered one of the most gorgeous women in the world and these women are the top of their class.
World’s largest party is the Carnival which is the time for millions of visitors to visit Brazil. Every year in February the whole Brazil, covered by a continuous thunder of drums beat the rhythm of the samba, immersed in the most bustling, bright and cheerful holiday.
Amazing fact is that an estimated fifty tribes native to the Amazon rain forest have never had any contact with the rest of the world.
Amazing fact is that the Piraha tribe in the Amazon Brazil has no concept of numbering or counting! The tribe seems to also have no words for colors and no form of a written language. Not only can they not count, they haven’t been able to learn how to either!

Politics/ Legal

Voting in the elections is compulsory in Brazil and everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 has to vote.
Women in Brazil obtained the right to vote in 1931, which was before countries such as France and Switzerland!
The currency of Brazil has both horizontal and vertical pictures.

Economy

The best coffee in the world is said to come from Brazil.
Brazil produces the most oranges in the world.
Brazil is one of the leading producers of hydroelectric power. The country is totally energy independent since the year 2006.
Amazingly Brazil has been producing “flex” cars since the oil crisis of 1973. Now almost all new cars are flex cars, meaning that they run on gas, alcohol (ethanol), or a blend. The ethanol is made from sugar cane and burns cleanly. This has enabled the country to be 100% energy independent.

Sport

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Brazil with the national team consistently among the best in the world, winning the World Cup amazing five times.

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Israel

Amazing Facts 4 U — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:30:03 +0000

40 Amazing and Unknown Facts about Israel | Amazing Facts 4U

Land & Geography

The amazing fact is that Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of the Middle East.
Amazingly Israel is the 100th smallest country and has 1/1000th of the World’s population (About 8 million).
The Dead Sea is the lowest surface point on earth, at about 1,373 feet below sea level. Amazingly it is also 8.5 times saltier than the sea.

History

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in World War I, the British assumed control of Palestine in 1917 & announced its intention to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. The Arabs were opposed. British handed the issue over to the United Nations. In November 1947, the UN recommended the partition of Palestine into two states one Jewish and one Arab. The British handed over power to Israeli’s in May 1948.

Places / Architecture

The Sea of Galilee, at 695 ft. Below sea level is the lowest freshwater lake in the world.

People Customs & Culture

Israel is the only Jewish state whose indigenous people returned back to their native land 2000 years after forced exile. The fact is that Jew from any country of the world is guaranteed citizenship.
The amazing fact is that Hebrew is the only cause of a dead national language being revived in all of world history. Hebrew had not been spoken as a native tongue by anyone for centuries. Today it is the native tongue of millions of people.
Israelis, per capita, are the world’s biggest consumers of fruits and vegetables.
Over 90% of the homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest in the world.
Israel is the only country that entered the 21^st century with a net gain in the number of trees in an area mainly desert.
Amazingly Israel recycles 75% of its water, a world record.
The amazing fact is that the Jews have only 0.2% of the world population, but they have 54% of Chess champions, 27% of Nobel Laureates in physics, 31% of Nobel Laureates in medicine.
Israel leads the patents in medical equipment.
The amazing fact is that Israel produces more scientific papers, the highest number of scientists and technicians, the highest number of Ph.D.’s, and the highest number of physicians per capita than any other nation in the world by a large margin.
More Israeli patents are registered by Israeli’s than Russia, India & China combined (2.5 billion people) in the United States.

Politics/ Legal

Israel is the only liberal democracy in the middle east.
Israel spends more money per capita on its own protection than any country in the world.
Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world (after the U.S., Russia, and China).
With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has amazingly the largest fleet of aircraft outside of the US.
When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day and saved three victims from the rubble.
Israel is the only country in the world having compulsory military service for women.
The amazing fact is that Israeli banknotes have brail on them so the blind can identify them.

Economy & Corporates

Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.
Israel has the highest number of home computers per capita in the world.
Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies outside of the US and Canada.
Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the World, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
Amazingly Israel is the world’s largest wholesale diamond center, finally surpassing Antwerp in the 1970′s. Most of the cut & polished diamonds in the world come from Israel.
Israel’s $100 billion economies are larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
Israel’s dairy cows are the most productive dairy cows in the world.
Israel operates the world’s largest desalinization plant.

Inventions

Israel’s Given imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill.
Israeli companies invented the drip irrigation system.
The amazing fact is that the cell phone was developed in Israel at Motorola’s largest development center.
The first anti-virus software for computers was developed in Israel in 1979.
The fact is that most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed in Israel by Microsoft.
Amazingly both the Pentium-4 and Centrino processors were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
The fact is that USB drives were developed by Israeli’s.
Israel designed the airline industry’s most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice.

Literature

Israel publishes more books and reads more books per capita than any other nation in the world.

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Great Wall of China

Amazing Facts 4 U — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 09:30:39 +0000

30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about the Great Wall of China | Amazing Facts 4U

The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world.
While the Great Wall of China is not one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it is still included in the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World.
In 1987, UNESCO placed the Great Wall on its list of the world’s great national and historical sites.
That the Great Wall of China is a single, continuous wall built all at once is a myth. In reality, the wall is a discontinuous network of wall segments built by various dynasties to protect China’s northern boundary.
The Great Wall of China was called “the longest cemetery on earth” because more than one million people died building it.
The main wall is around 2,145 miles (3,460 km) long with an extra 1,770 miles (2,860 km) of branches and spurs.
The widest section of the wall is around 30 ft while the highest point of the wall is around 26 ft.
The length of all Chinese defense walls built over the last 2,000 years is approximately 31,070 miles (50,000 km) which is more than the earth’s circumference.
Nearly 1/3 of the Great Wall has disappeared without a trace.
The manpower to build the Great Wall came from frontier guards, peasants, unemployed intellectuals, disgraced noblemen, and convicts. In fact, there existed a special penalty during the Qin and Han dynasties under which convicted criminals were made to work on the Wall.
Amazingly the mortar used to bind stones were actually made from rice flour.
Numerous temples were built along the Great Wall for the worship of the war god, Guandi.
The Great Wall of China is 25 feet high in some places and ranges from 15-30 feet wide.
The highest point of the Great Wall is in Beijing at Heita Mountain (5,033 feet/1,534 meters). The lowest point is at Laolongtou (sea level).
The most visited section of the Great Wall is in Badaling, close to Beijing, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. It was the first section of the wall to open to tourists in 1957.
As early as the seventh century B.C., a number of smaller walls that served as fortifications and watch towers had been built around the country. Initially, each state that would be united in the first Chinese empire had its own individual wall.
The earliest extensive walls were built by Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty, who first unified China. Little of those earliest walls remain.
Because the Great Wall was discontinuous, Mongol invaders led by Genghis Khan (“universal ruler”) had no problem going around the wall and they subsequently conquered most of northern China between A.D. 1211 and 1223. They ruled all of China until 1368 when the Ming defeated the Mongols.
The dynasties after the Qin which seriously added to and rebuilt the Great Wall were the Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), Sui (A.D. 581-618), Jin (115-1234), and, most famously, the Ming (1368-1644). What survives today are the stone and brick walls predominately from the Ming dynasty.
Since 1644, when the Ming Dynasty was overthrown, no further work has been done on the Great Wall except some restoration after 1957.
Contrary to common belief, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from the moon without aid.
According to legend, a helpful dragon traced out the course of the Great Wall for the workforce. The builders subsequently followed the tracks of the dragon.
President Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 dramatically increased tourism to the Wall. With increased tourism, sections of the Wall were restored, and after Mao Zedong’s death, the Chinese government recognized the Wall as a unifying symbol of the nation.
The most famous section of the Great Wall, Badaling which is close to Beijing has been visited by over 300 heads of state the first of which was Soviet statesman Klim Voroshilov in 1957.
The Jiankou section of the Great Wall, known for being steep and winding, enjoys the most appearances on Great Wall picture books and postcards.
China receives more than 50 million foreign visitors to visit the Great Wall of China.
During the Ming dynasty, nearly one million soldiers were said to defend the Great Wall from “barbarians” and non-Chinese.
The last battle fought at the Great Wall was in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War, which was between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan.
The Great Wall of China is threatened with erosion. The northwestern sections (e.g. in Gansu and Ningxia provinces) of the Great Wall are deteriorating very quickly and may disappear within 20 years due to demolishment by nature and humans.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), many bricks of the Great Wall were taken away to use in building homes, farms, or reservoirs. Actually, the government actively encouraged it then.

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France

Amazing Facts 4 U — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 09:30:12 +0000

60 Amazing Facts that will surprise you About France | Amazing Facts 4U

Land & Geography

France is the largest nation in Western Europe having a population of about 66 million. Fact is France is the most visited country in the world, with over 80 million visitors every year.
France is also referred as L’Hexagone as it looks like the geometrical shape hexagon.
It has nearly 3000 miles of seashore, with three major water bodies: the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the English Channel.
The Alps mountain range on the border of France and Italy is home to France’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc, which stands at 4,807m high (15,771 ft).
France is the only country in Europe that has 5 major water systems and 7 different mountain ranges running through and around it.
Amazing fact is if you count everything, including overseas territories, then France claims the first title by covering 12 time zones. The United States would be the runner-up with 11 and then Russia with 9.

History

France was once a British colony for over 3 ½ centuries. The hatred towards the British, still continue to this day.
France got its independence from the monarchy on 14th of July 1789. This day is also called as the “Bastille Day.”
The Statue of Liberty was made in France, and transferred to the United States as a gift for the 100th anniversary of its independence in 1876. The statue was created by renowned French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The amazing fact is it traveled to the USA in 350 parts before being rebuilt there.
France is where the gothic art and the Baroque style of architecture were born.
Amazingly soldiers arrived to fight the Battle of Marne in World War I – not on foot or by military airplane or military vehicle – but by taxi cabs. France took over all the taxi cabs in Paris to get soldiers to the front.
Rivers played a major role in transportation before the introduction of railways; France has 24 rivers and the majority of the metropolitan areas got their names from these rivers.

Places / Architecture

France was the first country in the world to introduce the gothic architecture style, and use it widely during the reign of King Phillip.
France receives an amazing 65 million visitors annually.
Paris is called as the “City of Lights” as it has nearly 296 illuminated sites that consist of hotels, fountains, churches, national buildings, bridges, etc.
The Louvre is the most visited and largest art museum in the world . It has some of the world’s most iconic paintings and sculptures . The famous Mona Lisa painting is on display in this museum.
A glass pyramid stands outside the Louvre museum as a tribute to the ancient Egyptians and their amazing world.
Eiffel Tower was built in the year 1889 by Gustave Eiffel as the entrance point for a fair. It is one of the most visited monuments in the world.
The French government wanted to tear down the tower after the fair, but its popularity made them not to do so. There are 1665 steps in the Eiffel Tower.
Out of 400 people who have committed suicide since the opening of the Eiffel Tower, 2 survived. One of them, a lady, by falling on a car. She recovered and later married the car’s owner!
The Millau Bridge in southern France is the world’s tallest bridge and France’s tallest structure. At its highest point, it stands 343m (1125 ft) above the ground.
Amazingly in France there is a place called ‘Y’
An underground rail tunnel, known as the Channel Tunnel carrying both road & rail traffic , joins England and France. It runs beneath the English Channel, connecting Folkestone, Kent in England and Coquelles, near Calais in France.
Amazing fact is there’s a Coffee Shop in France where not saying “hello” and “please” makes your coffee more expensive.
Verdon Gorge in France is the 2nd largest gorge in the world; this is where Provence meets the Alps.
Disney land, California, and Orlando was so popular among Europeans that Disney decided to build the only one in Europe in outside Paris, France

People Customs & Culture

The most popular religion in France is Roman Catholic followed by Islam.
There are over 1 million illegal immigrants in France fighting for equal right among the French people today.
French’s love cheese. Amazingly there are in fact over 1000 different types available in the French market.
Beer is considered a luxury drink saved for special occasions, wine is free with most meals.
It is normal to take 3-hour lunches on work days while indulging in wine unsparingly.
People automatically kiss any friend, or friend of friends you don’t know on the cheek, even between men.
French people have habit of shrugging their shoulders while responding to questions.
The amazing fact is that you can find close to 1000 varieties of cheese in France.
People commonly queue at the bakery every morning to get breakfast.
Average French citizen eats 500 snails per year.
It isn’t uncommon to tell your boss or customers “that’s not part of my job” when asked to do something.
People don’t hesitate to park car against the bumper of the car in front of you.
You shall find very few shops open on Sundays and also open over lunch.
April Fools’ Day celebrated on April 1, is believed to have originated in France in the year 1564 as France switched to the Gregorian calendar and those who were not aware of this change believed April 1st to be French New Year and were teased as fools on this day.
1 in 5 people in France have experienced depression making it the most depressed country in the world consuming highest quantity of antidepressant or tranquillizer drugs.

Politics/ Legal

Human rights originated in France. The “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” was passed on 1789.
Since 1789, the form of government has been changed 9 times in France. These include 5 times Republics, 2 times Empires and 2 times Constitutional Monarchies.
Amazingly in France, the law guarantees everyone five weeks of vacation, and most full-time workers get two full months vacation.
France has the highest tax on wealth in Europe.

Economy & Corporates

France has one of the largest networks of railroads in the world.
The country is one of the largest and finest wine producing nations in the world. producing amazing 20% of the world’s wine.
France is the world’s largest net exporter of electricity (75% of which is derived from nuclear energy).
France is the only agriculturally self-sufficient country in Europe.
The first Flight of the supersonic concord took place from the French city of Toulouse, instantly becoming the fastest commercial plane in the world. It was was retired in 2008 due to environmental concerns.
The makers of Levis jeans were originally founded in the city of Nimes, France which made jeans, an overnight sensation.

Inventions

The French invented the metric system during the French revolution.
The French invented an early version of the Internet called Minitel. As long ago as 1984, French people could pay bills and shop from the comfort of their own home using the Minitel service.

Language

Amazing fact is that French is the official language in 30 countries!
The distress code “Mayday” comes from the French for help me, M’Aide!
The largest French speaking city in the world is Kinshasa (Congo) with 10 million inhabitants.
What is called “French Kiss” in England and America is known as an “English Kiss” in France.
In France, megabytes are called mega-octets because Megabyte would be a dirty word!

Famous People

France has won 13 Nobel Prizes for literature more than any other country in the world.

Sport

The most famous road bicycle race in the world, the Tour de France zig zags through France covering almost 2100 miles for the world title.

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