40 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Salt | Amazing Facts 4U

1. Salt (Sodium Chloride)  is formed when the unstable metal sodium reacts with chlorine gas. It is the only family of rocks regularly eaten by humans.
2. Do you know there are over 1400 different uses for salt? Salt has a fascinating history making it the world’s most amazing mineral.
3. Every cell in the body contains salt. An adult contains about 250 grams.
4. The recommended daily intake of salt is just about 2.3 gm per day (About 1 teaspoonful) . There are many food items which add to salt intake without our knowledge which include restaurant foods,processed foods, ketchup,bread , cheese etc.
5. Consumption of too much salt can be deadly. Lethal dose is about 1 gram of salt per kilogram and this was used as a method of ritual suicide in China especially amongst the nobility as salt was an expensive item.
6. It is a myth that there is no salt in products that claim to be sodium-free or salt free. A product is labeled free of it if it has less than 5 mg of sodium.
7. Sea salt contains about 80 mineral elements that the body needs. Some of these elements are needed in trace amounts. Unrefined sea salt is a better choice of salt than other types of salt on the market. Ordinary table salt that is bought in the super markets has been stripped of its companion elements and contains additive elements such as aluminum silicate to keep it powdery and porous which is a very toxic element for our nervous system.
8. Fruits and vegetables are nearly salt-free. This means that a vegetarian diet needs salt to be added to aid saliva and gastric secretions.
9. It is a commonly held myth that Roman soldiers were paid in salt and that this is where the word ‘salary’ comes from. In fact they were paid in coins, but one of their jobs was to guard the first great Roman road Via Salaria (salt road), leading from Rome to the Adriatic Sea, where salt was gathered. So this is probably where the term ‘salary’ comes from..
10. In old Japanese theatres, salt was sprinkled on to the stage before each performance to prevent evil spirits from casting a spell on the actors.
11. Right up to the 20th century, pound bars of salt (called amoleh) were the basic currency in Abyssinia (now called Ethiopia).
12. India’s independence movement began by Gandhi’s “salt satyagraha” (“march to the sea”). This was a non-violent protest against the British salt tax in 1930.
13. Sodium, a part of salt is key in the operation of all signals within, as well as to and from, the brain.
14. Salt is used to remove traces of water from aviation fuel after it is purified.
15. Only 6% of the salt used in the U.S. is used in food; another 17% is used for de-icing streets and highways in the winter months. Rest is used in the chemical industry.
16. Bolivia boasts the world’s largest salt desert, the Salar de Uyuni, which covers 4,085 square miles at an altitude of 12,500ft. It becomes mirror-like when a thin layer of water lies on top. This reflectivity makes it a very useful tool in calibrating scientific equipment from outer space. This amazing salt flat also contains half of the world’s supply of lithium. Since 1995 it has also featured the Salt Palace and Spa, the world’s only salt hotel.
17. In the Middle Ages, salt was so expensive it was sometimes referred to as “white gold”.  In the early 1800s, salt was 4 times as expensive as beef.
18. Anthony Lucas (1855-1921) was a Croatian engineer who became convinced that oil deposits might be linked to the presence of salt. The result was the emergence in 1901 of the Lucas Gusher, on Spindletop Hill in Texas, a 197 ft stream of oil that shot out of the ground for nine days. This kick-started the black gold rush and marked the beginning of the modern petroleum industry.
19. There is an enormous salt mine under the city of Detroit, about 1,200 feet below ground. According to Detroit Salt Co., the century-old mine spreads out more than 1,500 acres and has more than 100 miles of underground roads.
20. Sea turtles in fact “cry” to get rid of salt. Special glands next to the turtle’s eyes produce a salty discharge. Seabirds don’t cry but their heads contain tiny desalination plants so they never need to drink fresh water.

Salt Uses at home

1. For stings and bites, put water on it and then pour salt on top. This should help with the pain.
2. For sore throat just gargle some warm salt water and you’ll notice the relief. Just don’t swallow it!
3. For whiter teeth, you can use a blender to break the salt up. Mix it with 2 parts baking soda to 1 part salt. Put a little water on the mixture and start brushing!
4. For sore feet put some salt in warm water and begin soaking. You shall get faster relief.
5. For a good facial massage, get a mixture of equal amounts of olive oil and salt into your skin and then rinse off after just a few minutes.
6. When cotton and linens begin to yellow, use a mix of salt and baking soda and boil for about an hour.
7. Wine stains, sweat stains, and bloodstains can be removed with saltwater.
8. You can restore brass shining with equal parts flour, salt, and vinegar rubbing the paste on the brass and leave for about an hour.
9. For rust stain, wet the spots with lemon juice and salt mixture. Spread the object in the sun and let bleaching take place. Then rinse thoroughly and dry.
10. If you add just a tiny bit of salt to your milk, it will stay fresh longer than it should.
11. Coffee pot bitterness builds up over a period of time. Use about 4 tablespoons of salt and run it through your coffee maker as normal. Then run regular water through the coffee maker.
12. Salt can be used for testing egg. Add two spoonfuls of salt to a cup of water and then drop an egg in. If it’s fresh it won’t float. Rotten eggs will. Add some salt to your boiling water and you’ll notice it’ll be a lot simpler to peel the eggs.
13. Adding a few pinches of salt to boiling water won’t speed up the boiling process but it will boil at a higher temperature so your food will cook quicker.
14. If you want to make your cheese last longer, then wrap a saltwater damp paper towel or cloth around your cheese before storing it.
15. If overcooked coffee is bitter, throw a pinch of salt into your cup of burnt coffee, it will take away some of that unpleasant bitterness.
16. You can clean the drain by throwing some salt brine down the drain at least once a month to help clear the grease and smell out.
17. To clean the fridge just scrub your fridge with salt and soda water mix. It will clean it up fast!
18. Add a tiny bit of salt to the vase of water you keep your flowers in, they’ll last longer.
19. If you want to avoid dripping candles, soak your new candles in saltwater for at least 4 or 5 hours. Now there will be no dripping.
20. If you want to keep your car or house windows from frosting up in cold weather, just rub some saltwater over the windows and dry them well.

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50 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Turkey  (Part I) | Amazing Facts 4U

Land & Geography

• The name of the country Turkey may come from Turchia, which is the word Italian observers used to refer to Anatolia, Turkey’s Asian portion as early as the 12th century. The name was officially used in 1923. The official name of Turkey is the Republic of Turkey.
• Turkey is a peninsula that serves as a bridge between Asia and Europe. The country is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea.
• In fact, there are eight countries that share a border with Turkey including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Bulgaria, Greece, and Georgia.
• Turkey has a population of about 80 million, land area being 783,562 km².
• Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and is the third most populous urban area in Europe. Ankara is in fact the capital of Turkey since 1923.
• Turkey is home to spectacular mountain ranges and more than 130 peaks exceed 9800 Ft (3000 m). The highest point in Turkey is Mount Ararat 5137 m (16,854 ft).
• Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey.
• Turkey has 82,693 mosques, most of which are in the country’s largest city, Istanbul.
• Turkey has had more than 25 major earthquakes, measuring up to 7.8 on the Richter scale, since 1939.

History

• One of the world’s earliest civilizations, the Hittites, flourished in Turkey around 1600 B.C. They were among the first people to work iron and use a system of writing.
• The first coins in world history were made of electrum and used by Lydian King Alyattes in Sardis, in the Aegean region of Turkey, in 640 B.C.
• Julius Caesar pronounced his famous words, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) in Turkey when he defeated Pontus, a kingdom of the Black Sea region of Turkey.
• A part of the southeastern Turkey coast was a wedding gift of Marcus Antonius to Cleopatra.
• Turkey is the site of the world’s first beauty pageant, with Paris of Troy as judge and Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite as contestants. Paris chose Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, who was already married which led to the Trojan War.
• Virgin Mary spent her last days in Selcuk in Izmir, near the antic city of Ephesus. That is why the first church dedicated to Virgin Mary is in Ephesus.
• Santa Claus, also known as St. Nicholas, was born in Patara, Turkey, in the 3rd century A.D.
• For more than 2000 years Istanbul was the capital of three empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman.
• The first Christian church to be built by man, the Cave Church, or Grotto, of St. Peter was built between A.D. 1098 and 1268 in Antioch, Turkey.
• The word “harem” comes from the Arabic for “forbidden” and refers to the private rooms where the sultan’s wives and concubines lived with their children. During the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, there were 1,000 women living in 250 rooms of the harem at Topkapi Palace.
• In 1503, Leonardo da Vinci submitted plans to build a bridge across the Bosporus Straits. It was not built until almost 500 years later in 2001 and named the Galata Bridge.

Politics/ Legal

• The first recorded international treaty in the world was the Treaty of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, Hattusilis III and Ramses II, in 1275 BC.
• 623 years of Ottoman rule was abolished and the newly formed “Republic of Turkey” was officially proclaimed on 29 October 1923 in Ankara. Mustafa Kemal became the republic’s first President. He is a founder of the modern Turkish state. Amazingly he was born in 1881 in the Greek city of Saloniki.
• When Mustafa Kemal Ataturk rose to power, he lifted the ban on alcohol, adopted the Gregorian calendar instead of the Islamic, made Sunday a day of rest instead of Friday, changed the Turkish alphabet from Arabic letters to Roman, and mandated that the call to prayer be in Turkish rather than Arabic.
• Turkey has had equality for women going back a millennium to the Hittite civilization, and it gave women the right to vote before most European countries and the United States (1930 for local elections, 1934 for national elections).
• Most Turks did not have surnames until a law was passed requiring it in 1934.
• More journalists are imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world.
• Military service is compulsory for every fit male Turkish citizen without exception.
• Wearing a headscarf is forbidden in public buildings.

Places / Architecture

• Turkey is home to over ten World Heritage Sites. Two of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world are in Turkey: Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. There are at least 150 archaeological digs going on in Turkey each year.
• The legendary city of Troy of the Trojan horse, Achilles, and Paris and Helen is located on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
• The stones found at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey in 1994 mark it as the world’s first temple and one of the most important archaeological sites ever discovered. Carbon dating shows the 45 stones may be as old as 13,000 years old which makes it the oldest site by an amazing margin.
• The oldest known shipwreck on earth was found and examined in Uluburun in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, about 6 miles Southeast of Kaş. It was dated to be at least 3,300 years old. That shipwreck could be seen now in the Submarine archaeology museum in Bodrum.
• Gaziantep, the Turkey, is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.
• Turkey’s population is mostly Muslim but thousands of Christian pilgrims visit it every year. The spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox, lives in Istanbul, a vestige of the Byzantine Empire. Istanbul is also home to the 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia cathedral, now a museum. The Armenian Apostolic Church was founded 1,700 years ago in what’s today the city of Kayseri.
• Seven churches mentioned in John’s revelation are all in Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
• Noah’s Ark is purported to have landed on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey. The mountain is actually a dormant volcano and the highest point in the country at 16,949 feet (5,166 m).
• The first known university in human history is in Harran, in southeast Turkey.
• The Hagia Sofia (Turkish: Ayasofya), or Church of the Holy Wisdom, the cathedral in Istanbul was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. Following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, it was turned into a mosque, and it has been a museum since 1935.
• Mimar Sinan is Turkey’s best-known architect. Born in 1497, he was a Christian who became a Muslim and was eventually appointed chief of the imperial architects under Süleyman the Magnificent. He went on to design 321 buildings, 85 of which are still standing. His best-known work is the Süleymaniye Mosque.
• The oldest known ceramics originate from Jordan valley and Catal Huyuk in Anatolia, Turkey.
• Patara is the longest beach on the Mediterranean (12 miles of pristine white sand dunes).
• Turkey has 82,693 mosques, more than any other country per capita in the world.
• Istanbul’s Kapalıçarşı, or Grand Bazaar, maybe the world’s largest outdoor market, with 64 streets, 4,000 shops, and 25,000 workers. It also may be one of the oldest, having been built in the 15th century.
• Turkey’s Istanbul Tünel is the world’s second-oldest underground railway, after the London Underground, and the oldest on the European continent. It started in 1875.
• Istanbul is the home of the Sirkeci Train Station, which was the last stop on the Orient Express, which ran between Paris and Istanbul from 1883 to 1977. British mystery author Agatha Christie was one of the famous passengers on this famous train.
• With its huge collection of 5000 works of art exhibited in the 13 halls, its open-air gallery, and almost 30000 artifacts that are not exhibited, Antalya Museum (Antalya, Turkey) is one of the best world-class museums.
• The most valuable silk carpet in the world, with 144 knots per square centimeter, is in the Mevlâna Museum in Konya, Turkey.
• Pamukkale (“Cotton Palace”) is an attractive natural complex of unique mineral springs near Denizli city in Turkey.
• Istanbul is the world’s only city spanning two continents. Three percent is in Europe and 97% in Asia. The part that lies in Asia is called Anatolia.
• The Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya holds the world record for having the highest number of “Blue Flag” certified beaches in the world, awarded for highest water quality, beach cleanliness, and highest environmental standards. 

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75 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Ireland | Amazing Facts 4U

Land &  Geography

• Ireland covers 5/6th of the island of the same name, the remaining 1/6th of the island is Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
• There are over 4.75 million people living in Ireland. The Irish capital, Dublin is home to over one-quarter of the total population. Other important cities are Cork, Limerick, and Galway. Louth is the smallest county in Ireland and Cork is the largest.
• At a height of 688 meters above the Atlantic Ocean, Croaghaun (on Achill Island) are the second-highest cliffs in Europe.
• The Irish National Stud’s Japanese Gardens, laid between 1906 and 1910 by Japanese master horticulturist Tassa Eida, are considered the finest of their kind in Europe located in Kildare.
• Amazingly Ireland has virtually no coal deposits, even though it’s just 60 miles from Wales, one of the world’s richest coal fields.
• The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland or Britain.
• There has never been a snake in Ireland. Due to its isolation from the European mainland, Ireland lacks several species common elsewhere in Europe.
• All polar bears alive today can trace their ancestry back to one female brown bear who lived in Ireland 50,000 years ago.

Places / Architecture

• Ireland’s oldest pub is Sean’s Bar in Athlone founded 900 years back. However, the country’s oldest licensed pub is Grace Neill’s Bar in Donaghadee, established in 1611.
• The Woodenbridge Hotel, which opened in 1608, is the oldest hotel in Ireland located in the Vale of Avoca, County Wicklow.
• Trim Castle was the first Anglo-Norman castle built (from 1169) in Ireland which was the largest ever built, covering an area of 30,000 m². Kilbrittain Castle, County Cork, is the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland built-in 1035.
• Kilkea Castle, in County Kildare, is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Ireland from the early 13th century until the early 1960’s. The castle was subsequently converted into a hotel.
• The scenic “Wicklow Way” is the oldest and most popular hiking route in Ireland stretching from the Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham in a south-westerly direction toward the village of Clonegal, in County Carlow. the 25-year-old public walking route is traversed by over 20,000 people each year.
• Ireland’s top visitor attraction is the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. The Canary Islands are the most popular sunshine holiday destination with retired Irish citizens.

Heritage Sites

• The Neolithic site of Newgrange (3200 BCE), County Meath, is the best-preserved passage grave in Europe. The monument’s central room is the oldest ‘solar observatory’ in the world.
• The passage tomb cemeteries in Carrowmore, County Sligo, are the largest group of megalithic tombs (30 of them) in Ireland or Britain.The Céide Fields in County Mayo are the most extensive Stone Age site in the world containing the oldest known field systems in the world (6,000 years old), as well as Europe’s largest stone enclosure (About 77 km).
• The Hill of Uisneach, in County Westmeath, marked the traditional centre of Ireland. The location of this 182-meter tall hill is unique as 22 counties, two-third of Ireland, can be seen from the top.
• In 1854, three workmen clearing the way for the Ennis railway line stumbled across the remains of the Late Bronze Age Mooghaun Hillfort, the largest in Ireland. On the site was a stone box containing 150 objects, most of them made of gold. It was the largest discovery of assorted gold objects in Western Europe and is known as the Great Clare Gold Find.

History

• Dublin was founded in 988 by the Vikings.
• Prior to the annexation to England, then the United Kingdom, Ireland was never unified under a single monarchy like other European countries. Instead, there were hundreds of minor kings waging war with one another on a nearly permanent basis.
• Ireland was one of the last European nations to abolish slavery of its own people as opposed to slaves imported from abroad.
• The Irish are now some of the most fervently Catholic Europeans along with the Poles. Yet, Ireland was the last Western European country to adopt Catholicism in the 15th century.
• Erected from 1729, the Irish Houses of Parliament was the world’s first purpose-built two-chamber parliament house. It now houses the headquarters of the Bank of Ireland.
• Founded in 1745, the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin is the world’s oldest maternity hospital. More than 300,000 babies have been born there since it opened its doors.
• In the late 18th century, Cork was the largest exporter of butter in the world, mostly to Britain and British Empire.
• The Union Jack was flown for the very first time in Dublin on 1st January 1801 to herald the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
• The term ‘boycott’ comes from Captain Charles Boycott (1832-1897), the land agent of an absentee landlord from Ulster. In 1880, after refusing to reduce the rents of his employer’s tenants, the Irish community decided to stop dealing with him. The term boycott came to mean organized isolation.
• The world’s first suburban commuter railway opened between Dublin and Dun Laoghaire in 1834.
• On 9th July 1939, the Pan Am Clipper III left Botwood, Newfoundland, and landed the next day at Foynes, County Limerick. It was the first direct commercial passenger flight from America to Europe.There is the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, on the site of the old airport. In 1942, Shannon Airport replaced Foynes as the gateway to America. It is also in Shannon that the world’s first duty free opened in April 1947.

People Customs & Culture

• The Irish consume on average 130 liters of beer per year, the 2nd highest per-capita consumption after the Czech Republic.Dublin boasts one pub for every 100 head of population.
• 88% of Irish citizens are nominally Roman Catholic. The Republic of Ireland has one of the highest rates of church attendance in the Western World (45%).
• The ancestral language of Irish people is Irish Gaelic. Now only 380,000 fluent speakers remain. Gaelic is spoken next to Irish and English.Amazingly there are nearly 8 times more Polish speakers in Ireland than Gaelic speakers.
• Many Irish family names start with “Mac” or “O’…”, which means respectively “son of …” and “grandson of …” in Gaelic.
• Irish marriages last an average of 13 years, although the majority do not end in divorce. Irish couples prefer to separate and live with their new partners rather than go through costly legal proceedings.
• Amazingly couples in Ireland could marry legally on St. Brigid’s Day (February 1st) in Teltown, County Meath, as recently as the 1920s by simply walking towards each other. If the marriage failed, they could “divorce'” by walking away from each other at the same spot, on St. Brigid’s day the following year.
• Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin, is Ireland’s “Beverly Hills”, home to a number of Irish celebrities including George Bernard Shaw.
• Montgomery Street in Dublin was once the largest red light district in all of Europe, with 1600 prostitutes.
• It is estimated that over 80 million people of Irish descent live outside Ireland, in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, and states of the Caribbean and continental Europe. Amazingly this is 14 times more than the population of Ireland (including Northern Ireland)! 3 million of these emigrants still hold Irish nationality.
• In 1800, the population of Ireland was almost twice as large as that of the United States. Amazingly by 2000, America’s population was about 60 times that of Ireland.
• Roughly 34 million Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2000 US Census, which makes it the second largest ethnic group after the German Americans. The highest concentration of Irish Americans is in the North-East (New York and New England).
• It is estimated that over 40% of all American presidents have had some Irish ancestry including President Obama.
• About 40% of the people in Australia are of Irish descent.
• An odd Irish birthday tradition is to lift the birthday child upside down and give his head a few gentle bumps on the floor for good luck. The number of bumps should correspond to the child’s age plus one.
• Cats now outnumber dogs by two to one as Ireland’s most popular pet.
• RTE’s “The Late Late Show” is the world’s longest running talk show running since 1965.
• Sucking a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission in ancient Ireland.
• Grace O’Malley (Nicknamed Pirate Queen) Was Irish born in the west of Ireland in 1530. She is famed for being a fearsome pirate and controlling a large fleet of ships and property.
• Ireland has had its own version of the Olympics Games since the Bronze Age, called the Tailteann Games.

Politics / Legal

• In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain merged to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
• The Irish have a long history of suffering under British rule. Ultimately after long freedom struggle, Ireland was divided into Northern Ireland (6 counties) and the Irish Free State (26 counties) in 1922.
• Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland.  She was followed by Mary McAleese.  This is the only instance in the world where one female President was replaced by another.
• Ireland is the only EU country where abortion is still illegal except to protect the mother’s life.
• In 2002 Ireland was the first country in the world to have an environmental tax for plastic shopping bags and in 2004 it was the first to introduce a public smoking ban.
• Ireland’s 15 principal railway stations are named after the leaders of the 1916 uprising.
• Ireland Is the only country in the world with a musical instrument as its national symbol.

Economy & Corporates

• Famous Irish breweries include Guinness, Smithwicks (Kilkenny), and Harp Lager.
• The Tara Mine near Navan, County Meath, is the largest zinc mine in Europe, and the fifth largest in the world.
• One of the most successful beer brands worldwide, Guinness was once the largest brewery in the world. It originated in the Dublin brewery of Arthur Guinness. Amazingly the brewery has a 9,000-year lease on its 16,000m² property, at a perpetual rate of 45 Irish pounds per year.
• 25% of Europe’s computers are now made in Ireland making it the world’s largest exporter of software. The European headquarters and/or customer service operations of Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Oracle, Lotus, and Boeing Computer Services are all located in Ireland.

Inventions

• The Anglo-Irish physicist John Tyndall (1820-1893) was the first to prove the Greenhouse Effect, the first to discover why the sky is blue (Tyndall effect).
• In 1845, William Parsons built the Leviathan of Parsonstown, a reflecting telescope of the 72-inch aperture which was the largest telescope in the world until 1917. His youngest son, Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (1854-1931) invented the steam turbine and built the world’s first turbine powered battleship and passenger ship. In 1879, Charles’s elder brother, installed a water wheel equipped with a turbine on the River Camcor to provide electricity to Birr Castle and the town, making it the first town in the world to be lit by electricity.
• John Philip Holland invented the first functional self-propelled submarine in 1877. He later developed the first submarines used by the U.S. Navy (1900), the Royal Navy (1901), and the Japanese Imperial Navy (1904).
• The astronomer William Edward Wilson (1851–1908) took some of the earliest photographs of the stars, the moon, the sun, and a solar eclipse. In 1889, he became the first person to measure the temperature of the sun, reaching an estimation of 6590°C, remarkably close to the modern value of 6075°C.
• Louis Brennan (1852-1932), an Irish mechanical engineer who emigrated to Australia, invented the steerable torpedo in 1874. It was the first weapon in history that could be remotely directed to its target. He later invented the gyroscopic helicopter, which performed the world’s first unmanned helicopter flight.
• In 1844 Doctor Francis Rynd, a Dublin-based doctor, invented the hypodermic syringe and needle. The world’s very first subcutaneous injection was given in Dublin’s Meath hospital.

Achievements

• Hook Lighthouse is thought to be the oldest working lighthouses in Europe, or possibly in the world located at Hook Head, in County Wexford. The present structure was completed either possibly in 1245, although the first lighthouse on that spot dates back to the 5th century.
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was founded in 1824 by Richard Martin, an Irish politician and one of the first animal rights activists.
• In 1907, Irish-Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi set up the world’s first permanent transatlantic radio station in Derrigimlagh Bog near Clifden, in County Galway. It operated until 1918.
• RMS Titanic which sunk on its maiden voyage was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On 11 February 1912, Cobh (called Queenstown) was the last port of call of the Titanic. The ship had left Southampton the day before, stopped at Cherbourg and Cobh. It sank 4 days later. Out of 1,308 passengers and 898 crew on board , there were 706 survivors. Elizabeth Gladys ‘Millvina’ Dean, the last living survivor who was two months old then died on 31 May 2009.
• In 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic landing near Marconi radio station bringing with them the first transatlantic mail. In 1928, Dublin-born pilot Captain James FitzMaurice flew from Dublin to Newfoundland, in what was the first Trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West.
• Kilkenny-born architect James Hoban designed the original White House in Washington after winning a competition sponsored by President George Washington in 1792. When it was burned by the British during the war of 1812, Hoban was called again to oversee 3 yearlong restoration work.
• The iconic oscar statue was designed by Cedric Gibbons, a native of Dublin, in 1928.
• Famous wit Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. Irish famous novelists include Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels), Bram Stoker (Dracula), and James Joyce (Ulysses). The story of vampire Count Dracula was written in 1897 in Dublin.
• The world’s first recorded open yacht race was held in Dublin Bay in 1663.The Royal Cork Yacht Club was founded in 1720 and remains the world’s oldest yacht club.
• Cork Harbour claims to be the second largest natural harbor in the world by navigational area, after Sydney’s Port Jackson.

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50 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Thailand | Amazing Facts 4U

Land &  Geography

• The population of Thailand is about 67 million. Thailand is made up of approximately 1,430 islands.
• Thailand’s name in the Thai language is Prathet Thai, which means “Land of the Free.” It is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonized by a European nation.
• Thailand shares a border with four countries: Myanmar (formerly Burma) to the north and west, Laos to the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Malaysia to the south.
• Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and is also called the ‘Venice of the East’ due to its large number on canals. However, as Bangkok grew larger, most canals were filled and paved. It is the world’s most visited city ahead of London having 16 million international visitors per year.
• The longest name of the city in the world is the full name of Bangkok (169 Characters). 1 in 10 Thais live in Bangkok city. Khao San Road is the liveliest and busiest tourist area in Bangkok.
• The highest elevation in Thailand is Doi Inthanon at 8,514 feet (2,595 m) .

Flora & Fauna

• One-tenth of all animal species on Earth live in Thailand.
• The world’s smallest mammal, the Craseonycteris thonglongyai (the bumble bat), is found in Thailand. Amazingly it just weighs two grams.
• More than 1,500 species of orchids grow wild in Thai forests. Thailand is the world’s number one orchid exporter. Orchid is also the national flower of Thailand.
• Thailand is home to what may be the world’s longest snake, the reticulated python. The largest one ever found stretched over 33 feet (10 m) from end to end.
• Thailand is home to the world’s longest poisonous snake, the king cobra. The cobra can reach more than 18 feet long, and one bite from it can kill an elephant.
• The largest living lizard is native to Thailand. The monitor lizard can grow as long as 7 feet.
• Swiftlet nests are made from strands of saliva from the male swiftlet bird. Swiftlet nests collected from Thai caves can fetch more than $900 per pound. It is one of the world’s most coveted and expensive food items.
• The Mekong River, which forms part of Thailand’s eastern border, supports more than 1,300 species of fish. It holds some of the world’s largest freshwater fish, including a giant catfish which can reach nearly 10 feet long and weigh as much as 660 lbs.
• Thailand houses the world’s largest fish, the 12-meter Rhincodon typus, otherwise known as the whale shark.
• One of Thailand’s most curious creatures is the mudskipper, which is a fish that is capable of walking on land and climbing trees. It uses its fins to “walk” and can absorb oxygen through its skin and lining in its mouth. It spends most of its time out of the water, eating the algae in tidal pools.
• A century ago, more than 100,000 elephants lived in Thailand, with about 20,000 of them untamed. Now, there are about 5,000, with less than half of them wild.

History

• Thailand has a long history of monarchy for centuries from 13th century. The current Chakri Dynasty was created in 1782.
• Thailand’s and the world’s longest-reigning monarch is Bhumibol Adulyadej, who became King Rama IX in June 1946. He was born in the U.S. in 1927 when his father was studying medicine at Harvard. He owns a patent on a form of cloud seeding and holds a degree in engineering from Switzerland. He also plays the sax and composed Thailand’s national anthem.

Places / Architecture

• Thailand is home to the largest crocodile farm, the largest restaurant, the longest single-span suspension bridge, and the world’s tallest hotel.
• Don Mueang International Airport sports the tallest control tower in the world, measuring 132.2m (434ft)
• Thailand is home to the world’s 9th tallest statue, the Great Buddha of Thailand, at the Wat Muang Monastery in Ang Thong province which is also the world’s highest stupa, Phra Pathom Chedi at 127 meters.
• The town of Kanchanburi is home to the famous “Bridge Over the River Kwai”, part of the Burma-Siam railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people died in the course of the railway project.
• Thailand is truly a land of temples. There are about 35,000 temples in Thailand.

People Customs & Culture

• In the past, all Thai young men including the kings became Buddhist monks for at least a short period of time before their 20th birthday.
• 75 % percent of the people in Thailand are Thai and 14% are Chinese.
• The Thai alphabet has 32 vowels and 44 consonants.
• Buddhism is Thailand’s largest religion with approximately 94.6% of the population practicing the religion. Muslims make up 4.6%, Christians 0.7%.
• A nuclear family in Thailand is rare because most people live in large extended families.
• In Thailand, the head is the most important part of the body. No one must ever touch another person, even a child, on the head. This always try to keep their heads lower than the head of any person who is older or more important, to show respect.
• Traditionally in Thailand, feet are considered lowly. A person must never sit with their feet pointing to a statue in a temple or at some other person. Feet must always be tucked underneath the body.
• Over 300,000 Thai have settled in North America with the largest communities along the West Coast while over 10,000 Americans live in Thailand.
• One of the country’s most unusual festivals is the annual Monkey Buffet, held in front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province. More than 600 monkeys are invited to feast on over two tons of grilled sausage, fresh fruit, ice cream, and other treats. The locals see it as a thank you to the monkeys which inhabit the village and bring thousands of tourists there each year.
• The Ramakien is the national epic narrative of Thailand which has influenced everyday Thai life for hundreds of years. The story is actually the Thai version of Ramayana, a poem first told in India 3,000 years ago.
• Prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, but the law is very rarely enforced and trade flourishes. Sex workers are estimated to be up to 1 million.
• Thailand currently has the highest prevalence of HIV in Asia.
• Traffic police in Bangkok wear facemasks because of dangerous levels of air pollution. More than 20% of Bangkok’s police have some form of lung disease.
• In 1996, two rare “diamond-eyed cats,” Phet and Ploy, were married in a lavish $16,241 Thai wedding, the most expensive pet wedding in the world.
• The world’s largest Christmas log cake was made in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 25, 1997. The cake weighed 5,071 lbs. and reached 27′ 6″. It was later cut into 19, 212 portions
• Thailand set the record for the longest catwalk on April 9, 2010. The catwalk was 1,584 meters long and was part of the Pattaya International Fashion Week.
• Sometimes the Sky Train will stop for no apparent reason. When any member of the Royal family travels downtown, the trains will stop in a position so that it is not above the Royal. Essentially your head can not be directly above theirs. That goes for walking on the overhead passes too.

Politics/ Legal

• Thailand is a constitutional monarchy like England. It is strictly against the law to criticize the monarchy.
• The Garuda (a creature from the Hindu religion) is a national and royal symbol of Thailand.
• It is illegal to drive shirtless in Thailand. It is also illegal to leave the house without underwear on.

Economy 

• Each year, more than 10 million foreign tourists visit Thailand. Thailand has also attracted many expatriates from developed countries.
• Thailand is the world’s largest producer of tin. It is also the world’s largest exporter of rice.

Sports

• In 1999, a group of 282 skydivers set the record for the largest number of skydivers in a free-fall formation above Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. They held the link for 7.11 seconds.

Famous People

• Medicine man Hoo Sateow from Thailand has the world’s documented longest hair at 16’ 11″ long.
• The brothers who gave the world the term “Siamese twins” were born in 1811 in a village near Bangkok. The twin’s Eng and Chang were joined at the chest and left Thailand for the U.S when they were 17 years old. Each brother married, and between them, they had 22 children. In 1873, Eng caught pneumonia and died. Chang died a few hours later.
• Tiger Woods is the son of an American father and a Thai mother.

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~ By Amazing Facts 4U Team