Friday, June 10, 2011

Almost Useless Stuff...!


You all know that I am a complete warehouse of almost useless information!

In keeping with that honor, I wanted to share just a few of these facts with you, just in case you didn't know them already! It just might brighten your morning, and that is my total aim!

Useless Geographical Info

ALASKA
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.

AMAZON
The Amazon rain forest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. 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. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.

ANTARCTICA
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.

BRAZIL
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

CANADA
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village."

CHICAGO
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

DETROIT
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan carries the designation M - 1, named so because it was the first paved road anywhere.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Istanbul, Turkey is the only city in the world located on two continents.

LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula--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. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time- The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jewish people in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.

AFRICA
Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28.
Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38.

OHIO
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio; every one is human made.

PITCAIRN ISLAND
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq. miles/4.53 sq. km.

ROME
The first city to reach a population of one million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C.
There is a city called Rome on every continent.

SIBERIA
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

S.M.O.M.
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001, has a population of eighty, twenty less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.

SAHARA DESERT
In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years.

SPAIN
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
St. Paul, Minnesota was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the first business there.

TEXAS
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as 20 Empire State Buildings but only 3 inches wide.

UNITED STATES
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips and in times of war or other emergencies.

WATERFALLS
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.

Well, that's all the useless stuff I have for today, but I'll try and find some more almost useless stuff to share with you later, OK?

How about some fresh coffee on the patio? It obviously NOT going to rain, no matter what the weather guy says!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Hermit Jim for all of those statistics and factoids. The one that really surprised me was the percentage of wilderness comparison with Africa - U.S. - they used to refer to Africa as the Dark Continent. I guess the effects of population changed that.

Momlady said...

While I knew about the Eisenhower highways and Angel Falls, all the other stuff was new to me. Thanks, Jim. You always come up with interesting stuff!

linda m said...

Great post, Jim! Thanks for the information. I learned something new today. :)

Dizzy-Dick said...

28% of Africa is a lot more than 100% of the United States. That is a lot of wilderness. . . Thanks Jim for enlightening us.

Craig said...

Huh, I didn't know that about Brazil. Come to think about it, the country is shaped somewhat like a Brazil nut.

Sixbears said...

Always full of fun facts. Goes well with the first coffee of the day.

HermitJim said...

Hey Anon 6:52...
So much was unknown about the African continent in years past, it became a place of legend!

Now I guess it's known mainly for being always at war!

Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Momlady...
I'm always happy to give up what whatever useless stuff I can find!

Always makes me happy that folks can find something here to amuse them. After all, that's why I'm here!

Thanks for the visit this morning!


Hey Linda...
I am more than happy to furnish something fun!

Some of these facts have been out there for a long time, and others I haven't seen before!

I really appreciate you coming by today!

HermitJim said...

Hey DD...
28% of Africa is a LOT of ground, for sure!

Sometimes, I think folks don't realize just how big the rest of the world really is!

Heck, some of the United States is way larger than most folks know!

Hey, buddy...thanks for coming by today!


Hey Craig...
Pretty interesting, right? Sometimes you find out the most bizzare and useless facts about countries!

I wonder if they teach this stuff in their schools?

I appreciate you dropping in today!


Hey Sixbears...
Having fun is what it's all about!

That's what keeps us young at heart, right?

Really nice of you to drop in today!

JoJo said...

What do you mean useless information. I have learned a great deal of stuff from you. I loved this post too. I didn't know a lot of those stats.
Still no rain here either. Check blog for smoke pictures.
Lets get some coffee and talk about fun stuff so we can block out some of the bad.

TROUBLEnTX said...

I read the wilderness percentages as on 2 CONTINENTS. and that would include Canada. Just saying,,,,
Love these facts,,,

Anonymous said...

I love useless facts and knew some of this but much was new to me :-)Thanks now I can tell even more funny things at work :-) :-) :-)

Have a great day!
Christer

Mayberry said...

Maybe "useless", but definitely interesting!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post sir! - James (formerly RangerSquirrel)

Eric Pinola said...

Great list, but the interstate bit is folk lore.