Post on 15-Jul-2015
50 Trivia about Countries of the WorldA SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU CAN FIND ON KINDLE – COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD.
Afghanistan
There is a 65-meter high minaret, the second biggest religious monument of its kind in the world, in the middle of nowhere. (34°24'00.0"N 64°31'00.0"E)
Argentina
The largest population of Welsh speakers outside of the United Kingdom is in the Chubut Province of Argentina, with 25,000 speakers.
Australia
In 1970 due to a wheat production quota dispute between a Farming family in west Australia and the Government, the family declared their land to be independent from Australia and created a legal micro nation called the Principality of Hutt River which exists till today, but not recognized by any other country.
Austria
The town of Fucking, Austria, has had its municipal signs modified to be theft resistant after tourists started stealing them.
Bahamas
There are 2 different ages of consent in the Bahamas. One for homosexuals (18), and one for heterosexuals (16).
Bangladesh
The border between India and Bangladesh is so complicated, there is a "3rd order enclave": a piece of India within Bangladesh, within India, within Bangladesh.
Belgium
It was the year of 1955 and a thunderstorm in Belgium set off 40 000 pounds of buried explosives left over from the WW1 battle of Messines. Luckily, the only casualty was a single cow.
Bhutan
In Bhutan they have found a very novel use for marijuana: they feed it to pigs because it makes the pigs hungry, which makes them eat more, which makes them fatter thereby resulting in tastier bacon.
Botswana
Botswana is the plural of Motswana, so a citizen of Botswana is not a Botswanan, but a Motswana.
Brazil
Brazil was the main destination of slaves during colonialism, only 388,000 slaves were sent to the U.S. one million went to Jamaica and nearly five million went to Brazil.
Bulgaria
There is a womb cage in Bulgaria, crafted by humans during Thracian times, that looks exactly like a vagina. During the equinox, a phallus shaped sunbeam fertilizes the uterus altar.
Cameroon
Two men in Cameroon were each sentenced to 5 years in prison for "looking gay", after entering a bar together and ordering Bailey's Irish Cream.
Canada
The residents of Churchill, Canada leave their cars unlocked to offer an escape for pedestrians who might encounter Polar Bears on Main Street.
Chad
The was a war in Chad called the Toyota War, named after the technicalsthe Chadian troops drove to battle.
China
China is the world leader when producing apples, with a production of 35 million tons, while the USA and European Union combined produce 16 million tons.
Colombia
In 1921 the United States compensated Colombia with US$25 million and a formal apology from the US Congress for interfering with the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903.
Congo
The capital of the Rep. of the Congo, Brazzaville, is right next to the capital of the DR Congo, Kinshasa. It is the only place in the world that has two nation's capitals within seeing distance of each other.
Costa Rica
Until 2012, Costa Rica streets were not named and houses were not numbered. Due to the confusion in the capital, they started naming streets in 2012.
Croatia
There is a Sea Organ in Croatia continuously playing music powered by waves that flow through tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps
Cuba
Government vehicles in Cuba are legally required to pick up hitch-hikers if they have room for passengers.
Dominica
There is only one nation in the world that has purple in its national flag; the Flag of Dominica features a purple Sisserou parrot.
Equador
Mount Everest may be the tallest mountain in the world, the summit of Chimborazo, is the farthest point from the Earth's center. This is because of the oblate spheroid shape of the planet Earth which is "thicker" around the Equator than measured around the poles.
Egypt
Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in 1798 is a large part why we know so much about Ancient Egypt. He brought a team of 160 scientists, astronomers, engineers, architects, artists, interpreters, and printers to record and document what he found.
Equatorial Guinea
The capital of Equatorial Guinea is on an island a hundred miles out at sea and closer to Cameroon. Oyala, a city in current construction to become the new capital of Equatorial Guinea, and replacing the current capital of Malabo, is projected to have around 200,000 inhabitants and is set to be finished by 2020.
Estonia
On the longest ice road in Europe, in Estonia, it is illegal to wear a seatbelt, since you might have to make an unexpected and speedy exit from your car.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the world's most populous landlocked country with a population over 93,000,000.
France
There is a law in which a bakery has to make all the bread it sells from scratch in order to have the right to be called a bakery.
Gabon
In 1997, logging in Gabon set off a war among Chimpanzees. That “great” war caused the death of four out of five chimps.
Germany
The formation of larch trees in the shape of a swastika was discovered in Germany in 1992. The formation, only visible in the fall, went unnoticed for 60 years. After that discovery, other forest swastikas were found in Germany and beyond.
Ghana
Since Hollywood movie posters cannot be imported to Ghana, locals will try their hand at drawing them.
Greece
There was a Greek prime minister in 1830's that tried to spread the potato in Greece, but people were not interested, so he made a wise choice, he put armed guards in front of shipments of potatoes so people would think they were important. Later, people started stealing these potatoes which spread the crop to all of Greece.
Guatemala
The United Fruit Company's (UFC now known as Chiquita) main rival was Guatemala, who exported lots of fruit. To eliminate them, UFC lied to the US government that Guatemala's government was Pro-Soviet. The US staged a coup, which led to the 36 year long Guatemalan civil war.
Haiti
The US did not recognize the independence of Haiti (the second in the western hemisphere) because President Jefferson feared a slave revolt at home, and in fact imposed a trade embargo.
Honduras
In 1937, Nicaragua and Honduras almost came to a state of war over a stamp. In August of that year, the Nicaraguan postal service released a new set of Airmail stamps, centered on a map of Nicaragua. The map also showed part of Honduras, north of the border, in the same shading as Nicaragua proper. Although the accepted border between both countries was also shown, the part of Honduras shaded as Nicaragua was labelled Territorio en Litigio (‘Territory in Dispute’).
Hungary
There was a bridge in southern Hungary that was found to still be rigged with dynamite from World War II, all this in October of 1999, 54 years after the end of the war.
Iceland
A 1999 law sets, everyone in Iceland pays church tax, and the payment of those unaffiliated with a church goes to the University of Iceland.
India
The Lotus Temple is a golden temple in India that feeds thousands of people who show up randomly regardless of race, religion and class.
Indonesia
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, recognizes the right to practice six religions in total: Islam, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhism and Confucianism. Atheism is illegal.
Iran
In July 2010, the Islamic government of Iran issued updated grooming guidelines to men. Among the new regulations is a ban of the mullet hairstyle.
Iraq
The largest Embassy in the world is the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. It cost $750 million to build, employs 16,000 people and costs $6 billion a year to run.
Russia
Russia is suspected to have at least 15 secret cities. These "closed cities" are officially classified by the government, with their names and location unknown, they appear do not appear on maps, no road signs will direct you to them, and visits from foreigners are strictly prohibited.
Ukraine
The difference between "Ukraine" and "The Ukraine" is roughly whether it's a post or pre-Soviet context.
United Kingdom
There are over 50 countries that celebrate a day of independence from the United Kingdom. Some of that countries were not independent until the 1980s.
United States of America
In 1946, the United States of America tried to buy Greenland from the Danish for $100,000,000.
Venezuela
Since 2007, an unfinished skyscraper in Caracas has been re-appropriated by squatters into a vast 'vertical slum' which now includes grocery stores, hairdressers, and an unlicensed dentist.