Sharing Fun Facts.

Facts about countries I have visited – a collaboration with a 9 year old.

Master J recently visited from New Zealand with his mum and dad. He, together with his National Geographic Kids Almanac, proved to be a font of knowledge and kept me agog with weird and wonderful facts. It is a fabulous book and I found myself sneaking off with it once Master J was asleep at night for a read myself! I think I may have solved the problem of what to get several kids for Christmas this year.

I challenged Master J to find 15 facts that I had never heard of about 15 different countries I had visited. Master J was up to the challenge and here is what he found as my chief researcher!

Did you know?

1. New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote in 1893 ( I knew this bit but am proud of it so thought I would share). What I didn’t realise is, we were also the first country to have its 3 top Government positions held by women simultaneously.
2. Japan used 2.6 million people to build Todaiji temple in Nara.
   

   
3. Greece has the longest national anthem consisting of 158 verses.
4. China’s Great Wall once spanned more than 21,000 kms
5. Belgium issued a coin featuring Tintin and his dog, Snowy
6. Australia is the world’s flattest continent and the home to the world’s most dangerous bird the cassowary, a giant flightless bird.
7. Vietnam has the biggest cave in the world.
8. Finland has a hotel that is constructed entirely out of snow every winter.
9. Cuba, a man in Havana built a bicycle as tall as an elephant!
10. America grows nearly all the corn used in popcorn around the world. God bless America!
11. Italy’s Mt Etna erupts almost every year
12. Denmark has a hotel that lets you eat a free meal if ride a stationary bike for 15 minutes and produce 10 watts of energy which helps power the hotel. Gives a new meaning to “pedal power” and “work for your supper”
13. The Netherlands are a green country, bikes outnumber cars 4 to 1.
14. Russia boasts the record for the coldest city with a chilly -67.8 Celsius ( -90.4 Fahrenheit) recorded in Oymyyakon and Verkhoyansk.
15. Nepal and India – Hindu followers make offerings to the revered snake and believe evil spirits will stay out of their homes if they have images of serpents on their doors.

So there we have it. Fifteen new and wonderful facts I learnt in collaboration with Master J and his wonderful National Geograhic Almanac!

Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu

Leanne