Here is a forward that I received recently and I thought it was interesting enough to post for everyone else to see. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of this:
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’s 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
1930’s 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 Jews in New York
City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man 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 1 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 80, 20 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. Technically though, the driest place
on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has
been no rainfall there for two million 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.Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%
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 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), 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.
