Interesting Facts and Photos

Where is the world’s hottest place? 

Death Valley National Park  ….

The highest air temperature ever recorded on Earth

was 134 degrees Fahrenheit, (56.7C) at Death Valley National Park on July 10, 1913.

Where is the world’s  coldest place?

East Antarctic Plateau …

On the high ridge of the East Antarctic Plateau,

the temperature can drop to as low as -135.8  degrees Fahrenheit, (-93.2C) which was recorded in August, 2010.

Where is the world’s most populated city?

Shanghai  …

At a whopping 24,150,000 permanent inhabitants,

Shanghai is the only city that is home to over 24 million people in one city.

Where is the world’s  least populated city?

    (the picture is the clue)  Vatican City …

With a paltry population of 842, the city-state of

Vatican City  is the smallest city and state in the world.

Where is the world’s wealthiest city?

Tokyo, Japan  ..

That tower might as well be made of gold since Tokyo tops the charts

with a GDP of $1,520 billion, beating New York City by a mere $310 billion.

Where is the world’s poorest city in the poorest country?

Kinshasa , Congo ….

it is the poorest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

which is also the poorest country in the world, at a GDP of $55 billion.

Many of its residents live on less $1 a day.

What is the Highest point in the world? (this one is easy)

Mount Everest …

Towering 29,029 feet  (8.848 m)in the air, the top of Mount Everest 

is the closest you can get to touching outer space while still standing on Earth.

Where is the lowest point in the world?

(a little harder)

the Challenger Deep trench ..

It is t he lowest known natural point in the world

at 35,797 ft (10.91km)below sea level  at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Only 3 people have ever made it to the bottom in a submersible, one of which was filmmaker James Cameron.

What is the most photographed place  in the U.S.?

Surprise:  the Guggenheim building in  New York…

Photos have always told stories, but in today’s world of cell phone cameras and social media, that story is relayed as data to companies who monitor everything we do. 

Geotagged data was culled by Sightsmap using a Google-based image sharing software, and can show us the most photographed places in the world, right down to this landmark.  The strange winner is this building in  New York City.  Guess it impresses a lot of visitors.

Where is the wettest spot  on Earth?  (and it’s not the Amazon!)

Mawsynram, India…

In this city in India, it rains an average of  467.35 inches (1187cm)per year,

and has a record of 1000 inches (2540cm)in 1985 …much more than any rain forest.!

Where is the driest spot on Earth?     it’s not the Sahara!

The Atacama Desert …

The 600 miles of South America’s Atacama desert is recorded as the driest place on Earth, no contest. This desert has an average of only 4 inches  (10.16cm) of rain every hundred years. Incredible, but true.

What city claims to be the sunniest place  in the U.S.?

Yuma, Arizna …

In this city in Arizona, the sun shines for an average of 11 hours a day.

The usual forecast is sun for 90 percent of the year, averaging a total of 4015 daylight hours each year.

Where is the most expensive city to live in?

Singapore …

This city has recently beat out Tokyo, Japan, for the title of “most expensive city” for 2014.  Cars can cost between 4-6 times as much in Singapore from what they cost in the US or UK  … (for example, a Toyota Prius actually costs about $150,000.00 there).

Where is the least expensive city  to live in?

Mumbai, India  ….

At the other end of the spectrum, Mumbai, India, is the cheapest place to live in the world, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Index, 2014.  

For some comparison, a loaf of bread that would cost $3.36 in Singapore,

would only cost $0.91 in Mumbai.  A lot of poverty brings the cost of living down.

What country consumes the most food per capita?

the overweight United States …. 

We eat an average of 3,770 calories a day each. 

Shamefully, obesity is becoming more of a problem every year.

Where is the world’s oldest city?

Damascus….

There’s quite a bit of controversy over which city gets to officially claim the title of “oldest continuously inhabited city.  However, Damascus is the safest bet, with evidence of civilization that extends back over11,000 years.

Which is the youngest country in the world?

South Sudan …..

The people of South Sudan were formally recognized as an independent country in 2011, making it the youngest country in the world to-date.

Which is the world’s most visited city?

London …

After a several years of competition with Bangkok, London has regained its place as the world’s most visited city (according to MasterCard’s 2014 Global Destinations City Index). The city sees about 18.69 million international visitors annually, generating  $19.3 billion in revenue for their city.

What is the world’s least popular country?

Iran

  On that same rating scale, Iran has come in dead last (at a 79% negativity rating) for many years. Only 15% of people polled viewed Iran in a positive light.

Where is the world’s most dangerous city to live in?

San Pedro, Honduras 

This city averages over 3 murders a day. The violence stems from the city’s role as a major hub for illegal drug and arms trafficking.

Which country consumes the most caffeine in the world?

Sweden   …

The strong coffee in Sweden will put a spring in your step, and hair on your tongue.

The Swedes consume an average of 388 mg of caffeine in coffee per person, per day

(that’s almost 5 Red Bulls in the U.S.).

Which country in the world  drinks the most alcohol?

Belarus…

In the little country of Belarus, each person above the age of 16

drinks an average of 4.62 (17.5 liters) gallons of alcohol every year. 

That’s a lot of booze.

Which country is the most bicycle friendly in the world?

the Netherlands 
By comparing cities using the average number of bicycle trips made daily, one city reigns supreme: Groningen in the Netherlands.  About 50 percent of the population commute via bike daily, making it the city with the greatest proportion of cyclists.

However, many other cities in the Netherlands have a great bicycling tradition.

Where is the world’s most energy efficient city?

Reykjavik, Iceland  …

All of the energy and heat used by the citizens of Reykjavik, Iceland 

come from geothermal plants and renewable hydropower

making it the most sustainable and energy efficient city in the world. 

This city has also been replacing traditional buses with hydrogen-fueled buses,

from which the only emissions are water.

Which country has the longest life expectancy in the world?

Monaco …

According to the World Health Organization’s study from 2013, Monaco tops the charts for longest living citizens with an average life expectancy of 87.2 years. Men in Monaco live an average 85.3 years, and women live longer to an average of 89 years.

Which country has the shortest life expectancy?

Sierra Leone ..

On the opposite side of that coin, the population of  Sierra Leone live only to an average of 47 years. The men of Sierra Leone live to an average of 47 years old, whereas

women live a little longer, an average of 48 years. 

Poverty plays a big roll in their short life expectancy.

What country would qualify as the most stressed-out nation in the world because of their living conditions?

Nigeria …

By looking at the homicide rate, the GDP per capita, continued income inequality,

corruption, lack of education opportunities and unemployment numbers, 

one thing is clear: Nigeria’s people are, hands-down, the most stressed out population in the world.

Which city has the highest average IQ?

Hong Kong …

There are a lot of factors that affect an IQ score, ranging from national and personal wealth, to simply what test is used.  As a result, these findings are highly controversial, but suggest that  Hong Kong has the highest IQ level, at an average of 107 points per person. *However, Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China,

meaning that it falls within the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China,

yet does not form part of Mainland China , because it has it’s own government.

So these results are questionable.

Which foreign city is the world’s most well-connected one for internet use?

Seoul, South Korea
Surprisingly, despite China’s 618 million internet users who spend an average of 18.7 hours a week surfing the net, China didn’t even make the top 10 for internet connection. 

Seoul ,Korea is a different story considering the average connection speed, availability,

(including free access), openness to innovation, support of public data, and privacy/security, Seoul, South Koreais the champion of internet-connectedness. 

With 10,000 government supported free WiFi spots dotting the city,

and an internet speed that goes unchallenged globally, Seoul is an internet junkie’s paradise.