Did you know how long the world’s longest, and shortest, commercial flights last? Or the country that has more ancient pyramids than Egypt?
Travel: a way to see the world and learn about and experience new cultures. By travelling, we are able to learn countless things about new and timeless destinations, but many travel facts are largely unknown – even by the world’s most discerning explorers. Did you know how long the world’s longest, and shortest, commercial flights last? Or the country that has more ancient pyramids than Egypt? Speaking of pyramids, do you know there’s a country that’s 95% covered in desert?
Shocking and surprising, and potentially even inspiring some trips to far-flung lands, here are 26 travel facts to pique your imagination.
1. France covers more time zones than any country on the planet.
2. Canada has over three million lakes. That’s 60% of the world’s total.
3. New York City is actually further south than Rome is.
4. The world’s longest commercial flight took around 30 hours.
The longest commercial flight ever on record was one, most of us would rather opt for a layover on: Qantas‘ ‘Double Sunrise’ service. The service ran from Australia to Sri Lanka from 1943 to 1945, often taking over 30 hours, and was so long that passengers would see the sunrise twice. Today, the longest commercial route is just over half of that – with the average journey time of 17hours and 50minutes running from Singapore to New York City on Singapore Airlines.
5. The shortest commercial flight takes less than two minutes.
In contrast, the world’s shortest commercial flight – very much in action today – operated between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney islands. The flight takes just 1.5 minutes, with the shortest flight taking less than 50 seconds.
6. Sudan has more ancient pyramids than Egypt.
The world’s most famous pyramids undoubtedly reside in Egypt, where three super structures make up the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramids of Giza. However, according to many sources, Sudan is claimed to be home to around 250 pyramid structures – more than double the amount found in Egypt (just over 100). These pyramids were built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms between 2500BC to 300AD. Nearly 200 run alongside the banks of the River Nile and are traced back to the Nubians and rulers of the Meroitic Kingdom.
7. Russia is bigger than Pluto.
Russia is the largest country in the world, a status it carries into outerspace – where it’s also bigger than the planet Pluto. Russia’s surface area is 17,075,200 square kilometers while Pluto’s has been found to be 16,647,940.
8. Papua New Guinea has over 820 languages listed as being spoken in its country.
9. 95% of Libya is covered in desert.
10. Finland has almost 180,000 islands. More than any country on earth.
11. San Marino has more cars in its country than people
12. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have no rivers
13. Only 4% of all the world’s languages are spoken by 96% of its population
14. In the 60 odd seconds you’ve been reading this article, 56 pieces of luggage have been lost, over 2,174 people have arrived in a foreign country, and a quarter of a million dollars has been spent by Americans abroad.
15. The Isle of Sark, in between England and France, doesn’t have street lamps, cars, or outdoor lighting.
The island is officially part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, and has its own set of laws – based on Normal law – and a population of just 500.
16. There is a town in Norway just called A.
17. There is actually no land on the North Pole, only ice on top of the sea.
18. The total length of the world’s coastline is the roughly the same distance as the earth to the moon, 350,016km.
19. Ganvie in is the largest city in Africa built entirely on stilts
20. Every penny thrown into Rome’s Trevi Fountain is collected every day and donated to a number of charities.
21. The whole of China operates on Beijing time, even though the country covers five time zones.
22. Roughly 64,640 selfies are taken around the world every minute.
23. Iran is home to the second oldest tree on earth, it is 4000-years-old.
24. The world’s busiest airport is Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, USA.
25. Dubai owns 20% of the world’s cranes.
26. The Principality of Monaco is smaller in size than Central Park in New York City
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