Wit
h the world being such a vast and complex place, there are plenty of strange and obscure facts that the average person might not know. Here are some cold, hard truths about the world that might surprise you.
1. The shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes. In 1896, the British Empire went to war with the Kingdom of Zanzibar over a dispute about who should succeed the recently deceased Sultan. The British won without suffering a single casualty.
2. Oysters can change their gender. Oysters are hermaphrodites, meaning they can produce both eggs and sperm. They can also change their gender multiple times throughout their life.
3. The world's largest pyramid is not in Egypt. Most people assume that the Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest pyramid in the world, but that title actually belongs to the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico. While it's not as tall as the one in Egypt, it has a much larger base.
4. The Great Wall of China is not visible from space. Despite what you might have heard, the Great Wall of China is not visible from the moon, let alone from Earth. It's simply too narrow to be seen with the naked eye.
5. The longest wedding veil ever recorded was longer than 63 football fields. In 2018, a bride from Cyprus set a new Guinness World Record for the longest wedding veil, which measured 22,843 feet and
2.11 inches.
6. The shortest commercial flight in the world lasts only 90 seconds. The flight from the Scottish island of Westray to Papa Westray is only
1.7 miles long and takes less than two minutes to complete.
7. The first recorded marathon runner died after running 2
6.2 miles. According to legend, the Greek soldier Pheidippides ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a great military victory. He collapsed and died immediately after delivering the message.
8. The tallest mountain in the solar system is on Mars. While Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, the Olympus Mons volcano on Mars is three times taller. It measures 1
3.6 miles high and 370 miles wide.
9. The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle. The little dot that appears over the letter "i" is called a tittle. It originally served a purpose in distinguishing between the letter "i" and the similar-looking letter "j."
10 The coldest temperature ever recorded was -144 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at the Soviet Union's Vostok Station in Antarctica in 198
3. The temperature hit a bone-chilling -144 degrees Fahrenheit (-9
7.8 degrees Celsius). There you have it, ten pieces of cold knowledge about the world that you can use to impress your friends and family. The world is full of surprises, and it's always worth taking the time to learn more about it.