Did you know…
- …That Ernest Hemingway’s famous short story “Cat in the rain” is set in Rapallo, Italy, where the writers stayed at the Hotel Riviera in the 1920’s?
- …That New York City was originally named New Angoulême in 1524 after King Francis I of France, Count of Angoulême? And that it became a Dutch colonial settlement called New Amsterdam in the 17th century, before the English conquered the city in 1664 and called it New York?
- …That Istanbul is not the capital of modern Turkey, while it was capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire? Ankara is the modern day Turkish capital.
- …That legend has it your return to Rome will be assured if on visiting the Eternal City you throw a coin over your left shoulder into the famous Trevi Fountain, using your right hand?
- …That 150 people were born inside Moscow metro stations when they were used as bomb shelters during the Second World War?
- …That Hollywood, Florida was purchased in 1920 for $175 per acre by Joseph Wesley Young who named it after his home town of Hollywood, California?
- …That Boston, Massachusetts goes by the nick names Hub of the Universe (writer Oliver Wendell Holmes actually referred to the State House as the hub of the solar system), Beantown (beans baked in molasses were a favorite Boston food in colonial times) and Puritan City (simply because Puritan colonists from England founded the city in 1630)?
- …That Luxembourg is not just the only existent Grand Duchy today, but also the sixth smallest country in the world, measuring just 999 square miles but nonetheless has 3 official languages? (French, German, and Luxembourgish)
- …That Krakow, Poland, is home to the largest medieval town square in Europe?
- …That the Old Town of Corfu, Greece and the Sydney Opera House were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list only in 2007?
And you, do you have any curious facts to share?
Photo of Krakow Market Square originally posted by Whistling in the Dark
Topic: General |
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Tags: amsterdam, Italy, New York, Rome
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6 responses to “Did you know?”
Report an inappropriate commentFebruary 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Did you know that Marseille, the oldest city in France, was born from a legendary love story between a Greek navigator called Protis and Gyptis, the King of Segobridges’ daughter?
Isn’t that so romantic?
February 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Did you know that the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign was created in 1959 and that the city of Las Vegas celebrated its 100th birthday on May 15, 2005?
February 8th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Did you know that San Francisco’s official city tree is a 100-foot Monterey Cypress located in front of McLaren Lodge in Kennedy Drive?
February 8th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
To stay with the topic of romanticism…did you know that St. Valentine, the martyred saint, was buried in Rome, at the Via Flaminia, on 14 February?
February 8th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Passing from romanticism to fantasy:
Did you know that the South African village Hogsback in the Amatola Mountains of Eastern Cape is said to have inspired JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”?
February 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Did you know that the Chinese wall is the only man-made object visible from space?
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