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506 results in the libraryPage 1 of 22506 results in the library · Fun facts · Page 1 of 22
Iceland is one of the only inhabited places on Earth with no native mosquito population. The island's freeze-thaw cycles interrupt the insect's life cycle before it can complete.
Author not specified in the imported source
Iceland · Europe
External reference (site language): Iceland ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Nearly every home in Reykjavik is heated by geothermal water pumped from volcanic bedrock, which is why the tap water smells faintly of sulphur but the air stays remarkably clean.
Author not specified in the imported source
Reykjavik, Iceland · Europe
External reference (site language): List of volcanic eruptions in Iceland ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The cheese slicer was patented in 1925 by Thor Bjorklund, a furniture maker from Lillehammer who adapted a carpenter's plane to slice brown cheese thinly.
Author not specified in the imported source
Norway · Europe
External reference (site language): Norway ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Laerdal Tunnel runs 24.5 kilometres under Norwegian mountains and is lit with blue and yellow caverns every six kilometres to keep drivers alert.
Author not specified in the imported source
Laerdal, Norway · Europe
External reference (site language): Laerdal ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Sweden recycles or recovers energy from the vast majority of its household waste, and for years it imported rubbish from neighbouring countries to keep its plants running.
Author not specified in the imported source
Sweden · Europe
External reference (site language): Sweden ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
With roughly three million saunas for 5.5 million people, Finland has more steam rooms than automobiles, including one inside the parliament building.
Author not specified in the imported source
Finland · Europe
External reference (site language): Finland ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Dannebrog has been in continuous use since the 14th century, making it the oldest national flag still flown by an independent state.
Author not specified in the imported source
Denmark · Europe
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
More bicycles than cars cross central Copenhagen every day, and the city installed traffic lights timed to a cyclist's pace of about 20 km/h.
Author not specified in the imported source
Copenhagen, Denmark · Europe
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Estonia treats internet access as a social right, runs almost all public services online, and lets citizens vote in national elections from a laptop.
Author not specified in the imported source
Estonia · Europe
External reference (site language): Estonia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
More than half of Latvia is covered in forest, and the total forested area has been expanding for decades as farmland returns to woodland.
Author not specified in the imported source
Latvia · Europe
External reference (site language): Latvia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Hill of Crosses near Siauliai holds well over 100,000 crosses left by pilgrims. Soviet authorities bulldozed it repeatedly; locals rebuilt it every time.
Author not specified in the imported source
Siauliai, Lithuania · Europe
External reference (site language): Lithuania ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
In the Crooked Forest near Gryfino, some 400 pine trees all bend sharply north at the base. Nobody has ever proved why.
Author not specified in the imported source
Gryfino, Poland · Europe
External reference (site language): Gryfino ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
A trumpeter plays the Hejnal from St Mary's tower every hour, cutting off abruptly to commemorate a medieval bugler said to have been shot mid-warning.
Author not specified in the imported source
Krakow, Poland · Europe
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Czechs drink more beer per person than any other nation, and the pilsner style itself was born in the Bohemian town of Plzen in 1842.
Author not specified in the imported source
Czechia · Europe
External reference (site language): Czechia (disambiguation) ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Orloj has been keeping time since 1410, making it the oldest astronomical clock still operating, complete with a parade of apostles on the hour.
Author not specified in the imported source
Prague, Czechia · Europe
External reference (site language): Prague ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Slovakia counts more than 100 castles and hundreds of manor houses across a country smaller than Denmark, giving it one of the highest castle densities on Earth.
Author not specified in the imported source
Slovakia · Europe
External reference (site language): Slovakia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Budapest sits on more than 100 thermal springs, feeding grand bathhouses where locals play chess in steaming water in the middle of winter.
Author not specified in the imported source
Budapest, Hungary · Europe
External reference (site language): Budapest ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Eisriesenwelt near Werfen stretches 42 kilometres into the Alps and is the largest ice cave in the world, lit only by carbide lamps carried by visitors.
Author not specified in the imported source
Werfen, Austria · Europe
External reference (site language): Werfen ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Vienna's drinking water arrives by gravity alone through pipelines from Alpine springs more than 100 kilometres away, no pumping required.
Author not specified in the imported source
Vienna, Austria · Europe
External reference (site language): Vienna ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Swiss law long required fallout shelters in new buildings, leaving the country with enough bunker space for its entire population, now often used as wine cellars and hostels.
Author not specified in the imported source
Switzerland · Europe
External reference (site language): Switzerland ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Matterhorn is so recognisable that its silhouette became the model for the Toblerone chocolate bar, made in Bern since 1908.
Author not specified in the imported source
Zermatt, Switzerland · Europe
External reference (site language): Zermatt ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The entire principality of Liechtenstein was once offered for rent for corporate events, complete with temporary street signs and a night in the village.
Author not specified in the imported source
Liechtenstein · Europe
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
About half of Germany's autobahn network has no general speed limit, though an advisory 130 km/h applies and trucks are strictly capped.
Author not specified in the imported source
Germany · Europe
External reference (site language): Speed limits in Germany ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Berlin's rivers and canals are crossed by more than 900 bridges, comfortably outnumbering those in Venice.
Author not specified in the imported source
Berlin, Germany · Europe
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The missed ferry. The stranger who handed over a key. The meal that ran until midnight. If something happened to you on the road and you still think about it, send it - a few sentences is plenty, and we do the tidying up.
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