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99 results in the libraryPage 4 of 599 results in the library · Fun facts · Page 4 of 5
Mozambique is the only country whose flag features a modern assault rifle, alongside a hoe and a book.
Author not specified in the imported source
Mozambique · Africa
External reference (site language): Flag of Mozambique ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Madagascar separated from other landmasses around 88 million years ago, so roughly 90 percent of its wildlife is unique.
Author not specified in the imported source
Madagascar · Africa
External reference (site language): Madagascar ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
A large baobab can hold well over 100,000 litres of water in its trunk to survive the dry season.
Author not specified in the imported source
Madagascar · Africa
External reference (site language): Madagascar ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The dodo went from first European sighting to extinction in under 100 years, mostly through introduced rats and pigs.
Author not specified in the imported source
Mauritius · Africa
External reference (site language): Islets of Mauritius ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The coco de mer palm produces the largest and heaviest seed in the plant kingdom, weighing up to 25 kilograms.
Author not specified in the imported source
Praslin, Seychelles · Africa
External reference (site language): History of Seychelles ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Piton de la Fournaise erupts every year or two, and roads are built to be rebuilt after lava crosses them.
Author not specified in the imported source
Reunion · Africa
External reference (site language): Reunion ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Comoros supply a large share of the world's ylang-ylang essence, a key note in classic French perfumes.
Author not specified in the imported source
Comoros · Africa
External reference (site language): Comoros ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Pretoria is administrative, Cape Town legislative and Bloemfontein judicial, a compromise dating from 1910.
Author not specified in the imported source
South Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Provinces of South Africa ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
A flat cloud called the tablecloth pours over Table Mountain when southeast winds push moist air up the slope.
Author not specified in the imported source
Cape Town, South Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Cape Verde ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Table Mountain alone hosts more plant species than the entire United Kingdom, part of the tiny Cape Floral Kingdom.
Author not specified in the imported source
Cape Town, South Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Cape Town ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Caves northwest of Johannesburg have produced some of the richest early hominin fossil finds anywhere.
Author not specified in the imported source
Gauteng, South Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Gauteng ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Lesotho is the only country whose entire territory sits above 1,000 metres, and it gets snow most winters.
Author not specified in the imported source
Lesotho · Africa
External reference (site language): Lesotho ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Swaziland officially became Eswatini in 2018, meaning land of the Swazis, partly to avoid confusion with Switzerland.
Author not specified in the imported source
Eswatini · Africa
External reference (site language): Eswatini ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Kalahari receives enough rain to support grass and trees, so technically it is a semi-arid savanna.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kalahari · Africa
External reference (site language): Kalahari Desert ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Estimates put the number of living African languages between 1,500 and 2,000, roughly a third of the world's total.
Author not specified in the imported source
Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Languages of Africa ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Swahili grew along the Indian Ocean coast blending Bantu grammar with Arabic vocabulary from centuries of trade.
Author not specified in the imported source
East Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): East Africa ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Mercator projection shrinks Africa. In reality the United States, China, India and most of Europe would fit inside it.
Author not specified in the imported source
Africa · Africa
External reference (site language): Africa–China relations ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Some rift lakes are so alkaline they can burn skin, yet flamingos thrive on the algae that grow there.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kenya and Tanzania · Africa
External reference (site language): Great Rift Valley, Kenya ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Sankore in Timbuktu was a centre of learning in the 15th century with thousands of students in residence.
Author not specified in the imported source
Timbuktu, Mali · Africa
External reference (site language): University of Timbuktu ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Salt slabs are still cut in the desert and carried by camel caravan, though trucks now do most of the work.
Author not specified in the imported source
Taoudenni, Mali · Africa
External reference (site language): Taoudenni ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Researchers found wild dog packs decide when to hunt by sneezing, with more sneezes meaning stronger consensus.
Author not specified in the imported source
Southern Africa · Africa
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Meerkat sentries rotate duty and give different alarm calls for aerial and ground predators.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kalahari · Africa
External reference (site language): Kalahari Desert ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Sociable weavers build communal nests weighing a tonne that house over a hundred birds for generations.
Author not specified in the imported source
Namibia · Africa
External reference (site language): Namibia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
North Africa has ski resorts. Oukaimeden near Marrakech sits above 2,600 metres and opens most winters.
Author not specified in the imported source
Atlas Mountains, Morocco · Africa
External reference (site language): Morocco ↗
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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