506 fun facts, part 6

6 fun facts on this page. It covers Sahara and Gobi, Italy, Siberia and the Arctic, Indian Ocean, USA, Poles. Page 6 of 6.

Page 6 of 6

6 shown

6 fun facts on this page. It covers Sahara and Gobi, Italy, Siberia and the Arctic, Indian Ocean, USA, Poles. Page 6 of 6.

Entries on this page

Fun fact#990

Sand dunes make noise

Some dunes boom, hum or sing when sand avalanches down their faces, producing a low note that can be heard several kilometres away.

Read more: Sahara

Fun fact#991

Rome has a key hole with three countries

Look through the keyhole on the Aventine Hill and you see a garden in Italy, a dome in Vatican City and an avenue owned by the Order of Malta.

Fun fact#994

Boiling water freezes in Arctic air

At around minus 40 degrees, throwing boiling water into the air turns it into a cloud of ice crystals almost instantly, because the hot droplets are tiny and evaporate fast.

Read more: Siberia

Fun fact#996

Whale sharks are counted by their spots

Researchers identify individual whale sharks by their spot patterns using software originally written to map stars in the night sky.

Read more: Indian Ocean

Fun fact#997

Some trees are older than writing

Great Basin bristlecone pines in the White Mountains have been growing for more than 4,800 years, predating the earliest known written records.

Read more: California

Fun fact#1000

Sunsets last longer near the poles

At high latitudes the sun meets the horizon at a shallow angle, so twilight can stretch for hours instead of minutes.

Nothing matched that search on this page. Try a shorter word, or browse by destination.

Keep reading

Your turn

Propose your travel story

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.

Propose your travel storyEmail it straight awayFree · No account · You keep the copyright