99% of the solar system mass is concentrated in the sun.

A person from Glasgow is called a Glaswegian.

A quarter of Russia is covered by forest.

A sizable oak tree, during the typical growing season, gives off 28,000 gallons of moisture.

All gondolas in Venice, Italy must be painted black, unless they belong to a high official.

Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century.

American astronauts must be under 6 feet.

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world's highest waterfall, at 3,212 feet (979m).

Antarctic means opposite the Arctic.

Antarctica has no native population.

Antarctica is the only continent that does not have land areas below sea level.

Antarctica's residents are scientific and support staffs who usually stay no more than a year at a time.

Approximately 1/3 of the Earth's land surface is desert.

At latitude 60 degrees south you can sail all the way around the world.

At the nearest point, Russia and America are less than 4 km apart.

Australia is the richest source of mineral sands in the world.

Because of a large orbital eccentricity, Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune between January 1979 and March 1999.

Because of heavy traffic congestion, Julius Caesar banned all wheeled vehicles from Rome during daylight hours.

Because of the salt content of the Dead Sea, it is difficult to dive below its surface.

Bird droppings are chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the Western Pacific.

Britain's shortest river is the Brun which runs through Burnley in Lancashire.

China's largest city is Shanghai.

City with the most Roll Royces per capita: Hong Kong.

Cuba has virtually no illiteracy and is the only Latin American country to offer all its citizens free healthcare.