- To celebrate the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, the golden dome of invalids was re-gilded, using 12.65kg (or 27.8lb) of gold leaf.
- James Bond was modeled after a real spy named Wilfrid “Biffy” Dunderdale – MI6’s man in Paris.
- The point of the Luxor obelisk indicated international time, making it the largest sundial in the world.
- The Great Mosque of Paris sheltered Jews during the Holocaust and supplied them with Muslim identity certificates.
- Hitler gave orders to destroy Paris on the eve of the allied liberation
in 1944, but the Nazi General in control of Paris intentionally ignored
the order.
- The airport in Amsterdam is the first in the world that has a museum.
- Amsterdam has the most museums in the world per square kilometer, i.e. total of 51.
- The entire city of Amsterdam was built on piles — massive stakes that are driven into the ground.
- 86 percent of Amsterdam residents are polyglots, speaking English, Dutch and a third language fluency.
- Almost one quarter of Amsterdam is below sea level.
- An
average of
50,000 tourists per day visit the historic center.
- The
city
has 118 islands and more than 150 canals and 400 bridges.
- Gondolas are traditional and symbolic boats that have been used as transport around
the narrow Venetian waterways for more than 10 centuries.
- Only
about 60,000 Venetians live in the Venice.
- Ca’Dario, a Palazzo with an attractive Venetian Renaissance architecture along Grand Canal is the spookiest place in Venice.
- The first two wheeled rider propelled machine was invented by Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun, in France in 1818.
- The term “bicycle” was not introduced until the 1860s, when it was
coined in France to describe a new kind of two-wheeler with a mechanical
drive.
- The first National Bike Week was organised in 1923 by the Cyclists' Touring Club.
- About 100 million bicycles are manufactured worldwide each year.
- Americans use their bicycles for less than one percent of all urban trips.
- Yosemite National Park, located in the state of California, covers 761,268 acres of land.
- 20% of California's 7,000 plant species are found within Yosemite.
- The mountains located in Yosemite still grow about one foot every 1,000 years.
- There are at least 300 black bears in the park, and possibly as many as 500.
- It is believed that a glacier is responsible for producing the shape of Yosemite Valley.
- Black is considered to be authoritative and powerful.
- Black boxes seem heavier to workmen than green boxes filled with the same object.
- Black is a color which is associated with horror and fear.
- Black Flag is a brand of insecticide used to kill bugs.
- Wearing black-colored clothing in the summer will most likely keep you warmer than wearing white.
- It makes eating very unappealing, so its a great dieting color for plates.
- Blue pigment was so rare in nature that historically it was prized in a lavish way.
- Sick children prefer to be taken care of by people wearing blue
- Studies show weight-lifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.
- 8% of the world’s population have blue eyes.
