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- The exact geographic center of the United States is near Lebanon, Kansas.
- The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.
- The average depth of the oceans is 2.5 miles (4 km). The deepest point lies in the Mariana Trench, 6.8 miles (10.9 km) down. By way of comparison, Mount Everest is only 5.5 miles (8.8 km) high.
- According to NASA, the U.S. has the world's most violent weather. In a typical year, the U.S. can expect some 10,000 violent thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes and several hurricanes.
- The U-S Park Service says the older Old Faithful gets, the more the geyser at Yellowstone National Park slows down. In the 1950s, it erupted every 62 minutes. Lately, it's been erupting every 77 minutes. Some experts say Old Faithful may someday just stop.
- According to experts, large caves tend to "breathe"; they inhale and exhale great quantities of air when the barometric pressure on the surface changes, and air rushes in or out seeking equilibrium.
- The surface area of the Earth is 197,000,000 square miles.
- Bore-hole seismometry indicates that the land in Oklahoma moves up and down 25cm throughout the day, corresponding with the tides. Earth tides are generally about one-third the size of ocean tides.
- Ireland currently has the fastest growing economy in Europe - the economy grew by 40% from 1993-1997. It is for this reason that the country is referred to as the Celtic Tiger.
- China's largest city is Shanghai.
- The original fifty cent piece in Australian decimal currency had around $2.00 worth of silver in it before it was replaced with a less expensive twelve sided coin.
- Mount St. Helens dropped 1,313 feet in 1980.
- In downtown Lima, Peru, there is a large brass statue dedicated to Winnie-the-Pooh.
- Antarctica is the only continent that does not have land areas below sea level.
- Alaska is the only state without a state motto.
- Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonald's.
- The Hudson River along the island of Manhattan flows in either direction depending on the tide.
- Despite a population of over a billion, China has only about 200 family names.
- he San Blas Indian women of Panama consider giant noses a mark of great beauty. They paint black lines down the center of their noses to make them appear longer.
- Reversing Falls is in Canada, where the St. John River flows into the Bay of Fundy at St. John, New Brunswick. The rapids at this juncture flows normally at low tide, backwards at high tide. Between tides there is a 15-minute period in which the river is placid and boaters sail by very quickly.
- The smallest state in the US has also the longest name. The official name of Rhode Island is Rhode Island and Plantation Provinces.
- The city of Istanbul straddles two separate continents, Europe and Asia.
- The forest of Canadian Lake District is so dense that during winter the snow stays on top of the trees and the forest floor stays bare.
- In Calama, a town in the Atacama Desert of Chile, it has never rained.
- In Papua New Guinea there are villages within five miles of each other which speak different languages.
- Without any greenhouse effect, Earth would be cold and lifeless with an average temperature of 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.
- The Sahara desert is expanding half a mile south every year.
- In ancient Japan public contests were held to see who in a town could break wind loudest and longest. Winners were awarded many prizes and received great acclaim.
- Several nations (Norway, Australia, New Zealand, France, Great Britain, Chile, and Argentina) have advanced claims on sections of the continent of Antarctica. The United States does not recognize any claims.
- There are more people in New York City (7,895,563) than there are in the states of Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii, Delaware, and New Mexico combined.
- When the Eiffel Tower was built in 1884, Parisians referred to it as "the tragic lamppost" and nearly universally hated it.
- South Africa produces two-thirds of the world's gold.
- St. Petersburg, FL once had 427 consecutive days of sunshine.
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