Welcome to a fun journey around the globe with some amazing facts about cities! Let’s dive into some cool and surprising things you might not know about these places.
Did you know that Big Ben isn’t the name of the famous clock in London? It’s actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower!
If a police officer in Bangkok is late to work, they might have to wear a pink Hello Kitty armband. It’s meant to be embarrassing, but who doesn’t love Hello Kitty?
This city has been rebuilt four times! It started with tents, then shacks, moved to brick buildings, and now has skyscrapers.
Many think Cape Town is the capital, but South Africa actually has three capitals: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative).
The subway here is called the Millennium Underground because it opened in 1896, marking Hungary’s 1000th anniversary.
Every year, Toronto hosts a corgi gathering on the beach. In 2015, about 50 corgis showed up with their owners!
In 1941, a man was questioned because his dog raised its paw like a Nazi salute. Luckily, no charges were pressed.
Archaeologists found a slingshot bullet from the fourth century BCE with the word “catch” on it, proving humor existed even in ancient wars!
From 2010 to 2014, the mayor was a comedian who only worked with politicians who agreed that “The Wire” was the best TV show ever.
Known as the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore is home to 212 software companies.
In February 1913, Adolf Hitler, Emperor Franz Joseph, and Joseph Stalin were all in Vienna at the same time. Imagine if they had met!
Prague has a history of defenestrations, which means people were thrown out of windows, causing conflicts in 1419 and 1618.
With very little rain, Lima has a billboard that turns air moisture into water!
This city is home to urban wildlife like foxes and large spiders, making it quite unique!
Berlin has about 440,000 trees, and each one is numbered!
From the top of Willis Tower, you can see four states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Until World War II, New Yorkers had to move apartments on May 1st, known as Moving Day.
Montreal has a fierce bagel rivalry with New York City. Their bagels are smaller and boiled in honey water.
In 1976, there was a well-documented UFO sighting involving two Iranian fighter jets.
The Carnaval celebration is a huge industry, generating about $250 million!
The Pharos of Alexandria was the first lighthouse, built around 280 BCE.
This city was inspired by European architecture, with lime trees from the Netherlands and buildings resembling Versailles.
Lucasfilm’s office in Singapore looks like the sand crawler from Star Wars!
The smallest country in the world, Vatican City is only about 100 acres, which is 1/8 the size of Central Park in New York City.
There are more bikes than people in Amsterdam, making bicycles the main mode of transport.
Seoul has pink parking spaces reserved for women to make the city more lady-friendly.
Traffic signals and crosswalks are rare in Cairo, making it an adventure to navigate!
Shanghai has a larger population than all of Australia, even though it’s only half the size of Sydney.
Before becoming famous as Crocodile Dundee, Paul Hogan worked as a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Tokyo Tower is repainted every five years, a process that involves about 4,200 painters and takes a whole year!
Philadelphia was home to the first hospital, zoo, medical school, and daily newspaper in the U.S.
On May 10, 1945, Moscow ran out of vodka right after Nazi Germany’s surrender was announced.
Miami is the only major U.S. city founded by a woman, Julia Tuttle, in the 19th century.
Marseille was the first city to use UV light to disinfect drinking water, starting in 1910.
During the Great Depression, San Francisco grew with the construction of the Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Antilia in Mumbai is one of the most expensive homes, costing a billion dollars and standing 27 stories tall.
The Five Avenue area in Tianjin features architecture inspired by various cultures.
People from Madrid are sometimes called “Gatos,” meaning “cats,” a nickname from medieval times.
In 2010, a road leading to Beijing experienced a nine-day traffic jam!
Built on a lake, Mexico City sinks about ten centimeters a year as water is drawn from beneath it.
Hong Kong means “fragrant harbor,” Copenhagen means “merchant harbor,” and Lisbon might mean “safe harbor.”
The Hollywood sign originally read “Hollywoodland.”
Traffic is so bad that a helicopter taxi service has become popular.
Citizens of Monaco can’t enter the Monte Carlo Casino!
Pope Francis once worked as a bouncer at a bar in Buenos Aires.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was made in China, and until 2010, Dubai had no postal service, only centralized mailboxes.
Stockholm is made up of 14 islands connected by nearly 60 bridges.
In Switzerland, one out of every nine jobs is located in Zurich.
Istanbul is the only major city on two continents, Europe and Asia, although some say the distinction is arbitrary.
Thanks for joining this global adventure! Share a fun fact about your town, and maybe it will be featured in the future. And remember, don’t forget to be awesome!
Test your memory and knowledge by matching each city with its fascinating fact. Create flashcards with city names on one side and their unique facts on the other. Shuffle them and try to match them correctly. Challenge your classmates to see who can get the most matches!
Choose one city from the article and create a short presentation about it. Include the fun fact from the article and add two more interesting facts you find through research. Present your findings to the class and share what makes your chosen city unique.
Pick a city and its fact from the article, and create a piece of art that represents it. This could be a drawing, painting, or digital artwork. Display your artwork in the classroom and explain how it connects to the city’s fact.
Form teams and choose a city fact to debate. One team will argue why their city’s fact is the most interesting, while the other team will argue for a different city. Use evidence and reasoning to support your arguments, and let the class vote on the most compelling case.
Create a scavenger hunt based on the facts from the article. Write clues that lead to different “cities” around the school or classroom, each with a fact to discover. Work in teams to solve the clues and learn about each city’s unique feature.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m John Green. Welcome to my salon! This is a Mental Floss video, and today I’m going to share some interesting facts about various cities around the world.
First, it’s a common misconception that Big Ben refers to the large clock in London; it actually refers to the bell inside the clock tower.
In Bangkok, Thailand, if a police officer is late for work, they may be asked to wear a pink Hello Kitty armband. I find Hello Kitty pretty cool, so I don’t see the embarrassment there!
Johannesburg, South Africa, has been rebuilt four times. Over the course of a century, it evolved from tents to shacks, then to brick buildings, and finally to skyscrapers.
It’s also a misconception that Cape Town is the capital of South Africa. While the legislative branch is located there, the judicial and executive branches are in Bloemfontein and Pretoria, respectively.
The subway in Budapest, Hungary, is called the Millennium Underground because it opened in 1896, coinciding with Hungary’s thousandth anniversary.
In Toronto, Canada, there’s an annual gathering of corgis on the beach. In 2015, about 50 corgis and their owners participated, showcasing why Toronto is such a great place!
In 1941, Nazi diplomats questioned a man from Helsinki, Finland, because his dog raised its paw in a way reminiscent of the Nazi salute. They ultimately decided not to press charges.
A slingshot bullet excavated in Athens, Greece, from the fourth century BCE had the Greek word for “catch” inscribed on it, showing that humor in war has a long history.
The mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland, from 2010 to 2014 was a comedian who only worked with politicians who agreed that “The Wire” was the best television show ever made.
Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India, with 212 software companies located there.
In February 1913, before World War I began, Adolf Hitler, Emperor Franz Joseph, and Joseph Stalin were all coincidentally in Vienna, Austria, and likely crossed paths.
Prague has experienced multiple defenestrations, leading to conflicts due to people being thrown out of windows, notably in 1419 and 1618.
Lima, Peru, has very little rainfall. In 2012, engineers erected a billboard that turns water vapor in the air into water.
Melbourne, Australia, is a regular urban city but is home to a variety of wildlife, including foxes and large spiders.
Most trees in Berlin, Germany, are numbered, totaling about 440,000.
At the top of Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois, you can see four states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
From colonial times until World War II, there was an official moving day in New York City, requiring residents to move apartments on May 1st.
Speaking of New York City, Montreal, Canada, has a fierce bagel competition. Montreal-style bagels are smaller and boiled in honey water.
In 1976, there was a UFO sighting over Tehran, Iran, involving two Iranian fighter jets. It’s considered one of the most well-documented military encounters with an unknown object.
The celebration of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a significant industry, generating about $250 million.
The Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt, was the first lighthouse, built around 280 BCE.
St. Petersburg, Russia, drew inspiration from Europe, importing lime trees from the Netherlands and creating buildings resembling Versailles.
Lucasfilm has offices in Singapore, designed to resemble the sand crawler from the original Star Wars.
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, at about 100 acres, which is just 1/8 the size of Central Park in New York City.
In Amsterdam, Netherlands, there are more bikes than people, and bicycles are used more than cars for transportation.
Seoul, South Korea, has parking spaces reserved for women, painted pink, to make the city more lady-friendly.
Cairo, Egypt, has minimal traffic signals and crosswalks.
Shanghai, China, has a larger population than all of Australia, despite being about half the size of Sydney.
Before becoming Crocodile Dundee, actor Paul Hogan worked as a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Tokyo Tower is repainted every five years, taking a year to complete, with about 4,200 painters involved.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was home to the first hospital, zoo, medical school, and daily newspaper in the United States. It also has the first snow globe ever featured on our Wall of Magic.
On May 10, 1945, Moscow, Russia, officially ran out of vodka, coinciding with the announcement of Nazi Germany’s surrender.
Miami, Florida, is the only major U.S. city founded by a woman, Julia Tuttle, in the 19th century.
Marseille, France, was the first place to use UV light to disinfect drinking water, implementing the system in 1910.
The Great Depression affected cities differently; in San Francisco, California, it was a period of growth, with the construction of the Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Antilia in Mumbai, India, is one of the most expensive residences on earth, costing a billion dollars to build. It is 27 stories tall and 400,000 square feet, housing a family of five.
In Tianjin, China, there’s an area known as the Five Avenue area, featuring architecture inspired by various cultures.
People from Madrid are sometimes referred to as “Gatos,” meaning “cats,” a nickname said to originate from medieval times.
In 2010, a road leading to Beijing, China, experienced a nine-day traffic jam.
Mexico City, Mexico, was built on a lake, causing the ground to sink about ten centimeters a year as water is drawn from the aquifer beneath.
The English translation of Hong Kong is “fragrant harbor,” while Copenhagen, Denmark, means “merchant harbor.” Lisbon, Portugal, may derive from a Phoenician word meaning “safe harbor.”
The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California, originally read “Hollywoodland.”
Traffic in São Paulo, Brazil, is so congested that a helicopter taxi service has emerged.
Citizens of Monaco are not allowed to enter the Monte Carlo Casino.
Pope Francis once worked as a bouncer at a bar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., was made in China, and until 2010, Dubai had no postal service, only centralized mailboxes.
Stockholm, Sweden, consists of 14 islands connected by nearly 60 bridges, and in Switzerland, one out of every nine jobs is located in Zurich.
Finally, Istanbul is the only major city located on two continents, Europe and Asia, although some argue that the distinction between the two is arbitrary.
Thanks for watching this Mental Floss video! Leave a fun comment about your town, and we might feature it in a future video. And as we say in my hometown, don’t forget to be awesome!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Cities – Large human settlements that are important centers of culture, commerce, and government. – New York and Tokyo are two of the most famous cities in the world, known for their vibrant culture and bustling streets.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Learning about the history of ancient civilizations helps us understand how modern societies have developed.
Capitals – Cities where the government of a country or region is located. – Paris is the capital of France and is known for its rich history and beautiful architecture.
Population – The number of people living in a particular area, city, or country. – The population of India is over a billion, making it one of the most populous countries in the world.
Architecture – The art and science of designing and constructing buildings. – The architecture of the ancient pyramids in Egypt continues to amaze historians and tourists alike.
Culture – The beliefs, customs, arts, and way of life of a particular society or group. – The culture of Japan includes traditional practices like tea ceremonies and sumo wrestling.
Geography – The study of the Earth’s physical features and the human activity that affects and is affected by these features. – Geography helps us understand how mountains, rivers, and climate influence where people live and how they interact with the environment.
Transportation – The movement of people or goods from one place to another. – The development of railroads in the 19th century revolutionized transportation and helped expand cities.
Wildlife – Animals and plants that live and grow in natural conditions. – The wildlife in the Amazon rainforest is incredibly diverse, with thousands of species of animals and plants.
Landmarks – Prominent objects or features of a landscape that are easily recognizable. – The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous landmarks in the world and a symbol of Paris.
