In this article, we have collected some interesting facts about the most outstanding things, events, phenomena and creations of mankind and nature.

 

Click the button "MORE DETAILS" below the picture to learn more about each fact

 

The narrowest city in the world

The narrowest city in the world is the city of Yanjin, located in the Chinese province of Yunnan. It was built in an unusual place – along the river, between steep mountains.

Yanjin is the narrowest city in the world

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The old provincial city of Yanjin is built along the river, and houses are located on both sides of its bank. The geographically limited available space in the urban area is very small, and the buildings here are mainly built on piles.

About 63000 people live in the city. At its narrowest point, Yanjin is only 30 meters wide, while the widest part of the city itself is about 300 meters. The buildings of the city are located on high pillars, which is a preventive measure against rising water levels during periods of severe flooding.

Videos of the city regularly go viral due to its uniqueness and surrounding natural beauty. To get a better look at the narrowest city in the world, watch the high quality video that we have put together for you on YouTube. Watch the video

 

 

The largest shopping and entertainment center

Dubai Mall is the largest shopping and entertainment center in the world. Its total area is more than 1,2 million m², and the sales area is more than 350,000 m². This center is located in Dubai, close to the main attractions of the city.

Dubai Mall – the largest shopping and entertainment center

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Dubai Mall is located in the so-called "world's most prestigious square kilometer", in the Downtown Dubai quarter, which is being built around the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the tallest building in the world.

Here, under one roof, there are 1200 shops, as well as world-class cultural and entertainment facilities. Among the unique facilities housed under the roof of the Dubai Mall is the world's largest indoor aquarium, where you can see more than 33000 fish and marine animals, including sharks and rays.

This mall still holds the title of the world's most visited shopping and leisure destination. It attracts over 65 million visitors annually.

You will find more interesting facts about the largest mall in the world in our article

 

 

The heaviest bird that can fly

This is a bustard (great bustard). The bird looks like a turkey. The heaviest specimen was found in the northeast of China (in Manchuria), it weighed about 21 kg. This is the world record for the heaviest flying bird.

Bustard – the heaviest flying bird

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Bustard males are very large and heavy, they grow over 1 meter in length and weigh up to 18 kg.

The bustard is a steppe bird that inhabits the steppes and semi-deserts of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Northwest Africa.

Despite the fact that the bustard flies beautifully, it prefers to move on the ground. Even in case of danger, the bird first tries to escape, while developing a sufficiently high speed.

The catastrophic decline in the number of bustards was caused by two factors, both of which are associated with humans. First of all, this is a massive and uncontrolled hunting, which reached its zenith in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The second important reason is related to the allocation of areas suitable for nesting birds for household needs: plowing virgin and fallow lands, intensive haymaking, planting forest belts, building irrigation systems, roads and high-voltage transmission lines.

Bustards, despite their large size, are able to fly at high speeds and are often maimed or killed by overhead electric cables that are laid just at their flight altitude. Bustards are also occasionally killed by collisions with cars.

The bustard is included in the European Red List, included in the Red Book of Ukraine, in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Bonn and Bern Conventions.

Bustards are also protected internationally by the International Bustard Conservation Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by the Government of Abu Dhabi. The project manages an international network of bustard nurseries to increase their numbers throughout their natural habitat.

 

 

The most poisonous scorpion

The Arabian fat-tailed scorpion (Androctonus crassicauda) is considered the most dangerous for humans. The venom of these scorpions contains a powerful neurotoxin. Several people die every year from their bites.

Arabian fat-tailed scorpion (Androctonus crassicauda) – the most poisonous scorpion

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The name of this genus of scorpions (Androktonus) is translated from ancient Greek as "killer".

A number of pharmaceutical companies even produce an antidote for the treatment of intoxications caused by Androctonus venom.

These scorpions live in semi-arid and arid regions of the Middle East and Africa. Scorpions of this genus reach a length of up to 10 cm.

Despite the risk of keeping such a dangerous venomous species in captivity, Arabian fat-tailed scorpions are often found in the exotic pet trade. The main diet of the fat-tailed scorpion in captivity consists of cockroaches, grasshoppers, and crickets. However, the fat-tailed scorpion can go months without food.

Scorpions usually try to kill and eat anything that moves and is smaller than themselves. Fat-tailed scorpions kill their prey by first crushing it with their claws and then injecting it with venom from their stingers. Once the victim is stung, the venom paralyzes them and allows the scorpion to easily eat them.

 

 

The animal with the longest horns

The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its long horns. The span of the horns of these animals can exceed 3 meters.

The Texas Longhorn is the animal with the longest horns.

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In 2022, Guinness World Records reported the longest horn span (tip to tip) in the following cattle:

  • 323,7 cm – in a bull named Poncho Via;
  • 265,1 cm – in a cow named 3S Danica;
  • 262,5 cm – in a bull named Cowboy Tuff Chex.

All three were Texas Longhorns.

The Texas Longhorns are descendants of the first cattle brought by Christopher Columbus and the Spanish colonists to America.

Texas Longhorns are known for their varied coloration and can be any color or combination of colors; the most famous of them is a combination of dark red with white.

Because of their innate meek disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained for riding.

The Texas Longhorn has become a common symbol of the state of Texas (USA), especially the University of Texas at Austin, of which it is the mascot. In the 21st century, Texas Longhorns of elite bloodlines can fetch $40,000 or more at auction. The $380,000 record was set on March 18, 2017 for a 3S Danica cow with a calf during a Legacy XIII sale in Fort Worth, Texas.

We also picked up a video showing the huge horns of this animal. Watch the video

 

 

The heaviest living organism

The heaviest known organism is the Pando tree. This unusual tree covers an area of ​​43,6 hectares, and its weight is about 6000 tons.

Pando tree – Heaviest living organism

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The Pando tree is a clonal colony of a single tree, a poplar species. In fact, this is a whole poplar forest. However, this forest is a single living organism with identical DNA markers and a single massive root system.

This poplar colony grows in the USA, in the state of Utah, in the Fishlake National Forest Reserve.

Pando has over 40,000 stems that die off individually and are replaced by new stems growing from its roots. Individual trunks of this type of poplar usually do not live more than 100–130 years.

More interesting facts about the Pando tree you will find in our article

 

 

The largest bamboo

Dragon bamboo (Dendrocalamus sinicus) has the largest stems of any known bamboo species. The stems of this bamboo reach over 30 meters in height, making it the tallest type of bamboo in the world.

The largest bamboo is dragon bamboo (Dendrocalamus sinicus)

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Dragon bamboo is a giant bushy bamboo native to China's Yunnan province and Laos. One plant eventually consists of about 100 stems.

The tallest representative of the dragon bamboo was discovered in the southwest of China, in the province of Yunnan, in an artificially grown bamboo forest in Menghai. This bamboo plant had a height of 46 meters.

Each stalk of dragon bamboo can be up to 36 cm in diameter and weigh up to 450 kg. The thickness of the walls of the stem reaches 5,8 cm. This bamboo was unknown to science until 1980, although, of course, it has been well known to the people of Yunnan and Laos for centuries.

 

 

The fastest swimming fish in the world

The fastest fish in the ocean is the sailboat. This fish is an active predator and can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h.

Sailboat fish – the fastest swimming fish in the world

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In a series of tests conducted at Long Key Fishing Camp, Florida, USA, the sailboat swam 91 meters in 3 seconds, equivalent to a speed of 109 km/h.

Sailboat fish lives in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of all oceans. Through the Suez Canal penetrates from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

Sailboats are growing very fast. Young individuals reach 1,5–2 meters in length by the year, and adults grow in length up to 3,5 meters with a weight of about 100 kg.

A distinctive feature of the sailboat is the high and long first dorsal fin, similar to a sail. When sailing fast, the sail folds up and stows away in a special recess on the back. The anal and long ventral fins are also hidden. When making sharp turns at high speed, the fins rise sharply. Sometimes sailboats slowly drift near the surface of the water with a fully extended sail protruding above the water.

Another feature of sailboats is a long spear-shaped snout (“spear”), which gives them some resemblance to swordfish.

Sailboats have been documented attacking people in self-defense. A 45-kilogram sailboat hit a woman in the groin with her "spear" when her group tried to catch him.

 

 

The most salty lake in the world

The saltiest lake on Earth is Don Juan Pond. This is a small body of water located in Antarctica (Victoria Land). The salt content in this lake reaches 40,2% (for comparison, the salinity of the Dead Sea is 34,7%, and the average salinity of the World Ocean is only 3,38%).

Lake Don Juan – the saltiest lake in the world

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Lake Don Juan is a shallow, flat-bottomed, hypersaline pond. Lake size: 100 meters by 300 meters. The depth is only 10 cm. The area and volume of this lake change over time and in recent years the pond has shrunk significantly.

The lake was discovered in 1961 and named after the helicopter pilots who first recorded this lake – Don Roe and John Hickey. At the time of the discovery of the lake, the water temperature was -30 °C, but there was no ice on it.

Lake Don Juan does not freeze even in winter when the air temperature drops to -53 °C.