few fun facts on friday (2)

brought to you thanks to a friend who e-mailed this to me , source of information unknown, facts pending confirmation, but it's easy reading for a friday!! This is the second and last part , unless I find some more during the week... The first part is here...

New York City
* The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s who used the slang -expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
* There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin , Ireland ; more Italians in New York City than inRome , Italy ; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel .

North America - Africa
*Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28. Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38.

Ohio
*There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio , every one is manmade.

Pitcairn Island
*The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.

Roads
*Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%.

Rome
* The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome , Italy in 133 B.C.
* There is a city called Rome on every continent.

Siberia
*Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

S.M.O.M.
*The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta ( S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.

Sahara Desert
*In the Sahara Desert , there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years.

Spain
*Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.' ( note: I checked this out, wikipedia confirmed it in Spanish here )

St. Paul Minnesota
* St. Paul , Minnesota was originally called Pigs Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the first business there.

Texas
*The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.

United States
*The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Waterfalls
*The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.