Interesting Facts - Page 166

Page

826

Switzerland's head of state is not a single person, but a seven person Federal Council.

827

There is Disney animated movie named "Song of the South" which has never been released on any home video or streaming platform because some people consider it racist. You might recognize a song from the movie, "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", which won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1948.

828

The U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped a disarmed atomic bomb over South Carolina in 1958.

829

In 2020, Chinese and Indian soldiers fought a "Medieval" battle in the Himalayan mountains. With firearms being barred by an agreement of the two nations, soldiers fought for hours using sticks, stones, and other makeshift weapons. The Chinese soldiers did a lot of damage using nail-studded clubs. According to reports, four Chinese soldiers and twenty Indian soldiers were killed.

830

None of the countries that bordered Poland in 1989 exist today.

114 Recent Comments

Level ∞

Feb 7, 2023

Credit @LuigiDood227 for #828 and @travislina for #830.

Level 81

Feb 23, 2023

0.999... = 1. Not "almost exactly," but absolutely exactly.

Level 70

Feb 23, 2023

never made sense to me

Level 81

Feb 23, 2023

Assume x = 0.999...

10x = 9.999... (Multiply by 10)

10x = 9 + 0.999... (Split off the integer)

10x = 9 + x (Define x)

9x = 9 (Subtract out x)

x = 1 (Divide by 9)

Level 70

Feb 24, 2023

Theres the math to prove it, but how can .9999999999 forever be 1 if it never reaches it? You've proved it with math, but it still doesn't make sense to me

Level 81

Feb 24, 2023

🤷‍♂️

Math is weird. I'm still on an early high school geometry course, so I couldn't tell you.

Level 66

Feb 26, 2023

Qy is right, 0.999... = 1, strictly. There are other ways to prove it, using the concept of limits for instance.

This equality is hard to accept because we can't really picture infinity. 0.9999... is not just "0 point too many 9s so you would get bored or die old before finishing speaking them", it's literally infinity. You wouldn't get even close to it if you were spelling this number from the Big Bang till now. It's just unreachable.

For the same reason, 0.3 = 0.2999..., 7500 = 7499.999..., etc.

Another mystery of infinity is the famous equality 1+2+3+... = -1/12, which has some physical applications like in the Casimir effect (related to vacuum energy), and which is also used in the strings theory.

Level 78

Mar 21, 2024

It's because there is no measurable number between 0.999... and 1, therefore they are the same number.

Level 55

Feb 23, 2023

0.22222... = 3 By the same logic

Level 81

Feb 23, 2023

No... that's not even close.

Level 55

Feb 24, 2023

Are you calling me a liar?

Level 81

Feb 24, 2023

I ain't callin' ya for dinner.

Level 68

Dec 25, 2023

Zz its 2.99999999.... that equals 3

Level 34

Feb 28, 2023

Incorrect

Level 86

Mar 10, 2023

The way I was taught that:

1/3 = 0.333...

3 (1/3) = 3 (0.333...)

3/3 = 0.999...

1 = 0.999...

Level 81

Mar 23, 2023

That's actually much simpler.

Level 48

Oct 25, 2025

I was taught the 1/3 proof but was mostly just told that the difference between the two was 0.0000...01 which is infinitely small, meaning it's basically zero. I know this is just saying the same thing but it makes more sense to me.

Level 72

Feb 23, 2023

Flat, Alaska has a population of 0. It still has its own ZIP code and everything, but nobody lives there.

Level 81

Feb 24, 2023

Wow… a ghost town.

Level 81

Feb 24, 2023

Zachary Taylor once proposed to split the Mexican cession into two, that is, a much larger New Mexico and California.

Level 81

Feb 24, 2023

Nunavut and Labrador technically share a border on Killiniq Island.

Level 70

Mar 8, 2023

also quebec

Level 86

Mar 22, 2024

Claimed by Quebec but disputed

Level 55

Sep 3, 2025

Irrelevant. They're both Canada.

Level 81

Feb 25, 2023

The city of Chicago registered its own license plates from 1903 to 1907.

Level 69

Feb 25, 2023

Belgium has a province called Luxembourg (it is usually referred to as Belgian Luxembourg) that is larger than the country of Luxembourg itself (and the province also borders the country)

Level 81

Feb 26, 2023

There's no way to verify we see the same colors.

Level 66

Mar 3, 2023

I remember someone posted this on an earlier fact page, and someone did prove them wrong. Don’t really remember it though, and this is a pretty neat concept.

Level 81

Feb 26, 2023

There are no Red Robins in Mississippi.

Level 39

Feb 27, 2023

Fact: In the USA alone, all the combined parking spaces are as big as the state of West Virginia!

Level 55

Feb 27, 2023

??? This is not true at all

Level 70

Feb 27, 2023

yes it is. Research says 5% of US is parking spaces, which is much bigger than west virginia

Level 55

Feb 28, 2023

I think this is bait so I'm going to ignore it

Level 39

Mar 1, 2023

it is true

Level 63

Apr 29, 2024

It's 5% of all urban land in the United States. Not of all land in total. Major difference. (Source.) Supposably though, the parking lots of the United States could cover Connecticut.

Level 72

Mar 6, 2023

There are hundreds of different stadiums in the US, this wouldn't surprise me if it's true

Level 86

Mar 22, 2024

...and shopping malls and drive-ins etc. I really don't see why this fact would be surprising

Level 63

Jul 30, 2024

It would probably be surprising because most people don't think of parking lots as being bigger than whole states.

Level 48

Oct 25, 2025

Question: Do multistory parking lots count as a sum or just the space it takes up? I wouldn't be surprised either way, actually.

Level 34

Feb 28, 2023

Fun fact: I LOVE FRUIT!!!!!!

Level 81

Feb 28, 2023

Hey, good for you. I prefer swine and poultry, myself.

Level 39

Mar 1, 2023

i like meat

Level 70

Feb 28, 2023

Kiribati can stretch from Alaska to Virginia, and Baffin island to the Kara Sea

Level 81

Feb 28, 2023

The latter's not true.

Level 70

Feb 28, 2023

Should say Cornwallis Island

https://www.thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTc4OTI0NTE.ODc0OTAyMQ*MzYwMDAwMDA(MA~!KI*MTE4NDMxNzU.MTgzOTI5MDU)Mw

Level 70

Feb 28, 2023

Putting Banaba island in northwest Cornwallis Island, puts Kirimati in the Kara Sea

Level 53

Mar 10, 2023

Or from Ireland to Saudi Arabia! (While also just missing Georgia)

Level 70

Feb 28, 2023

Despite sharing the longest border in the world, the United States and Canada only share one border on an island: Currys Island in Lake of the Woods

There's places named Qaanaaq, Ee, Aa, Aa, Zzyzx, Oo, Ii, and U

Belgium has an enclave in The Netherlands that is 0.001 Square Miles. 51.448404, 4.836186

Level 39

Mar 1, 2023

there is also a place in indonesia called "Samina mina EE waka waka EE

Level 57

Jan 20, 2025

I would have guessed in Africa

Level 39

Mar 1, 2023

zzyzx is a word in wordle which is accepted

Level 81

Mar 1, 2023

Crazy fact: North Dakota is closer to Canada than Mexico.

Level 70

Mar 2, 2023

no way

Level 69

Mar 10, 2023

Really?!

Level 63

Apr 29, 2024

The real question is whether this is stating that North Dakota is closer to Canada than North Dakota is to Mexico, or that North Dakota is closer to Canada than Mexico is to Canada.

Level 39

Mar 2, 2023

Fact: If all ants were to pile up in 1 flat plain, it would be as big as the state of Minnesota! And also, if it were to pile up into 1 giant pall, it would be as wide and tall as 860 meters!

Level 55

Mar 2, 2023

Source?

Level 39

Mar 3, 2023

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPoMww9x378

By: Corridor Crew

Level 55

Mar 4, 2023

Probably unreliable. I would reject any sort of source that claims to give a definitive answer to how many ants there are.

Level 39

Mar 4, 2023

search it up, really, it is 20 quadrillion!

Level 63

Apr 29, 2024

"Not everything you see on the internet is true." -Julius Caesar

Level 57

Jan 20, 2025

Hey that's not right, it was Abraham Lincoln who said that

Level 66

Mar 2, 2023

NBA Legend Tim Duncan was caught up in a legal dispute a few years ago with his accountant and investor, Charles Banks, who embezzled $7.5 million from him. During the trial, fellow NBA big man Kevin Garnett showed up supporting Banks rather than Timmy even though Banks clearly stole the money, because Banks was one of his trusted men. Banks was found guilty of wire fraud and imprisoned. A few years after that, it was found that Banks had also stolen $77 million from Garnett.

Level 73

Mar 2, 2023

Crazy Fact:

Turkey is closer to Ireland than it is to getting a good economy.

Level 39

Mar 3, 2023

LOL

Level 70

Mar 4, 2023

let's see if this ages well

Russia is still the largest country in the world

Pakistan is the fifth most populated country

Level 81

Mar 5, 2023

Both the U.S. and Australia have issued Antarctic license plates. Here's a picture of the Australian issue.

Level 39

Mar 6, 2023

~~hello~~

Level 70

Mar 6, 2023

Poland only bordered 2 countries in 1948

Level 73

Mar 6, 2023

I'm guessing Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union... correct?

Level 70

Mar 6, 2023

yes

Level 66

Mar 7, 2023

and only 3 until the communist regimes collapsed

Level 70

Mar 8, 2023

There's a national park named W in Benin

Level 55

Mar 8, 2023

w park

Level 48

Mar 8, 2023

W benin

Level 66

Mar 9, 2023

w rizz

Level 53

Mar 8, 2023

The closest country to the U.S. that it doesn’t border isn’t Russia, it is the UK, via the U.S. Virgin Islands to British Virgin Islands, a distance of less than 3000 feet, or less than 1000 meters.

Level 53

Mar 8, 2023

Togo has a panhandle that is less than 450 feet or less than 150 meters across at one point.

Level 70

Mar 8, 2023

Just used a few pages ago. Its not the thinnest panhandle

Level 53

Mar 8, 2023

Ah, what is?

Level 70

Mar 10, 2023

A panhandle I found in Serbia. The coordinates are in the first thread. However, it is the thinnest panhandle that is between two countries

Level 53

Mar 10, 2023

Oh wow! That’s cool!

Level 38

Mar 26, 2023

Here's the panhandle if you're curious.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5994724,19.2715066,16.17z

Level 86

Mar 22, 2024

There's another panhandle of Bosnia jutting into Croatia. Probably the thinnest on average as the Serbian one widens at the end.

Level 53

Mar 9, 2023

I think this is the closest country to another without bordering, but correct me if I’m wrong.

Level 70

Mar 10, 2023

Ghana and Burkina Faso border each other in another place, and Namibia and Zimbabwe are 0.5 km

Level 53

Mar 10, 2023

Ok, but they still border each other, the point im making is that they don’t border, but are very close.

Level 70

Mar 11, 2023

Huh? I'm confused

Level 63

Dec 4, 2023

Iggy1 is saying that US and UK are close without bordering. Ghana and Burkina Faso border.

Level 53

Mar 9, 2023

Although their mainlands are 358.8 kilometers (223 miles) apart, the Philippines and Taiwan are just 97.5 kilometers (60.6 miles) apart at one point.

Level 53

Mar 10, 2023

Paupa New Guinea and Australia are just 4.1 kilometers (2.55 miles) apart, although their mainlands are almost 160 kilometers (100 miles) apart. This makes Paupa New Guinea the closest country to Australia.

Level 73

Mar 8, 2023

The city of Regina in Saskatchewan used to be called the "Pile of Bones". Not a nickname, it was the actual name, since it came from the Cree word "Wascana".

Level 66

Mar 9, 2023

Yeah, I suggested this fact a little while back, but it didn’t get used

Level 70

Mar 8, 2023

Fun Fact: I think this fact page has more comments than any other page

Level 73

Mar 9, 2023

I think not, COTW has way more!

Level 70

Mar 9, 2023

I meant Interesting Facts Pages

Level 81

Mar 9, 2023

Perhaps we ought to post more, well, interesting facts.

Level 55

Mar 9, 2023

We're the internet we can't possibly be interesting

Level 73

Mar 9, 2023

I think the internet is quite interesting...

Level 81

Mar 9, 2023

On the internet, interesting is practically synonymous with bizarre.

Level 68

Dec 25, 2023

The Interestingnet

Level 81

Mar 14, 2023

It is illegal to sneak aboard an airplane transporting circus clowns in Michigan.

Level 70

Mar 14, 2023

Dang. Stupid Michigan ruining my weekend plans

Level 55

Mar 14, 2023

Dang...there go my plans of smuggling the jetpunk comment section out of Grand Rapids.

Level 81

Mar 14, 2023

One even wackier: in Arizona, in certain cases, it is illegal to end a sentence with a noun.

Level 63

Dec 4, 2023

In certain cases, ending a sentence with the letter "a" is illegal. (if it's libel)

Level 70

Mar 14, 2023

Russia can stretch from Moscow to Maine

Level 81

Mar 14, 2023

To add onto #820…

John C. Breckinridge, VP under James Buchanan, was expelled from the Senate for joining the Confederate Army.

Level 62

Jun 18, 2024

Re: #827 - Disney's "Song of the South" was released on VHS and LaserDisk. You can still find the tapes on eBay, and the Internet Archive has several free streaming versions.

Level 67

Sep 5, 2024

Yep. I have a DVD copy. The name Disney is no where to be found, but the movie plays just fine.

Level 77

Apr 14, 2026

Yes, it was definitely released at least to VHS, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it...

Level 80

Nov 10, 2024

Song of the South isn't an animated movie. It's a live-action movie with animated segments (though the animated segments ended up becoming much more well-known than most of the rest of the movie.)

Level 62

Mar 19, 2025

Why the medieval battle?

Level 56

May 12, 2025

IDK.

IDK how, but India won it. Pretty weird.