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Interesting Facts - Page 83

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411
The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is a visa-free zone. Anyone can live and work on Svalbard regardless of their citizenship.
412
English is the only major European language that does not use diacritics. German (Doppelgänger), French (résumé), Italian (città), Spanish (España), and Portuguese (Português) all use them. Dear nitpickers: words adopted from other languages do not count.
413
There's a tribe in Vanuatu that believes Prince Philip was a divine being. The Duke of Edinburgh was aware of the cult, and even sent an official portrait to the villagers. Unfortunately, Philip died in 2021 having never visited his worshipers.
414
There is an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island. This geographic curiosity can be found on the Philippine island of Luzon, a few miles south of Manila. In 2007, map nerds have found another "sub-sub-sub-island" in the countless lakes of Canada's Victoria Island.
415
If you ever plan to visit Bhutan, be prepared to pay a hefty bill. Bhutanese authorities charge visitors $200 per day in taxes. Spending one month in Bhutan therefore will cost you $6,000 in taxes alone. Depending on the season and number of fellow travelers, charges per day might even be higher.
40 Comments
Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
Mar 20, 2020
Thanks to Gassu for facts 410-417.
AlexThirkell
+15
Level 74
Sep 5, 2020
Bhutan tax is now $250, but it also includes accommodation, food, guide, travel... "taxes alone" is disingenuous.
Cheeez
+2
Level 49
Apr 5, 2023
For a contry with that standard of living, 250 bucks per day is outrageous. Even though is an interesting place, it feels like a scam.
Huzf01
+5
Level 30
Mar 18, 2025
They just don't want travelers. They want to isolate themselves so they charge this on travelers. Its designed to not be a fair cost
JackintheBox
+3
Level 82
Mar 31, 2020
Very interesting.
rhyz
+18
Level 48
Apr 17, 2020
Nitpicker here, if I'm not mistaken English does have some old variations of words where a " diacritic is used, (e.g. naïve, coöperate) which indicate that you pronounce the two vowels separately rather than together
EricF
+6
Level 81
May 7, 2020
Yes, it's called a diaeresis.
Djilas
+3
Level 86
May 17, 2020
I noticed New Yorker uses it
AlexThirkell
+9
Level 74
Apr 29, 2021
To nitpick even further, the dot above an 'i' or 'j' is a type of diacritic called, very pleasingly, a tittle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tittle

PrimroseFlorr
+5
Level 26
Jan 31, 2025
Very pleasing indeed

However english does not have a variant of "i" or "j" without the tittle so the fact that these letters always use diacritics effectively means it never uses them (for variation).

brandybuck96
+2
Level 82
Aug 19, 2022
You also get the poetic use of things like 'belovèd' to emphasise the number of syllables.
PrimroseFlorr
+2
Level 26
Jan 31, 2025
Nitpicker of nitpicker here, you literally said old variations so they are no longer in majority use anymore.
brandybuck96
+2
Level 82
Sep 15, 2025
Idk about majority use but "naïve" is definitely a very common usage.
BotswanaEmperor
+11
Level 73
Apr 25, 2020
For #415, you are excused from the fee if you have a passport from India, Bangladesh or the Maldives.
SWATkun
+5
Level 59
May 1, 2020
Bhutan is the one of the best places to visit on earth, believe me
JWatson24
+2
Level 71
Jul 26, 2020
I've heard really that it's very beautiful and peaceful in Bhutan and I'd really love to go someday--even if it is worth so much!
stirner
+3
Level 76
May 6, 2020
#412: Russian is a major European language too and doesn't use any mandatory diacritics, not even in loanwords.
Djilas
+21
Level 86
May 17, 2020
ё, й
Abby
+1
Level 47
Mar 21, 2022
There's also the accent used mostly in dictionaries to mark stress. They're not mandatory, but Russian still uses them.
staypawsom3
+2
Level 39
May 12, 2020
As a Filipino, I am satisfied with that fact
SirPhilippines
+2
Level 73
Dec 9, 2020
same
Moos1005
+4
Level 89
May 27, 2020
Interesting addition to #414: That island is the Taal volcano that erupted in January of 2020.
Nathaniel
+7
Level 77
Jun 15, 2020
ä, ö and ü are actually not diacritics, but ligatures. They evolved from ae/oe/ue to a/o/u with the e on top (aͤ), but the e in German handwriting back then looked like two paralel lines and then in print they simplified the lines to dots. Here you can see the old German handwriting small e, (large E) and ä:

Source: German Wikipedia article on the letter ä, the second paragraph:

Nathaniel
+1
Level 77
Jun 15, 2020
Here is the translated paragraph:

The A with umlaut was originally written as AE, partly contracted (Æ / æ). Later an A developed with a small E above it (Aͤ / aͤ). The lower case e was written as two vertical lines in the further development of the Kurrent font, as well as the lower case e above the A. This spelling has been preserved to this day in the cursive script (and in Fraktur script). In the antique print, the overwritten e was stylized to two points.

tzhg
+4
Level 58
Aug 8, 2020
They're still diacritics, even though they evolved from ligatures. They're definitely used as diacritics nowadays.
zaba2048
+8
Level 71
Oct 6, 2020
Unfortunately it seems that #414 is no longer correct, as the 2020 eruption of the Taal volcano (see Moos1005 above) caused the lake to disappear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_islands_and_lakes

SirPhilippines
+1
Level 73
Oct 11, 2021
The lake will reappear. The rain will be collected and the lake will rise again.
ungewerther
+1
Level 46
Feb 5, 2021
I think most Russian speakers would disagree with "fact" #412. So would probably anyone else who has any idea of the meaning of "major European language".
Malbaby
+2
Level 70
Apr 13, 2021
Алфавитный суп
Ethman
+1
Level 47
May 23, 2023
Alphabet soup?
EytanMelech
+2
Level 66
May 6, 2021
Я не согласен с вашим мнением, хороший сэр.
bibohbi
+1
Level 61
Nov 4, 2021
из всех фраз ... почему алфавитный суп?
smoceany
+3
Level 51
May 13, 2021
the island doesnt exist anymore after the explosion of taal volcano
Werifesteria
+1
Level 66
Sep 14, 2021
there are also sub-sub-sub islands in UK, New Zealand, and Newfoundland
HydratedMite
+2
Level 68
Jul 7, 2022
What a coincidence that I barely ever scroll through the facts, but now when I do, #414 was about the Philippine recursive island, and just a few minutes prior I randomly remembered the fact and checked on the island for the FIRST TIME IN YEARS on Google Maps. And minutes later I randomly see this fact on JetPunk.
hasanabdi
+1
Level 70
Oct 25, 2022
ig it's king phillip now
Rougarou
+5
Level 64
Feb 9, 2023
Prince Philip died two years ago.
fngf3501
+1
Level 52
Dec 6, 2022
For Fact 414, you could at least include the name of said island (as far as I can tell, it's named Vulcan Point)
GlassMonkeyOLD
+5
Level 69
Oct 7, 2023
I don't think an Interesting Facts entry should include nitpicker notes. It seems to controvene the tone of the section and looks unprofessional. I think pinned comments are a better place for such addendums, since it better targets the message and allows for more text.
SpencerGT
+3
Level 68
Oct 21, 2023
How generous to give us Svalbard.
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