A World of Curiosities : Surprising, Interesting, and Downright Unbelievable Facts From Every Nation on T He Planet

A globe-trotting collection of funny and poignant facts and trivia brings together more than two thousand pieces of interesting information from around the world. From Afghanistan To Zimbabwe: Everything You Never Knew You Never Knew About Every Country On Earth.a Scientist By Training And An Explorer By Passion, Dr. John Oldale Has Logged Half A Million Miles Visiting More Than Ninety Nations. Now, He Celebrates Our Weird And Wonderful World In A Cornucopia Of Fascinating Facts Brought Vividly To Life Through The Unexpected Stories Behind Them. Touching On History, Travel, Politics, Natural History And More, He Paints A Unique Portrait Of Each Country From The Mightiest To The Most Miniscule. You Won't Find The Following In Your Average Travel Guide: · Why Is Kissing On Trains Banned In France? · In What Country Are Litigants Expected To Present Their Case At Court In The Form Of A Poem? · Which War Did Women Win In 1929 Just By Sitting Down? · If Panama Hats Aren’t From Panama, Where Are They From? · Who Eat Fresh Camel Dung As A Cure For Dysentery (and Why Does It Work)? · Why Were Us Disk Jockeys Once Told They Could Play Birthday Requests On Any Day Except The One Requested? · Which Modern Dictator Banned Old Age, Libraries And Gold Teeth, And Was Later Replaced By His Dentist? · And 2,000 More Funny, Trivial, Poignant, And Telling Facts A Must For Active And Armchair Globe-trotters Alike, A World Of Curiosities Will Engross Anyone Who Is At All Curious About The World Beyond Their Door. Explore And Enjoy. From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe: everything you never knew you never knew about every country on Earth. A scientist by training and an explorer by passion, Dr. John Oldale has logged half a million miles visiting more than ninety nations. Now, he celebrates our weird and wonderful world in a cornucopia of fascinating facts brought vividly to life through the unexpected stories behind them. Touching on history, travel, politics, natural history and more, he paints a unique portrait of each country from the mightiest to the most miniscule. You won't find the following in your average travel guide: · Why is kissing on trains banned in France? · In what country are litigants expected to present their case at court in the form of a poem? · Which war did women win in 1929 just by sitting down? · If Panama hats aren't from Panama, where are they from? · Who eat fresh camel dung as a cure for dysentery (and why does it...