Aviation Numbers
Did you know that there are 61,000 people in the air over the USA at any given time on any given day and that one-third of the world’s airports are located over there?
According to official numbers released by the Airports Council International (ACI), Atlanta has reclaimed its crown as the world’s busiest airport in the world. Nearly 94 million passengers passed through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2022, a 24% increase from the prior year. For 22 years Hartsfield-Jackson held the title but was surpassed by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China in 2020, only to regain it after the end of the pandemic.
Highest Statues
The tallest statue in the world is the Statue of Unity located in Sadhu Bet, Gujarat, India at 182m high. It was inaugurated in October 2018 to commemorate the 143rd birth anniversary of Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel, who was the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India.
The Spring Temple Buddha, located within the Fodushan Scenic Area, Henan Province in China comes in at second highest at 128m. The statue represents the Vairocana Buddha in a standing position on a lotus-shaped throne.
The third tallest statue in the world is the Laykyun Sekkya with a height of 115.8 m. located in the Khatakan Taung village, Sagaing Region, Myanmar. The Laykyun Sekkya Statue unveils a standing Buddha just beside a reclining Buddha statue. The construction of the statue took 12 years to complete starting in 1996 and was completed in 2008.
Largest Island
You might think that Australia is the world’s largest island at nearly 3 million square miles. However, the proper definition of an island is a landmass that is entirely surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent therefore Australia, as a continent of its own, is ineligible for consideration as an island. Greenland is the world’s largest island with an area of 822,700 square miles. Despite its enormous size, Greenland is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the world and currently its population stands at 57,046.
Beaches
Australia has almost 12,000 beaches along its 60,000km (37,282mi) coastline. If you visited one per day, it would take more than 32 years to see them all!
Swimming Pigs
You can swim with pigs on the island of Exuma, one of the hundreds of islands in the Bahamas. Pig Beach located on Big Major Cay is uninhabited and the pigs are not native to the island. Some say they were left by a group of sailors, who planned to come back and cook them.
Leaning Big Ben
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) in London is leaning over so much it can now be seen with the naked eye and may eventually become unstable if left uncorrected. In 4,000 years it will be at the same angle as the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Least Visited Country
The least visited country in the world is Tuvalu, located halfway between Australia and Hawaii in the west-central Pacific Ocean. It’s a coral atoll nation, which means it sits on a ring-shaped coral reef encircling a lagoon, with islands along the rim. The country is a stunning oasis, but the UN included the islands in a list of places that could completely disappear due to rising sea levels in the next century. Tuvalu has a population of nearly 11,000 and only receives around 4,000 visitors a year.
Monaco vs Central Park
Monaco is smaller than Central Park in New York. With an area of just 0.78 square miles and a population of 38,300, Monaco is one of the densest countries in the world. Central Park is about 840 acres or 1.31 square miles in size, making Monaco roughly 60% of the size of the world-famous park.
