The world’s longest commercial flight took around 30 hours
The longest commercial flight is the Singapore Airlines Singapore to New York route, with an average journey time of 17 hours and 50 minutes. But from 1943-45 Qantas ran the ‘Double Sunrise’ service which made 271 crossings in total from Australia to Sri Lanka which often lasted over 30 hours, enabling lucky passengers to see the sunrise twice.
Japanese railways hand out ‘certificates’ for delays of more than five minutes
Reputedly the most punctual in the world, Japanese trainsissue passengers with a ‘delay certificate’ if a train is running more than five minutes behind schedule. These documents are issued so that passengers can make arrangements with their company or hotel if they are late getting back from their trip and they act as an insurance policy against the possibility of a delay that would otherwise result in having to pay for a missed flight.
The UK has the world’s longest country name
The UK’s official title of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comes in at a total of 56 characters, which makes it the longest recognised country name in the world.
The Eiffel Tower was initially greatly disliked by the Parisian art community upon opening
The Eiffel Tower was not popular with all Parisians, some of whom thought the Eiffel Tower was so ugly that “only the Americans would want to build it”. The iconic tower was labelled as ‘monstrous’ and ‘ridiculous’ after it was unveiled to the world.
You’re never more than 30 steps away from a rubbish bin in Disneyland
The story goes that Walt Disney used to observe visitors in the park and see how many steps they took before littering, as a result a rubbish bin is never more than 30 steps away in any Disney park.
Secret Speakeasy inside Disneyland California
Club 33 was built in the style of a speakeasy, with only a small ‘33’ address plate to mark its entrance. Disney created the secret venue in the otherwise ‘dry’ park, located in New Orleans Square, as an escape for celebrities, socialites, politicians, and high paying investors. Unfortunately, he passed away just five months prior to its opening and was never able to see it. Club 33 now runs as a private members club with an annual membership fee of $10,000.
Sudan has more ancient pyramids than Egypt
Many people don’t realise that Sudan has nearly twice the number of pyramids than Egypt. Sources vary, but Sudan is claimed to be home to around 250 pyramid structures, built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms between 2500BC to 300AD, as opposed to the 118 pyramids in all of Egypt built during the ancient reign.
