Did you Know

Business and Finance

Greek coins remained the oldest currency in the world until the adoption of the Euro, the Pound Sterling became then the oldest currency still in use today.
Coins were invented by the Chinese about 4,000 years ago, and paper money was invented by the Chinese as well about 1,200 years ago.
The USD100 bill has been the largest denomination of currency in circulation since 1969.

Nature and Environment

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the biggest coral reef in the world. It is 2,600 km long and you can see it from space!
The deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. It’s 1,637m deep. It's also the oldest lake in the world. It's more than 25 million years old!
The altitude of Mount Everest is of 8850m.
Crocodiles have lived on Earth for over 200 million years. Humans have lived on Earth for about 2 million years.
Polar bears are brilliant swimmers. They can swim up to 80 km away from land. They have webbed feet, like a duck. That's what helps them swim so far!
The biggest dinosaur was not the Tyrannosaurus Rex, it was the Giganotosaurus. It was about 14m long!
The world’s most venomous animal is the box jellyfish. It lives in the seas around Asia and Australia. It has enough venom to kill 26 people.
Recycling just one aluminum can save enough energy to operate a TV for 3 hours.
It takes glass one million years to decompose, which means it can be recycled an infinite amount of times.
The first real recycling program was introduced in New York City in the 1890s.

Science and Technology

The average person blinks about 12 times a minute - that means you blink about 10,080 times a day!
Babies are born with 300 bones, but adults have 206 bones!
The very first computer mouse was called a ‘bug’. It appeared in 1968, was made of wood and had metal wheels and one button. The modern computer mouse appeared in 1983.
The hottest planet in the solar system is Venus, with an estimated surface temperature of 462 C.
The first man who stepped on the moon is Neil Armstrong in 1969.
In the polar regions of the Earth there is sunlight for 24 hours a day in summer. Some people call this “the land of the midnight sun”.
Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.
Hawaii is moving toward Japan 4 inches every year.

Lebanon and Around the world

More capital cities begin with the letter "B" than any other letter. Beirut, Berlin, Berne, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Baghdad, Bratislava, Brussels, Belgrade, Bogotá, and Belfast are some of the capital cities beginning with B.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years.
Lebanon's legislature house (parliament) has 128 members.
From 1516 to 1918 Lebanon was under the administrative rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Beitteddine palace was built over a thirty year period by Emir Bechir El Chehab II, who ruled Mount-Lebanon for more than half a century.
Lebanon's name has been mentioned in the Bible 76 times. Sidon was mentioned 36 times. Tyre (Sour) was mentioned 63 times.
There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt, but the biggest and most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s over 4,500 years old, and took around 20 years to build.
Records list shown the Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history. It was assessed at USD100 million in 1962.
The first skateboard appeared in 1950 - it had a handlebar like a scooter!
The first Ancient Olympics were held in 776BC (more than 2500 years ago). The events in the Ancient Olympics included running in armour!
The world’s oldest football club is Sheffield FC, an English team. The team formed in 1848.

Arts and Entertainments

The modern circus was invented by Philip Astley in 1770. It took place in London and at first people watched horses in the ring. Then Astley added more acts: clowns, acrobats and jugglers.
The first James Bond film was called Dr. No.
Halle Berry is the first black woman to have received an Oscar for her performance as best actress in “Monster’s Ball” in 2002.
J K Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books, was once an English teacher.
Britney Spears made history as the youngest female artist to have her debut single and sold well over 20 million records worldwide.
The first video ever played on MTV Europe was “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits.
The biggest concert in History was Rod Stewart at Copacabana Beach (1994) with more than 3,500,000 attendees.
The Aston Martin DB 5 which appeared in the Bond movie, 'Goldfinger' was sold for USD 5 million at auction.

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