Important Facts On Egypt

This post is specially made for the people of Egypt and interested people of the world who wants to know more important facts about country Egypt. So, stay in touch for more general knowledge.

Egypt is the world's sixth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

Egypt has contributed 2,500 soldiers to the UN Mission in Darfur.

Cairo is home to Africa's only subway.

Egypt plans to derive 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

The Egyptian Field Hospital at Bagram in Afghanistan treats more than 7,200 Afghan patients every month.

The Aswan High Dam generates enough electricity in one year to power one million televisions for 20 years.

In 2002, Egypt unveiled the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina near the spot where Alexandria's ancient library stood.

Egypt has produced four Nobel laureates, awarded prizes for peace, chemistry and literature.

Egypt contributes about 15% of the entire African Union budget.

Over 500 free press newspapers, journals and magazines are available in Egypt.

Egypt is the only country brokering Palestinian unity talks between Hamas and Fatah.

Goods manufactured in Egypt with Israeli materials enter the U.S. duty free.

The largest U.S. military training exercises on foreign soil take place in Egypt.

Egypt is home to 30 percent of the Arab world's bloggers.

Egypt trains African military officers in peacekeeping operations.

Egypt was the first Muslim country to appoint a female marriage officer.

More than 12 percent of the Egyptian People's Assembly will be female.

Egypt has the largest and oldest Christian community in the Middle East.

More than half of secondary students in Egypt are female.

Egypt ranked first in North Africa and second in Africa in securing foreign direct investment.

The United States is Egypt’s largest trading partner.

Egypt and Google are working together to increase the amount of Arabic content online.

Egypt’s Free Internet Initiative provides all Egyptians with free access to the internet.

Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a historic peace treaty with Israel.

Cairo, Dallas and New York are sister cities.

Egypt is the largest rice producer in the Middle East and North Africa.

One quarter of all Arabs worldwide live in Egypt.

Egypt is the center of movie and television production in the Arab world.

Egypt boasts a highly skilled workforce, with 265,000 university graduates each year.

Twenty percent of all Egyptian firms are owned by women.

More than 30 of Africa’s Top 200 companies are based in Egypt.

Egypt is home to the Arab League.

Egypt was the first Arab country to have its own satellite.

Egypt is home to the oldest American Chamber of Commerce in the Middle East.

Apache Corporation is the largest U.S. investor in Egypt.

More American students study in Egypt than in any other Arabic-speaking country.

Egypt is restoring 11 ancient Jewish synagogues.

There are 21 national parks in Egypt.

Egypt has been a critical member of the United Nations since its establishment in 1945.

EgyptAir is Africa’s largest airline.

Egypt is home to seven World Heritage sites.

Egypt was the birthplace of the first feminist movement in the Arab world.

Cairo’s annual International Book Fair is one of the largest in the world.

The first recorded labor strike took place in Egypt.

Alexandria is Egypt's first smoke-free city.

Egypt shares its farming expertise with its neighbors in an effort to eliminate African hunger.

Education is free through university level in Egypt.

Egypt’s anti-AIDS program is one of the most successful in the Middle East and Africa.

Egypt has embarked on an ambitious plan to create a “new” Nile Valley.

With over two million Egyptians using Facebook, Egypt has the most Facebook users in Africa.

Interesting Facts On Canada

This post is specially made for the people of Canada and interested people of the world who wants to know more important facts about country Canada. So, stay in touch for more general knowledge.

• Canada is the world's second-largest country (9 970 610 km2), surpassed only by the Russian Federation.
• Kanata is the St. Lawrence-Iroquoian word for "village" or "settlement".
• “O Canada,” originally named “Chant national,” was written by Adolphe-Basile. Routhier (French lyrics) and Calixa Lavallée (music) and first performed in Quebec City in 1880. The song was approved by the Parliament of Canada in 1967 as the unofficial national anthem and adopted officially on July 1, 1980.
• The border between Canada and the United States is officially known as the International Boundary. At 5,525 miles, including 1,538 miles between Canada and Alaska, it is the world's longest border between two nations.
• The Canadian motto, A Mari Usque ad Mare, means "From sea to sea."
• At 3,855,103 square miles, Canada is the second largest country in the world, behind Russia.
• Its population density is 8.6 people per square mile, making Canada the ninth-most sparsely populated nation in the world.
• The average life expectancy at birth for a Canadian is 81.16 years, the eighth highest in the world. The United States ranks 46th, at 78.14 years.
• Snorri, the first North American child to be born of European parents (Thorfin and Gudrid), was born in Vinland around A.D. 1000.
• Newfoundland was the first part of Canada to be explored by Europeans. Ironically, it was the last area to become a province, in 1949.
• In 1642, a group of religious mystics from France were inspired by a vision to build a missionary city in the Canadian wilderness. Led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and an Ursuline nun name Jeanne Mance, they founded Montreal.
• According to the 2001 census, 42.6% of Canadians are Roman Catholic, 23.3% are Protestant, and 16% claim to have no religion.
• Alert, in Nunavut territory, is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world.
• Canada became a country on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act was passed by the British Parliament.
• The Mounted Police were formed in 1873, with nine officers.g In 1920, the Mounted Police merged with the Dominion Police to become the famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an organization that now has more than 28,000 members.
• Ice hockey is Canada's official national game. The rules of the game were first published in the Montreal Gazette in 1877.
• Canadian James Naismith invented basketball to give his physical education students at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, an indoor team sport to play during the long winters.
• The capital city, Ottawa, was originally named Bytown after Colonel John By, who headquartered there while building the Rideau Canal to connect the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario.
• Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 151,600 miles.
• The regent of England, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Canadian head of state.
• North America's earliest undisputed evidence of human activity, 20,000-year-old stone tools and animal bones have been found in caves on the Bluefish River in northern Yukon.
• North America's lowest recorded temperature was -81.4 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 C) at Snag, Yukon Territory, on February 3, 1947.
• Canada is known as the home of large animals like the moose and grizzly bear, but it is also home to about 55,000 species of insects and about 11,000 species of mites and spiders.
• Canada contains 9% of the world's renewable water supply.
• The official languages of Canada are English and French. Throughout Canada's history up to the current time, there have been conflicts between English and French-speaking Canadians.
• In 1527, John Rut of St. John's, Newfoundland, sent a letter to King Henry VIII—the first letter sent from North America.
• Canadians have made many important inventions, including Kerosene, the electron microscope, the electronic organ, insulin, the IMAX film system, the snowmobile, and the electric cooking range.
• Canada is a major producer and consumer of cheese. In 1997, Canadians produced 350,000 tons of at least 32 varieties of cheese and ate an average of 23.4 pounds per person, with cheddar being the most popular.
• Many famous authors have come from Canada, including Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale), and Alice Munro (Lives of Girls and Women).
• The Moosehead Brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick, turns out 1,642 bottles of beer per minute.
• Canada has made a significant contribution to rock and roll, beginning with “Sh-Boom” by the Crew-Cuts in 1954.
• The natives of eastern Canada tell several stories of a mythical giant named Glooscap, who carved out many of the region's natural features to help him overcome his evil twin brothers. It is believed that these Glooscap stories might be the origin of many of the Paul Bunyan legends.
• The world's strongest current is found in the Nakwakto Rapids at Slingsby Channel, British Columbia. The current has been measured at speeds up to 18.4 miles per hour.
• The West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, was once the world's largest shopping mall. It now ranks fifth, but it still contains the world's largest indoor amusement park.
• Alberta has 50% of the world's supply of bitumen.
• The CN Tower in Toronto was the world's tallest free-standing structure until it was eclipsed in 2007.
• Manitou Lake on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the world's largest lake within a lake (41.1 square miles).
• Canada maintains 38 national parks, which cover about 2% of the country's landmass.
• At 6050 m, Mount Logan in the Yukon is Canada's tallest peak.
• The longest Canadian river is the Mackenzie, which flows 4241 km through the Northwest Territories.
• The St. Lawrence (3058 km long) is Canada's most important river, providing a seaway for ships from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Canada has six time zones.
• The educational system varies from province to province and includes six to eight years of elementary school, four or five years of secondary school and three or four years at the university undergraduate level.
• The principal natural resources are natural gas, oil, gold, coal, copper, iron ore, nickel, potash, uranium and zinc, along with wood and water.
• These include automobile manufacturing, pulp and paper, iron and steel work, machinery and equipment manufacturing, mining, extraction of fossil fuels, forestry and agriculture.
• The currency of Canada is Canadian dollar

Interesting Facts On France

This post is specially made for the people of France and interested people of the world who wants to know more important facts about country France. So, stay in touch for more general knowledge.

• The official name of France is The French Republic and its motto is 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.'
• The name France means 'Land of the Franks.' The Franks were a Germanic tribe who lived in Northern Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.
• Although only the size of Texas, France has seven mountain ranges and five major river systems.
• It is the largest nation in Western Europe, with countries like Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Andorra and Monaco sharing its boundary.
• France is home to 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Mont St. Michel Abbey, Versailles Palace, and the Chartres Cathedral.
• It has nearly 3000 miles of seashore, with three major water bodies: the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the English Channel.
• It is also referred to as L'Hexagone, which means the hexagon, due to the geometrical shape of the country.
• While all the stripes of the official French flag are of equal width, the one used by the navy has bands that increase in width from blue to red.
• The flag of France is blue, white, red. It is known as Le Drapeau Tricolore (or the three-coloured flag) because of its three colours. It has existed since 1794.
• The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with the future king of England, Henry II led to British rule in France for about 300 years.
• French people love cheese. Though traditionally there are around 350 to 400 varieties of French cheese, there are in fact over 1000 different types available in the French market.
• French wine is immensely popular all over the world. The country is one of the largest wine producing nations in the world. There are 17 distinct wine producing regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Provence that continue with the tradition of wine making in France.
• An amusing fact about France is that while beer is considered a luxury drink saved for special occasions, wine is free with most meals.
• France is also home to the only Disneyland in Europe, located near Paris.
• An underground rail tunnel, known as the Channel Tunnel, joins England and France. It runs beneath the English Channel, connecting Folkestone, Kent in England and Coquelles, near Calais in France.
• The Tour de France, the most famous bicycle race in the world is an annual bicycle race of France, in which cyclists cover over 2100 miles in 23 days.
• The first flight of the Concorde took place in 1969, from the French city of Toulouse, one of the centers of the aerospace industry in Europe.
• The concept of jean clothing was born in the Languedoc-Roussillon city of Nîmes, France, from where it was imported by Levi Strauss to California to make tough clothes for gold diggers.
• The Statue of Liberty, one of the most widely recognized structures of US, was made in France. It was then gifted to the US in 1886 to celebrate its centennial.
• April Fool's Day is believed to have originated in France, in 1564, when the country started following the Gregorian Calendar. Those that did not know about the switch in the calendars, were mocked on this day as they continued to believe that 1st April was the first day of the French new year.
• France is the home of the TGV - Train à Grande Vitesse, French for high speed train. A TGV test train set the record of being the fastest train when it reached a speed of 357 mph on April 3, 2007.
• France is also home to the Louvre, one of the largest art museums in the world.
• France is where the Gothic Art and the Baroque style of architecture were born. This is the reason why there are numerous cathedrals and buildings that are fine examples of Gothic Art.
• From the French Alps to the marvelous beaches lining the azure waters in the French Riviera, France is one of the most visited countries in the world. In 2007, it attracted as many as 81.9 million tourists. This number was greater than its population!
• People who speak fluent French are called 'Francophones.'
• The French national anthem is called La Marseillaise. It was composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792.
• An important emblem of France is the cockerel (le coq). It is used on the sportswear of French national teams. It is a courageous animal, willing to fight.
• The French symbol of freedom is the woman known as Marianne. Her image is seen on coins, stamps and paintings. She wears a 'cap of liberty' on her head.
• The country of France is divided into twenty-two regions.
• One of the most important dates in France is the 14 July. This is known as Bastille Day and it is a national holiday. In France it is called La Fête Nationale.
• The guillotine was the method of execution developed during the French Revolution. It was invented with the help of surgeon, Dr. Guillotin. In Paris, it was used regularly in La Place de la Concorde.
• The guillotine remained the official method of execution in France until 1981 when the death penalty was abolished. The last time it was used was as recently as 1977.
• The shrine of Saint-Denis is in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Paris. Most of the kings and queens of France are laid to rest in this cathedral.
• Tower (La Tour Eiffel) was designed by architect Stephen Sauvestre and built by the construction company of Gustave Eiffel between 1887 and The Eiffel 1889.
• La Tour Eiffel is cleaned all year round by a team of cleaners. Each year they consume 4 tons of paper wipes, 10,000 doses of detergent, 400 litres of metal cleaner and 25,000 rubbish bags.
• The re-painting of La Tour Eiffel begins every seven years. The current painting job commenced in March 2009 and is expected to last for about 18 months. It will require around 60 tons of paint in three different shades of brown.
• The French people call the English people les rosbifs, meaning - the roast beefs!In 1624, King Louis XIII built a hunting lodge in the village of Versailles, outside Paris. This building was enlarged by the next king - Louis XIV - who turned it into the magnificent palace we see today. In French, this palace is called Le Château de Versailles.
• In France, they eat snails (les escargots), frogs' legs (les cuisses de grenouille) and horsemeat (la viande de cheval).
• Before eating a meal, it is polite to say Bon appétit. This means 'I hope you have a good appetite so that you enjoy your meal.'
• The word "Salut" means both 'hello' and 'goodbye.'
• bread is la baguette (little stick). It is a loaf 5 or 6 cm. wide and up to a metre in length. If it is a thinner version, it is called une ficelle (a string) and if it is wider it is called une flûte.
• France has won the Football World Cup only once - in 1998. The French football team is nicknamed Les Bleus (The Blues).
• Denim is a fabric that came originally from the French town of Nîmes (de Nîmes).
• Le Moulin Rouge (meaning- The Red Mill) is a very famous cabaret club in Paris. It was built in 1889. It is recognised by an imitation red windmill on its roof.
• The "cancan" is a very energetic and acrobatic dance that first appeared in Parisian ballrooms in the 1830s.
• The tradition of the white wedding dress began in France. Anne of Brittany is believed to be the first bride to choose a white gown when she married Louis XII in 1499.
• Every May, there is a famous film festival in the southern seaside town of Cannes. It began in 1939.
• The most famous mountain in France is Mont Blanc, meaning White Mountain. It is also known as La Dame Blanche, meaning 'The White Lady.' It has a summit 4,800 metres high and is the highest mountain of the Alps.
• In the south of France, near to Cannes, there is a town called Grasse and it is very famous for growing flowers.
• The tallest bridge in the world is in the south of France. It is called Le Viaduc de Millau and it was opened in December, 2004.