Summer Survival: City Facts
How many of these awesome world city facts do YOU know?
1. The Coldest City On Earth...
Is the Russian city of Yakutsk, just a few hundred miles from the Arctic circle. Winters there have clocked in at a chilly minus 40 DEGREES Celsius! Brrrrr!
2. And the Hottest...
At the other end of the thermometer is the city of Ahvaz in Iran. Summers there regularly hit 50 DEGREES! Oh, and there's sandstorms too! Great...
3. Bangkok's OTHER name
The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, has an official name that's a massive 163 letters long. Bangkok is also known as: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit Which translates to: City of Angels, great city of Immortals, magnificent city of the Nine Gems, seat of the King, city of Royal Palaces, home of Gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest. But don't worry - you can just stick to Bangkok!
4. Did You Know
The world-famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles originally said Hollywoodland? They dropped the LAND in 1949 because, well - it sounds better this way!
5. Inside the Dome
The Millennium Dome in London is so big that the Pyramids in Giza could fit inside it!
6. Wheelie strange Holland!
18 million people live in Holland - but between them they own over 22 million bicycles. And no, we don't know why a country would need more bikes than people either!
7. Batmania!
The city of Melbourne, Australia, was almost called "Batmania" after one of it's founders, a man called John Batman. No, really!
8. Mission Impastable!
There's a Pasta museum in Rome, Italy! At 10 Euros entry, admission costs a pretty Penne! Geddit? Penne - penny? Bah. Never mind.
9. Cities are Getting Bigger!
Cities are getting bigger and bigger, and now for the first time in human history - more people live in cities than live in the countryside. By 2050, it's projected that 68% of all humans will be city slickers.
10. The London Underground Mosquito
There's a type of mosquito that has adapted to living in the dark tunnels of the London underground. It's likely that it was brought over from Egypt at some point during the last couple of hundred years, and has a famously nasty bite. Yikes!