Flamingos are fascinating birds that bend their legs at the ankle rather than the knee. They basically stand on tiptoe. Their knees are covered in feathers and are closer to the body. This distinguishes them from other migratory birds.

Food waste is a major issue. How big is it? Approximately 931 million metric tonnes. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, which surveyed 54 countries, the majority of wasted food (61 percent) comes from homes, while restaurants and other food services produce 26 percent of wasted food. Grocery stores account for only 13% of all food waste. If you need a pick-me-up, check out these 50 Feel-Good Facts That Will Make You Smile.

Feet are extremely complex body parts. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and 19 muscles that all work together to allow for a wide range of motion and movement. However, many of these bones remain cartilage throughout a person's childhood, gradually ossifying into bone as time passes. According to the Ontario Society of Chiropodists, all of the bones in the foot do not harden completely until a person is around 21 years old! Sign up for our daily newsletter for more trivia to keep you sharp.

Colored honey can be produced by bees. A biogas plant in France manages waste from a Mars chocolate factory, where M&Ms are manufactured. Beekeepers in the area noticed that their bees were producing honey with "unnatural shades of green and blue." According to a British Beekeepers' Association spokesperson, the coloured honey was caused by bees eating the sugary M&M waste.

Under black lights, bananas glow blue. Ripe bananas appear yellow to the naked eye under normal conditions due to organic pigments known as carotenoids. Chlorophyll begins to degrade as bananas ripen. This pigment is what causes bananas to glow, or fluoresce, under UV light and appear blue. While this is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating facts about bananas, there is another that will make you want to eat a banana every day.

The Nabataeans revered their dead and took special care to honor them as they transitioned from this world to the next. They constructed over 1,000 protected tombs in the mountains surrounding the city. These tombs coexist with depictions of their gods, creating a sense of fluidity between the sacred and the mundane.

There are only two ways to get to Machu Picchu because of its remote location in Peru's mountainous cloud forest. The first and most common method is to take a train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo) at the mountain's base. Then you can take a bus or walk the rest of the way up. The second option is to hike the Inca Trail.

Machu Picchu has a very unique climate due to its location on the border of the Andes and the Amazon rainforest. In contrast to Cusco's relatively dry weather and barefaced mountains, Machu Picchu is lush and green, frequently surrounded by low-hanging clouds and mist. There are also many subtropical species of brightly colored birds and flowers to be seen.

During the scientific excavation of the site from 1912 to 1915, Hiram Bingham's team collected thousands of artifacts from the ruins and sent them to Yale University. Ceramics, jewelry, silver pieces, and human bones were among the artifacts discovered. For years, the Peruvian government argued that the artifacts should be returned, until Yale finally returned them in 2012.

Because the Incas lacked a writing system, there are no written records of the people who lived there. Most archaeologists assume it was created as a royal estate by Emperor Pachacuti. Some believe it was a refuge for the Inca empire's high-ranking religious leaders and academics.

Hiram Bingham III, an explorer, brought the remains of Machu Picchu to public attention by naming his account of the expedition The Lost City of the Incas. The site, however, was never actually "forgotten." Many people in the area were aware of its presence. In reality, Melchor Arteaga, a local innkeeper, led Bingham to the location. Furthermore, when Bingham arrived in 1911, there were still Quechua people tending the terraces.

This is where the last Machu Picchu truth becomes even more intriguing! Peru has a high level of seismic activity in general, and Machu Picchu is positioned near two fault lines. Knowing this, the Incas developed a variety of strategies to make their structures earthquake-resistant. These featured the previously mentioned ashlar construction, as well as trapezoidal-shaped doors and windows, inward inclining walls, and bracing blocks.

The Incas were skilled engineers who were able to construct the complete fortress of Machu Picchu without the use of cement. Instead, they adopted a method known as ashlar, which involves carefully cutting stones such that they lay on top of one another with no gap between them. You couldn't even get a sheet of paper through the stones!

Scholars think that Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, who governed the Inca Empire from 1438 to 1471, began constructing Machu Picchu around 1450 AD. This is almost a millennium after the fall of the Roman Empire and less than a century before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Peru.

During the first season, The Office was a close adaptation of the UK version. As the first season came to a finish, Steve Carell's The 40-Year-Old Virgin hit cinemas and catapulted him to stardom. It was at this point that The Office's creators decided to soften Michael Scott. From Season 2 on, we see a huge shift in the program, which may be attributed to Carell's popularity.

Except for one character, it appears that one of the most intriguing parts of the program is that the people go by the names of major cities throughout the world. The Professor is a completely separate and distinct persona, yet many fans are unaware that he, too, has an unofficial city name - Vatican City. Vatican City, a well-protected, secretive, and knowledge-filled city, is the ideal name for the figure played by Alvaro Morte. Another intriguing detail about this actor is that he has great eyesight in real life and it took him a long time to get used to wearing glasses, but the appearance was preserved in the program.

According to creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, they based their primary characters on their own lives. Bays spent a lot of time with Thomas and his girlfriend (now wife) Rebecca in their early days in New York. They modeled Ted, Marshall, and Lily after individuals they knew best: themselves.

Hank Azaria's David moved to Russia to become a scientist, but his narrative with Phoebe was one of the show's most memorable. Azaria, on the other hand, auditioned for Joey during the show's casting around and was turned down twice.

In 1970, Pope Benedict XVI was given an organ donor card. The card became invalid when he was elected Pope in 2005, according to the Telegraph. The Pope's entire body, according to the Vatican, must be buried intact because his body belongs to the universal Catholic Church.

The Dubai Police Department has more oomph than any other police force in the planet. They have access to a wide choice of supercars, including Bugatti, Ferrari, Bentley, Lamborghini, Camaro, Mercedes, and many others. The fastest of them all, the Veyron, can reach speeds of up to 407 kilometres per hour!

The United Arab Emirates is a presidentially elected federated monarchy. It is a federation of the seven Emirates' absolute monarchy. The president of the United Arab Emirates is the emir of Abu Dhabi. The president is also the UAE Armed Forces' Supreme Commander in Chief and Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council. The Emir of Dubai, on the other hand, is the Prime Minister. These titles are passed down through the generations.

Kolkata has always promoted science and technology, and the city has produced some of the world's most renowned scientists. Birla Planetarium, Asia's largest, is now the world's second largest. It was built in 1963 and inaugurated by the then-Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru. Let us also mention that Science City is the largest scientific culture centre in the Indian subcontinent.

Right now, India may not have such a name in the world of Polo, but it all began in our city. The British established the world's first Polo club in Calcutta in 1858. Since then, there have been numerous competitions and the arrival of Europeans to further popularise the sport. This sport was particularly popular among Bengal's royals and Nawabs.

Kolkata is unquestionably a book lover's paradise. It is home to the country's largest used book market and the world's second largest. Another reason why hordes of bibliophiles visit this city all year. In addition, the National Library is the largest and oldest public library in the country.

The Alipore Zoo is literally something to be proud of, from the Royal Bengal to the greatest species of animals. However, few Kolkatans are aware that it is also the country's oldest zoo. Alipore's tagline as a brand could be - entertaining everyone since 1875!