Santa Claus parades are held in a variety of places, and each one is unique in its own way. The parade in Peoria, Illinois, on the other hand, is the oldest of its sort in the United States. It's been going on every Christmas season since 1888—that's well over a century of festive pleasure!

Human settlers first arrived in Madagascar very recently, probably as late as 500AD, some 300,000 years after Homo sapiens originally appeared in Africa.

It wasn't Henry Ford's Model T back in 1908. The first vehicle was built in the nineteenth century by European engineers Karl Benz and Emile Levassor who were working on automobile ideas. In 1886, Benz patented the first vehicle.

Egypt's ancient pyramids were built during an 85-year period, between 2589 and 2504 BC. The Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's masterwork, began building in 1882 and has continued under development ever since. Gaudi was never able to see his masterpiece completed. After 144 years of development, Barcelona hopes to have it finished by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

Kites were first seen in America in the mid-1700s, according to history. Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, famously flew a kite during a thunderstorm in 1752 to demonstrate an experiment about electricity and nature. This is the first documented kite flight in American history, and Franklin demonstrated that lightning carries electricity. He would later invent the lightning rod as a result of this experiment. What a fascinating fact about kites—it aided one of the world's best inventors in making a fascinating discovery.

This is one of the Japanese facts for children! Because the ice cream will ultimately melt, the term is a little deceptive. It appears that the non-melting ice cream will take several hours to thaw. Consider this, kids: this is unquestionably the finest of the kid's Japan facts! Yummy! The finding happened by chance as scientists were working with strawberry chemistry. This was done to assist farmers affected by the 2011 earthquake.

In the United Arab Emirates, the week begins on a Sunday! Sunday in the UAE is just like any other day, with children going to school and adults going to work. Weekends are Friday and Saturday for them. Because Friday is a special religious day in Islam for afternoon prayers, many Middle Eastern countries follow this timetable.

It's amazing how ancient some of Europe's structures and cities are. Pharmacies are no different. The Raeapteek on Town Hall Square, according to VisitTallinn, is one of Europe's oldest continually running pharmacies. This institution appears to have been in operation since 1422.

Despite camels' cultural and aesthetic dominance in the UAE, the Arabian Oryx is the country's national animal. With two long straight horns and a short tufted tail, the oryx is a medium-sized animal. On the 50 Dirham currency note is a depiction of an oryx.

Many people find this assertion odd, yet eating pizza for breakfast is really healthier than eating cereal. According to famous American nutritionist Chelsey Amer, pizza includes lipids, carbs, and protein that will keep you fuller for longer than porridge with milk. Cereals, of course, include carbohydrates and sugar. Of course, this does not mean that you should only eat pizza for breakfast, but it also does not mean that you should only eat cereal in the morning.

Most people are unaware of how biodiverse Papua New Guinea is; the magnificent wildlife underwater has made it one of the world's best scuba diving destinations. Despite having only 1% of the Earth's total surface area, Papua New Guinea includes 20,000 plant species, 800 coral species, and over 650 fish species. Do you have your PADI scuba diving certification? If you don't have one, you should obtain one before going to Papua New Guinea to make the most of this unique underwater world.

Since 1995, Charles Martinet has provided voices for Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and other Mushroom Kingdom characters. It's all thanks to a friend who urged him to attend an audition at a tradeshow in Las Vegas to which he had not been invited. When Martinet arrived, the audition team had already begun to pack up their belongings. Fortunately, they still let him audition for the part.

The most expensive coffee on the planet is "Kopi Luwak." It is made in Indonesia from beans digested by the Asian Palm Civet. That is, it is derived from cat poop. It can cost up to €350 per kilo!

At 7,500 feet, Chile's Atacama Desert is the driest region on Earth, with a bizarre terrain. Some areas of the region have never seen rain, and the Desert is likely the oldest desert on the planet. The desert stretches over 1,000 kilometres between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, covering an area of 363,000 square kilometres.

Did you realise that the word "Pennsylvania" is misspelt on the Liberty Bell? Actually, worded incorrectly is perhaps a bit harsh: when the bell was constructed in 1752, it was one of several permissible spellings. The ancestors of the United States also committed several obvious language errors in the Constitution.

The first hot air balloon was launched in 1783, transporting a sheep, duck, and rooster. In France, the Montgolfier brothers created the hot air balloon. They began experimenting with balloons after witnessing the heat of a fire raise their drying clothing. Because it was uncertain how flying at such altitudes might impact humans, the initial flight included animal passengers. The flight was a perfect success, and the animals arrived safely and largely unscathed. The sheep, however, managed to land on the rooster.

The smallest kite in the world that actually flies is 5mm high; the largest kite in the world is 55 x 22 metres in size (630sq meters). The world's longest kite is 1034 metres (3394 feet). A kite's fastest recorded speed is more than 120 mph (193 km/h).

The Water Festival, also known as Thingyan, is one of the country's largest celebrations. Thousands of people come to the streets in April to celebrate the Burmese New Year with a massive water battle. Everyone enjoys a good time, and it's one of the most significant aspects about Myanmar culture that every traveller should be aware of. Participating is most likely the finest vacation experience you can have here.

Dubai claims to have the world's largest picture frame. The 492-foot-tall Dubai Frame soars above the city's skyline and is a popular tourist attraction.

While Assassin's Creed is already a household brand, it almost became something quite different. The original crusade-era period game was inspired by a Prince of Persia game called Prince of Persia: Assassin, which had a prince's bodyguard as the protagonist. Unhappy with the thought of a Prince of Persia game not being about a prince (which, interestingly, Nintendo doesn't see as an issue with when it comes to Zelda), Ubisoft's upper brass insisted on a new brand, and Assassin's Creed was created.

Few odours are as appealing as "new car smell," and it's not just because it's nice to be in a brand new car. However, while the scent may be strangely satisfying, it is actually a combination of 50+ chemicals (known as "volatile organic compounds") that are released into the car and decay quickly over time. The concentrations found in a typical new car are not dangerous, but VOCs found in nail polish, auto fuel, and petroleum contribute significantly to the new car smell.

Algeria is the continent's biggest country, spanning more than 2 million square kilometres and borders Mali, Niger, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Mauritania. This places it above Libya, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it is about five times the size of Spain.

Alaska, the biggest state in the United States, was sold for a total of $7.2 million, or roughly 2 cents per acre. In 1867, the state was bought. America made its $7.2 million investment back more than 100 times over in the 50 years that followed. Talk about a good investment.

Malaysia is home to the world's biggest cave chamber. The Sarawak Chamber at Gunung Mulu National Park is enormous, with enough capacity for 40-50 Boeing 747s. It's another matter if you could actually park these jets in the Sarawak Chamber...