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.

Rivers and lakes can be found beneath the ocean. When salt water and hydrogen sulphide combine, it becomes denser than the surrounding water, forming a lake or river that flows beneath the sea.

In Greek mythology, Zeus had a passionate love affair with Europa, a Phoenician princess. To entice her away, he disguised himself as a bull and carried her off to sea on his back, transporting her to the island of Crete. The famous 1747 painting "The Rape of Phoenicia" by Francois Boucher sits at Paris' Louvre.

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.

The Tonle Sap supports about half of Cambodia's agriculture and is a key fishing source. The incredible thing about this lake is that it regenerates in major areas throughout the rainy season, when monsoon rain pours and floods the centre area between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

Under the sea, there are more historic artefacts than in all of the world's museums combined. There are approximately 1,000 shipwrecks off the Florida Keys alone, some of which are protected by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Other underwater museums have opened in recent years, including Christ of the Abyss, a submerged bronze statue in the Mediterranean.

The largest padlock in the world (according to Guinness World Records) was created by a team of students and teachers at Russia's Pavlovo Arts College and measures 56.8 inches tall, 41.3 inches wide, and 10.2 inches deep. The total weight of this heavy lock, including the key, is 916 pounds. Whatever it's guarding presumably weighs a lot more!

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.

Though it was not the first film ever made, "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) was the first to tell a story and is widely regarded as the first narrative fiction film. It was produced by Thomas Edison's Edison Studios and was only about 12 minutes long. The filming took place in New Jersey. 

It is clear in Ukraine that the majority of the population speaks both Russian and Ukrainian. However, if you truly want to be a local, Ukrainian, which is also the official language, would be preferable. And, much to your dismay, English is not generally spoken here.

Something frowned upon in most other nations is quite acceptable in China. In China, spitting, yawning, grunting, and burping is normal eating behaviours, just as they are in Vietnam. It was repulsive to us, and we couldn't get used to it. We would bear it better if we stayed in this nation for a little longer.

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.

Anthropologists have discovered evidence that pre-Olmec cultures in Mexico produced chocolate around 1900 B.C. Chocolate's origins can be traced back to Mesoamerica. The Aztecs (a Mesoamerican civilization) traded cocoa beans with the Mayans because they believed they were a gift from Quetzalcoatl, the God of Wisdom. When the Aztecs took over Mesoamerica, they had a strong desire for cocoa beans, which could not be grown in the heart of their civilization. As a result, they were forced to rely on the Mayans and trade cocoa seeds with them. These were known to be so valuable that they were used as currency.

Fischer was charged in 1992 with violating economic sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia. He came out of retirement to earn $5 million in a rematch against his old nemesis, Boris Spassky. Fischer never returned to the United States and eventually settled (and died) in Reykjavik after renunciating his American citizenship.

Libyan tea is thick because it is made with a lot of tea leaves and a lot of sugar. It is mostly made by women. The tea boils for 20 to 30 minutes after the two components are combined and a suitable amount of water is added. When the tea is done, it's served in little pyrex glasses with sumak and khobza, two popular Libyan snacks.

A particular female servant with the Queen's shoe size breaks in her new shoes for her. Although Elizabeth II has favored comparable shoes of the same brand for many years, she does not want to suffer the agony that new shoes generally bring.

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

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.

USA's present 50-star flag was created by 17-year-old Robert Heff as part of a high school project. It was 1958, and there were only 48 states at the moment, but Heft had a feeling Hawaii and Alaska would get statehood shortly. His teacher gave him a B- but later raised the mark to an A after Heft submitted his design to the White House, resulting in a call from President Eisenhower announcing that it had been chosen as the official U.S. flag.

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.

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.

Some of these European facts are more recent than others. Kosovo gained independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, becoming Europe's youngest country. Kosovo, a landlocked nation in the European Balkans, with a population of almost 2 million people.

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.

An ultra-luxurious lodge has been opened on Nosy Ankao, the biggest of five islands off Madagascar's northeast coast. Miavana (only accessible by helicopter) is a destination for "blue safaris," which include opportunities to see turtles, whales, and dolphins, as well as scuba diving and fishing. There's also a fantastic spa. But start saving now - doubles start at £3,220 per night.

Despite the fact that Nazi scientists tried to produce weaponized versions of illnesses such as typhoid and cholera, Hitler banned the employment of offensive biological weapons in war, probably due to his experiences with bioweapons during World War I.