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.

In the year 1,000 AD, half a millennium before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, Greenlandic Viking chief Leif Eriksson arrived on the island of Newfoundland. Leif Eriksson's Vikings inhabited Newfoundland, as well as finding and populating Labrador further north in Canada.

During the Classical Period, Ancient Sparta was a colossally rich kingdom. Mostly because of their conquest and dominance over a nearby people known as the Helots. When a Spartan boy attained maturity and became a man, the Spartan state bestowed upon him a grant of public farmland. They also sent him a contingent of Helot slaves to work it. This effectively transformed every Spartan citizen into a rich member of the traditional upper class. As a result, they did not have to work for a living. Private property still existed, which is significant because...

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.

It's true: the fourth-smallest country in Europe has no airports. In fact, the Principality of Liechtenstein lacks both a harbour and a shoreline, making it a doubly landlocked country. That is, it is landlocked, and the nations bordering it are also landlocked. The nearest airport is St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport in Switzerland, however there are other options for getting to Vaduz, including train, bus, and vehicle.

In Korea, age is given precedence over all other considerations. When conversing with someone of a higher rank or age, formal language must be used. Similarly, when conversing with a junior/someone younger, you can use informal language (banmal, ). Unless two people agree to use banmal at the same time, this usually remains the case. Even in a k-pop group with members who are mostly around the same age, a few months difference in birthdate can make a big difference.

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.

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.

Guinness World Records certified the mixed-use hotel and office complex as the World's Farthest Leaning Manmade Tower in 2010. The lean of the Capital Gate structure is 18 degrees, which is more than four times that of Italy's famous leaning Tower of Pisa.

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.

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!

A Formula 1 race car's engine is not like one found in a Toyota that can go 200,000 miles without breaking a sweat. A normal Formula 1 engine, according to F1Technical, can only endure seven races. The competitors set aside a considerable sum only for engine development. The tolerance and capability of F1 engines are unparalleled. They're designed to get the most out of them, even if that means just operating for a few hours. Because the engines are built with such accuracy, they are more prone to wear and tear.

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 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!

In 1769, Spanish colonists established the city that is now known as Los Angeles. In 1781, another group of 44 residents moved to the new settlement. The city was titled El Pueblo de Nuestra Seora la Reina de los ngeles de Porcincula by the Spanish ruler. This translates as "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porcincula." Because the name is extremely long, it was condensed until it became Los Angeles. As a result, Los Angeles is now known simply as "The Angels."

Texas is where German chocolate cake was invented. The "German" in German chocolate cake is the work of an American man, not a European country. It is named after Sam German, who created the formula for a mild dark baking chocolate bar for Baker's Chocolate Company in 1852, which was later renamed Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate. Let's go back to June 13, 1957. According to What's Cooking America, the Dallas Morning Star published the recipe for the cake, which was invented and submitted by a reader identified as Mrs. George Clay.

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

The world we "see" is a figment of our imagination. Our minds do not generate images in the same way that a video camera does. Instead, the brain builds a model of the world using data from modules that measure light and shade, edges, curvature, and so on. This allows the brain to easily paint out the blind spot, which is the area of your retina where the optic nerve connects and has no sensors. It also compensates for our eyes' rapid, jerky movements, known as saccades, creating the illusion of steady vision.

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.

Shellac is also known as "confectioner's glaze" because it gives candies like jelly beans and candy corn a shiny coating. However, shellac, which is also used as a brush-on colourant and a wood finish, is derived from the excrement secretions of female Kerria lacca insects. In other words, it's bug excrement.

Where the Wild Things Are was originally titled Where the Wild Horses Are, and Maurice Sendak intended to write about horses; however, the author and illustrator quickly realised he was terrible at drawing horses and decided it would be better to draw 'things' instead; thus, one of the most memorable children's stories of all time was born.

You definitely wouldn't recognise Greece if someone called it by its official name at first, but that's part of what makes it so fascinating! Hellas or Hellada is how the Greeks refer to their country, and the Hellenic Republic is the official name.

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.