You probably don’t know this, but the calendar that we use today was invented by ancient Egyptians. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the first calendar known to humankind was invented in Egypt. In fact, it is the year 6264 in the Egyptian calendar.

The ancient Egyptians used the 12-month calendar like we do today. However, each month was always 30 days which meant that their years were only 360 days in total causing the years to fall out of sync with the seasons. So to make up for the lost time, they held a 5-day festival at the end of each year.

The renowned "Bloody Mary" drink was conceived at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. According to legend, this renowned drink was created for the famed author Ernest Hemingway! Hemingway asked for a drink that didn't smell like alcohol, so he had vodka blended with tomato juice.

North Sentinel Island is home to one of the world's most isolated human populations. The Sentinelese, estimated to number around 300 people, have rejected all contact with the modern world and fired their arrows at anyone who comes within range. They are thought to have descended directly from the first human populations to emerge from Africa, and they have most likely lived in the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years.

The Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village was raided by the police in 1969. It was a safe haven for the LGBT community, and rather than submitting, they fought back. Riots erupted as a result of the event, which sparked a global movement that has helped New York remain one of the most welcoming cities for gay people to this day. Indeed, more people identify as LGBTQ+ in New York than in any other American city (yes, we're giving you more NYC facts for free!).

Even after being harvested, most fruits can still respond to their surroundings. Take, for example, the banana: A quick Google search will yield numerous methods for hastening the ripening of green bananas, as well as tips for preventing them from ripening too quickly. Avocados ripen or'soften' after being harvested as well!

Have you ever thought how many languages are there in the world. There are 2,700 languages, however most widely read spoken languages are English, Chinese, Spanish and Hindi. Chinese is the most spoken language with over 50,000 characters. Interesting, right??

Among those accompanying the Queen on her journeys is usually the Queen's medical practitioner. The doctor is accountable for knowing where all local hospitals are in the cities that they visit. She also has to transport a large medical bag with a mobile defibrillator and emergency medication. Aside from that, the doctor possesses Queen Elizabeth's own blood bag, which will be used for a transfusion if necessary.

We still only know about a small percentage of the marine species that live in our oceans. According to the World Register of Marine Species, there are now 240,470 accepted species, but this is thought to be only a small proportion of the species that exist, as new marine life is discovered on a daily basis.

Don't worry, the Swedish politician who wrote the letter of candidacy in 1939 did so sarcastically and afterward rescinded his nomination. In an even more ironic twist, Hitler barred Germans from accepting the prizes four years before his own name was called.

The term "housewarming party" is derived from a literal tradition that existed prior to the invention of electricity. Whenever someone built or purchased a new home, guests would bring firewood as a gift and light fires in the home's fireplaces. Not only was the house "christened," but it was also said to ward off evil spirits.

There are several theories as to how the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs" came to be. One example is that when houses had thatched roofs, pets and other small animals (squirrels, groundhogs, and so on) would nestle into the straw for warmth. When it rained, however, the straw became slick and the animals slid out, giving the impression that it was literally raining cats and dogs.

Honey is very low in moisture and very acidic in its natural state, which are two primary defences against food spoilage. According to the Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute at the University of California, bacteria will die almost immediately in a low-moisture, high-acid environment such as a sealed jar.

There are five UNESCO World Heritage sites in Uzbekistan. Itchan Kala, which boasts more than 250 historic buildings, was one of the last resting spots of caravans in the mediaeval times before crossing the desert to Iran. Itchal Kala was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. Bukhara is a mediaeval city in central Asia located on the famed Silk Road, and it is said to be over 2000 years old, with various structures that are still intact. UNESCO designated the complex as a cultural World Heritage site in 1993. Other attractions in the nation include Samarkand, which is a crossroads of civilizations and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

Coffee is also one of the most addictive substances. It's a stimulant, similar to cocaine. When someone says they need a cup of coffee or that they are grouchy in the morning before coffee, they aren't joking. They might be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it speeds up the transmission of signals between the brain and the body. It may be found in the seeds, nuts, and leaves of a variety of plants.

Algeria is home to the greatest stretch of the Sahara Desert, which also serves as the world's largest hot desert, excluding the Arctic and Antarctica. Furthermore, the Sahara Desert covers roughly 80% of Algeria, covering a total area of 1,905,392 km2.

Yes, despite being a fictional species, the legendary unicorn is the national animal of Scotland, chosen because of its link with supremacy and chivalry and purity and innocence in Celtic mythology. BRB, I'm leaving for Scotland right now.

Japan is made up of nearly 7,000 islands. The little island of Okunoshima in the Inland Sea is best-known for its curious, big-eared population. The island was used to test chemical weapons during World War II, and it’s said the test subjects roamed free after the war. Either way, the numbers flourished in a predator-free environment (dogs and cats are banned from entering), and today Okunoshima is a popular spot for cuddle-bunny tourists.

Countries having borders within the Arctic Circle are members of the Arctic Council, which, according to its website, "is the sole circumpolar platform for political talks on Arctic problems, comprising all Arctic governments and with the active involvement of its Indigenous Peoples." The Council strives to examine and solve the environmental and social concerns that the people and wildlife that live there confront.

The Terracotta Army was discovered by chance by local farmers digging a well in 1974 in Xi'an after remaining underground for more than 2,200 years. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate, resulting in the discovery of China's largest archaeological site.

During International War I, Europe was at war, and world powers like Britain were organizing their armies. By 1917, one renowned British admiral of the Royal Navy had retired and wrote to Winston Churchill to express his thoughts on the day's headlines, some of which were so thrilling that he wrote, "O.M.G. (Oh! My! God!)." How could he have realized that the acronym he created would go on to become one of the world's most-used phrases?

Plenty of Japanese celebrate Christmas, but the festive fare isn’t what you might expect. In Japan, it’s traditional to head to your local KFC on Christmas Eve. An estimated 3.6 million Japanese feast on the KFC Christmas Dinner and hours of queuing and ordering weeks in advance is expected. Some say turkey and chicken wasn’t widely available for the Christmas-curious Japanese, so Colonel Sanders stepped in to answer the demand…

If you go shopping at the Christmas Market in Nuremberg, Germany, you'll be participating in a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Proof of this can be discovered in a little box kept safe by the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. The modest gift is inscribed, "Sent to Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin by Miss Susanna Eleonora Erbsin (or Elbsin) on the occasion of the Christmas Market of 1628."

From 1935 through 2018, the Los Pinos presidential palace served as the official residence of Mexico's presidents and was off-limits to anyone who were not officially invited. This changed in 2018, when Andres Manuel López Obrador was elected President of Mexico, campaigning on pledges to eradicate corruption. As a gesture of goodwill, he elected to live in a humble apartment in Mexico City's central sector rather than the palace. To give you a sense of what the Mexican president sacrificed, the presidential mansion is 56,000 square feet in size.

Shakespeare produced some of the world's most renowned and cherished works of literature. Yet, to build his plays and poetry, he occasionally made up his own words. In fact, Shakespeare is credited with coining over 1,700 terms, including moonbeam, hilarious, eyeball, bump, vomiting, champion, bedroom, thrill, and zany.