Kokura, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Niigata, and Kyoto were on the list. Kyoto was spared, according to legend, because US Secretary of War Henry Stimson loved the ancient Japanese capital and had spent his honeymoon there decades before. In its place, Nagasaki was established. On July 25, 1945, the United Kingdom approved the bombing of four Japanese cities: Kokura, Niigata, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

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 number four (‘shi’) is widely avoided in Japan since it sounds too similar to the Japanese word for death. Keep an eye out in Japan and you’ll notice buildings don’t have a fourth floor, items are sold in sets of three or five and special care is taken to avoid encountering the number in daily life.

It's an earthquake hazard area. Although several earthquakes have been reported in and around the Black Sea, the greatest recorded magnitude was 7.2 in the 1901 Black Sea earthquake (also known as the Balchik earthquake in Bulgaria). The mainshock triggered a 1-16 foot tsunami, wreaking havoc on the Romanian and Bulgarian shores. The aftershocks continued four years longer.

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.

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."

Susami is home to the world's deepest underwater mailbox, a fascinating Japan fact. Susami is a popular fishing village in Wakayama Province. In 2002, the town's deepest underwater mailbox was certified by Guinness World Records. Since 1999, the mailbox has gathered over 32,000 pieces of mail at a depth of 30 feet.

The city's official name, like one of its nicknames, has an intriguing backstory. In the 1920s, a 'Big Apple' was a prize awarded at a horse racing event. Many musicians and journalists began referring to New York as "the ultimate" prize or "the best" because the term meant "the ultimate" prize or "the best." In 1971, the New York Tourism Board adopted The Big Apple as an official nickname in an attempt to boost tourism following some negative press.

The mayor of Paris has approved a resolution prohibiting Tom Cruise from being made an honorary citizen. Tom Cruise is a member of Scientology, a controversial religious group that has been labelled a cult in France. Tom Cruise sought to become an honorary citizen of Paris in 2005, but the city's officials refused because of his involvement with Scientology.

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.

Apple's initial iPod included a small Easter egg. This game could only be accessible if you knew the correct sequence of buttons to press. "Go to the 'Around' menu and hold down the center button for about three seconds to play a Breakout (Pong) game while you listen." Breakout, the hidden game, is significant in Apple's history since it was a product on which both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak collaborated at Atari.

We all know Kim Ju Meok’s love for the drama, Stairway to Heaven, transcends the 38th parallel. What you may not know is that the beanie Ju Meok wears is a replica of the one that actually appeared in Stairway to Heaven. Actor Kwon Sang Woo, the star of Stairway to Heaven, wears the same red beanie in his drama. Even the bunny detail is on point.Ju Meok even pulls down his beanie the same way actor Kwon Sang Woo did in his past work, Sad Love Story.

Former French President Jacques Chirac referred to the Terracotta Army as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" in September 1987. He stated: "There were seven wonders of the world, and the discovery of the Terracotta Army could be considered the eighth. No one can claim to have visited Egypt without seeing the pyramids, and no one can claim to have visited China without seeing these terracotta figures."

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.

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.

With 3863 hours of sun every year, Aswan is the third sunniest spot in the planet, averaging 10 hours of sun per day!

This one is a bit debatable, as some fans argue that it isn't canon. This is due to the fact that Sonic's entire name was never revealed. Archie Comics, which publishes two separate Sonic comics, published a comic in which Sonic's middle name is Maurice but his first name is never revealed. Sonic's first name is really Ogilvie, according to one of the Archie Comics authors. Fans disagree, claiming that Archie Comics' Sonic isn't actual canon, and that only the video games and Japanese comics are.

Geocaching is an international game in which players use GPS and a geocaching app to decipher clues and go on stash-seeking adventures, similar to a digital/analog scavenger hunt. There is even a geocache target on the International Space Station as of 2008.

Japan is well-known for its non-stop festivals, but Hadaka Matsuri must be one of the most bizarre. Thousands of Japanese men strip naked in public to secure a fortune-filled year, with the biggest matsuri taking place in Okayama, where an estimated 9,000 men get down to their fundoshi.

Almost three-quarters of adults with Internet access have at least one social media account, with 52 percent having two or more. This means that your current and potential customers are not only likely to use social media, but they are also likely to use multiple sites.

Have you ever considered where oxygen originates from? Your initial idea would be a rainforest, yet sea organisms are drawn in. Over half of the world’s oxygen is produced by plankton, seaweed, and other photosynthesizes.

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?

While historians have only lately recognized their accomplishments (or female discoveries attributed to males), female mathematicians engaged in a World War II program coding instructions into the groundbreaking Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.

Folk dance is a significant aspect of Russian history and culture. One of the most popular styles of Russian folk dance is khorovod. People dance in a circle while holding hands in this kind of dance. Folk dances are performed by Russians during festivals, marketplaces, and in the theatre. If you have the opportunity to visit Russia, make sure to attend a Russian folk dance performance to learn more about Russian culture and traditions.