In Italy, there are more than 19,000 ice cream parlors, employing over 69,000 people, which are mostly small family businesses. Italy also manufactures ~600 million liters of ice cream, or nearly 20% of Europe’s total production. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Italian gelato is European market leader | RetailDetail
In Cuba, where the government has nationalized hitchhiking, picking up hitchhikers is mandatory for government vehicles if passenger space is available. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Why Hitchhiking Is Huge in Cuba: ‘The Transportation System Is Screwed’ (vice.com)
There’s a 43,000 sq. ft. basement/undercroft below the Lincoln Memorial that was forgotten about until 1974. The space is filled with concrete columns and has its own plant life and ecosystem plus graffiti from the original workers. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lincoln-memorial-undercroft
The USSR built a chain of remote lighthouses along the arctic coast, each one powered by it’s own miniature nuclear generator. Over 1000 of these RTG’s (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) were put in place but several remain unaccounted for. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The nuclear lighthouses built by the Soviets in the Arctic – BBC Reel
Most pencils sold in America have an eraser on one end, but those sold in Europe usually do not. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Pencils | Discover Magazine
Researchers in Japan have fitted a train with a speaker that barks like a dog and snorts like a deer in order to prevent collisions with deer on the railway. A blast of 3-seconds of a deer snorting attracts the deers’ attention followed by 20 seconds of a dog barking scares them away. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Japanese train barks like a dog to prevent accidents – BBC News
Until 2014, Harrods luxury department store in Knightsbridge was the home of the legendary Pet Kingdom, which historically sold all sorts of exotic animals such as lions, alligators, leopards, elephants, and more. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.mylondon.news/news/nostalgia/extraordinary-history-harrods-pet-store-19948359
In 2013, border and customs officials in Kyrgyzstan discovered a makeshift underwater pipeline on the bed of the river Chu, which was used to smuggle alcohol into the country from neighboring Kazakhstan. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Kyrgyz-Kazakh ‘alcohol smuggling pipeline’ discovered – BBC News
Filipino churches built during Spain’s colonial period used millions of egg whites in the mortar to make it more durable. This is also why Filipino desserts often use lots of egg yolks – many were developed to use up all the extra yolks from construction projects. – WTF Fun Facts
New Zealand is not part of any of the world’s seven recognized continents, but is instead situated upon the submerged continent of Zealandia.–WTF Fun Facts
Source:Zealandia – Wikipedia
In May 2016, Burger King opened a spa which included a 15-seat sauna in one of its restaurants in Helsinki, Finland. You can order food into the spa as well. – WTF Fun Facts
In 2013, Belgium created 5 limited edition stamps that smelled and tasted like chocolate. More than 500,000 stamps were printed on special paper imbued with the aroma of cocoa and covered in a varnish to look and smell like chocolate. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: How Belgium’s chocolate postage stamps were made – BBC News
There are roads in Australia that are so long and straight (~90 miles) that the Australian government counteracts the risk of fatigue by playing little trivia games on the side of the road. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Highway trivia keeps drivers alert (brisbanetimes.com.au)
There is a lake in Estonia named Lake Peipsi. In 2003 the soda company PepsiCo tried to pay them $25 million dollars to change the spelling to Lake Pepsi, but they turned them down. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Read all about 2003, before it happens – a TBT exclusive (baltictimes.com)
From 1932 to 1967, there was a casino called the “Bullpen” in a stone building on the grounds of the Nevada State prison in Carson City. Inmates could play blackjack, craps, poker, and even bet on sports. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Casino – Nevada State Prison
The residents of the Spanish village Villar de Corneja near Avila, where the average age is 75, ring the New Year in at noon in a collective decision to get to bed at a decent hour. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Spain: Village Villar de Corneja celebrates New Year at 12 noon (newsbeezer.com)
In 2020, the Panama Canal generated revenue of ~$2.6 billion for the year. The toll for each container ship can be several hundred thousand dollars each way. – WTF Fun Facts
Nova Scotia sends Boston a Christmas tree every year as thanks for their assistance in 1917 after a ship carrying explosives exploded near the city of Halifax, killing 1,500 people immediately and hundreds in the next few weeks. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Why Nova Scotia gives Boston its Christmas tree for free every year