Page five of Useless Facts

The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific Ocean.

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The city of St. Petersburg, Russia, was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, hence the name, St. Petersburg. But it wasn't always that simple. In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Russian leaders felt that Petersburg was too German-sounding. So they changed the name of the city to Petrograd -- to make it more Russian-sounding. Then, in 1924, the country's Soviet Communist leaders wanted to honor the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir I. Lenin. The city of Petrograd became Leningrad and was known as Leningrad until 1991 when the new Russian
legislators no longer Soviet Communists wanted the city to reflect their change of government.

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The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair.

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The first US zoo was built in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876.

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The flag of the Philippines is the only national flag that is flown differently during times of
peace or war. A portion of the flag is blue, while the other is red. The blue portion is flown on top in time of peace and the red portion is flown in war time.

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The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.

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The largest body of fresh water in the world is Lake Superior.

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The largest US city in area is Juneau, Alaska, which covers 3,108 square miles. Los Angeles covers only 458.2 square miles.

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A hamlet is a village without a church and a town is not a city until it has a cathedral.

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About one-tenth of the earth’s surface is permanently covered with ice.

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Alaska, with 8, is the US state with the most national park sites.

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Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

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Devon is the only county in Great Britain to have two coasts.

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French was the official language of England for over 600 years.

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Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city in the US to put fluoride in their water.

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Hawaii is the only US state that grows coffee.

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