TRIVIA BITS 09 MAY

 

• The word quisling comes from the name of Major Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian who collaborated with the Germans during their occupation of Norway. The word now means "traitor."
• The words 'sacrilegious' and 'religion' do not share the same etymological root.
• The world’s deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1557 in central China. It struck a region where most people lived in caves carved from soft rock. The dwellings collapsed, killing an estimated 830,000 people.
• The world’s first chocolate candy was produced in 1828 by Dutch chocolate-maker Conrad J. Van Houten.  He pressed the fat from roasted cacao beans to produce cocoa butter, to which he added cocoa powder and sugar.
• The world’s largest statue of a mosquito is a roadside attraction in Komarno, Manitoba, the Mosquito Capital of Canada. Sculpted in 1984, it is made of steel and has a wingspan of 15 feet. It’s also a weathervane, swivelling in the wind.
• The world's costliest coffee is called Kopi Luwak. It is in the droppings of a type of marsupial that eats only the very best coffee beans. Plantation workers track them and scoop their precious poop.
• The world's deadliest mushroom is the Amanita phalloides, the death cap. The five different poisons contained in the mushroom causes diarrhoea and vomiting within 6 to 12 hours of ingestion. This is followed by damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system - and, in the majority of cases, coma and death.
• The world's first National Park was Yellowstone National Park
• The world's highest railway is in Peru. The Central Railway climbs to 15,694 feet in the Galera tunnel, 108 miles from Lima. Tourists take it to get to the ruins of Machu Picchu.
• The world's largest alphabet is Cambodian, with 74 letters.