On 21st August 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and was not recovered for two years. While it was missing, more people turned up to stare at the empty space than had ever come to see the painting.
The Quagga (Equus quagga), a relative of the Zebra, became extinct on 12th August 1883 when the last one died in a zoo in Amsterdam. Around 1870 a female Quagga in London Zoo was photographed – the only photo of the Quagga that exists.
In 1785 Marie Antoinette decreed that a handkerchief should be square.
If you want to lose weight move to the Equator. Because the Earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate spheroid the pull of gravity varies slightly at different points on its surface. A person who weighs 151lb at the North Pole only weighs 150lb at the Equator.
Nepal is the only country that does not have a rectangular flag. Its flag is shaped like two slightly overlapping triangles. Paraguay is the only country with a national flag that is not the same on both sides. Both sides have red, white and blue horizontal stripes but the front has the National seal on the white stripe and the reverse has the Treasury seal on it.
Some people have wondered ever since if the Mona Lisa was really ever recovered, or if it is a clever fake. Thanks for the fun facts!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many (admittedly relatively obscure) reasons why one might need to know about the two renegade flags. I'm left wondering about the extent of the handkerchief decree and the punishment, if any, for making or using one that wasn't square.
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder about those folks going to look at the empty space. Did they not believe the news that it had been stolen?
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