Japan: 50 amazing facts

50. Late-night dancing is illegal in Japan

49. Japan has more than 50,000 people that are over 100 years old

48. Japan has only 2 gun-related homicides a year

47. The world’s oldest company operated in Japan from 578 AD to 2006

46. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands

45. The average delay of a Japanese train is just 18 seconds

44. Square watermelons are grown in Japan

43. There are more pets than children in Japan

42. More adult diapers are sold in Japan than diapers for babies

41. 98% of all adoptions are of male men

40. There are over 5 million vending machines in the country

39. In Japan, sleeping on the job is acceptable

38. There’s a highway that goes through a building in Japan

37. For the Japanese, black cats bring good luck

36. More paper is used for comics than for toilet paper in the country

35. Japanese Haiku poetry, which consists only of three lines, is the shortest in the world

34. 70% of Japan’s surface is covered in mountains, with over 200 volcanoes

33. Japan’s literacy rate is almost 100%

32. There are approximately 1,500 earthquakes yearly in Japan

31. Rice is eaten in every meal in Japan

30. Japanese people live an average of four years longer than Americans

29. ‘Karaoke’ means ‘empty orchestra’ in Japanese

28. Raised floors help indicate where to take off your shoes

27. There are almost 130 voice-acting schools in Japan, due to anime’s success

26. There are coffee shops in Japan where you can play with kittens

25. Japan has produced 18 Nobel Prize winners

24. The Japanese population is 98% Japanese; there are almost no immigrants

23. Japan’s unemployment rate is less than 4%

22. Going to KFC is a Christmas tradition in Japan

21. In Japan, it is rude to say “no” directly

20. In Japan, flower arranging is a form of art

19. For the Japanese, it is impolite to tear a gift’s wrapping

18. Snowmen in Japan are made of two snowballs, not three

17. Japanese people carry around a small towel to wipe their sweat off

16. Most homes have extra shoes for guests

15. Drinking or eating while walking is considered to be rude

14. Bus drivers turn the vehicle off at red lights to reduce pollution

13. At Japanese train stations, there are staff workers whose job is to help shove passengers inside the train, as they are so crowded

12. If you are sick in Japan, you should wear a mask to prevent spreading your disease.

11. The most popular pizza topping is squid

10. There are lactation bars where you can get fresh human breast milk: a shot, or straight from the nipple even

9. The Japanese police have paintballs to shoot at fleeing vehicles so as to identify them easily

8. There’s a sacred shrine in Japan that is rebuilt every 20 years

7. ‘Yaeba’, crooked teeth, is considered attractive; so much so that girls go to the dentist to get their teeth unstraightened

6. In 1949, India sent the Tokyo zoo two elephants to cheer the spirits of the defeated Japanese empire

5. Every year in Japan men compete to get the title of “fastest shirt ironer”

4. The Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji is a traditional suicide spot.

3. The ‘ganguro’ Japanese fashion (literally ‘black face’) consists of dying your skin as dark as possible

2. In Japan you can find the world’s shortest escalator, it only has 5 steps

1. Slurping when eating noodles is polite and indicates that the food is delicious

Interesting facts

Interesting Facts With Explanations WHY: Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?   BECAUSE: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right! And that's where women's buttons have remained since.   WHY: Why do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help? BECAUSE: This comes from the French word m'aidez -meaning 'help me' -- and is pronounced, approximately, 'mayday.'   WHY Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?   BECAUSE: In France , where tennis became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called 'l'oeuf,' which is French for 'the egg.' When tennis was introduced in the US , Americans (mis)pronounced it 'love.'   WHY: Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?   BECAUSE: In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfil obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.   WHY: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called 'passing the buck'?   A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, he would 'pass the buck' to the next player.   WHY: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?   BECAUSE: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host's glass with his own.   WHY: Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'? BECAUSE: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer 'in the limelight' was the centre of attention.   WHY: Why is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'?   BECAUSE Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.   WHY: In golf, where did the term 'Caddie' come from?   BECAUSE: When Mary Queen of Scots went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France , learned that she loved the Scots game 'golf.' He had the first course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it into ‘caddie.’   WHY: Why are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?   BECAUSE: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.' When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

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Unknown facts

Most Interesting Unknown Facts You Should Know 1. Hot water will turn into ice faster than cold water. 2. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. 3. The sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English language. 4. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. 5. Ants never sleep! 6. “I Am” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. 7. Coca-Cola was originally green. 8. The most common name in the world is Mohammed. 9. When the moon is directly overhead, you will weigh slightly less. 10. Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from the blowing desert sand. 11. There are only two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.” 12. The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with. 13. There are two credit cards for every person in the United States. 14. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. 15. Minus 40 degrees Celsius is exactly the same as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. 16. Chocolate can kill dogs, as it contains theobromine, which affects their heart and nervous system. 17. Women blink nearly twice as much as men! 18. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath. 19. It is impossible to lick your elbow. 20. The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries. 21. People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond. 22. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky 23. The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language. 24. “Rhythm” is the longest English word without a vowel. 25. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. 26. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades - King David Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne Diamonds - Julius 27. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different. 28. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 29. If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has a all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. 30. What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common? Ans. - All invented by women. 31. Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this? Ans. - Honey 32. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out. 33. A snail can sleep for three years. 34. All polar bears are left handed. 35. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class. 36. Butterflies taste with their feet. 37. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. 38. In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. 39. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death. 40. Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand. 41. The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated. 42. The electric chair was invented by a dentist. 43. The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. 44. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants. 45. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times 46. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match. 47. Most lipstick contains fish scales.

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