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The Discover page is an archive of about strange but true trivia about destinations around the world, previously featured in the Discover section on the main page. You can contribute and add or edit future facts to the list here. Previously displayed facts from this year are below. You can find older facts from previous years using the links at the bottom of the page.

March 2024

  • Salinas is one of the most popular holiday destinations on the Ecuadorian coast because of the fine beaches (Punta Carnero beach pictured) and steady weather all year round.
  • The Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim has interesting displays of many vintage and historic cars, motorcycles, other machinery, and aircraft.
  • Like countless other "founded 1784" towns, Prescott, Ontario was established by United Empire Loyalists soon after the American Revolution to house the King's loyal subjects.
  • The Sengan-zakura at Oharano Shrine (pictured) in Southern Kyoto is known as the phantom cherry blossom, because it blooms for just 2-3 days.
  • The medieval Lemböte Seafarers' Chapel in Lemland is now a ruin, but the chapel site is used for occasional services during the summertime.
  • Tel Aviv's markets are the best show in town, and they're bustling all day long.
  • Wat Sorasak (pictured) in Sukhothai is surrounded by 24 elephant statues and it seems that the elephants are carrying the structure on their back.
  • As a former British colony, the official language of Belize is standard British English, which makes Belize stand out from its Spanish-speaking neighbours.
  • A local speciality of La Alpujarra is Vino Costa, a pinky brown wine with a strong taste and stronger kick.
  • Diamond Harbour (sunset pictured) makes a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby Kolkata.
  • The residents of the Isle of Portland have a superstitious belief that rabbits are a source of bad luck.
  • Iguala is known as the "city of tamarinds" for its tamarind trees surrounding the downtown cathedral.
  • Over the centuries, Sofia (pictured) has had several names: Serdika, Sredets and the remains of the old cities can still be viewed today.
  • The snobby feel of Manhattan may not always make it to Queens, which is one of its great appeals for those who live there.
  • Many popular surfing destinations have surf schools and surf camps that offer lessons.
  • Maybe the most interesting thing to see in Kuwait, the fish market (interior pictured) of Kuwait City is a giant, bustling building filled with rows of counters stocked high with fish.
  • Sipadan island is known above all for some of the best scuba diving anywhere in the world.
  • Lake Turkana is the world's largest desert lake.


February 2024

  • Serranía de Hornocal (pictured) outside Humahuaca is a colorful rock formation, and is known as the "mountain of 14 colors".
  • After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the E11 hiking trail became one of many means to stimulate the integration of Western and formerly Eastern, now Central Europe.
  • Bogota's Zona Rosa is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in all of Latin America and the world.
  • Bečići beach (pictured) won the "Grand Prix" in Paris in 1935 as the most beautiful beach in Europe.
  • Often considered by residents as the most liberal city in Montana, Missoula is an interesting mix of ranchers, cowboys, hippies, yuppies, students, artists, athletes and recreationalists.
  • There is something very unsettling about being unwell overseas so it's good to be prepared.
  • Everywhere in Saijo, fresh water gushes out from ground, even from a shallow hole (fountain pictured).
  • The history of Sandefjord has been formed by the Viking Age, the shipping industry and whaling in Arctic and Antarctic areas.
  • Paseo Xolotlan features replicas of old Managua before the 1972 earthquake, including Augusto C Sandino's and Ruben Darío's house, as well as a Boeing airplane.
  • Built around the birthplace of future US bank magnate Thomas Mellon, the Ulster American Folk Park (exhibits pictured) in Omagh showcases the story of emigration from Ulster to North America from the 18th to 20th centuries.
  • The best thing to do on Lake Malawi and in Monkey Bay is kayaking to the surrounding rocky outcrops and small islands and snorkelling to see the amazing fish.
  • Taupō's natural scenery with its lake, forests and volcanic backdrop make for an excellent skydive location.
  • In the Pioneer Saloon (pictured) in Goodsprings, you can see historical bullet holes in the wall resulting from a poker game gone awry.
  • Cochem is rated as one of the prettiest villages along the Mosel.
  • Most Indians know of Udupi not as a place, but as a category of restaurants.
  • An enormous statue of Chairman Mao (pictured) overlooks the Tianfu Square in Chengdu.
  • Punta Uva means "Grape Point", and is named after a sea grape tree in town.
  • Phitsanulok is not well-known to foreign tourists and thus has retained the charm of a typical, larger Thai city.
  • The most famous landmark of Chichen Itza, the Pyramid of Kukulcan (pictured) was a temple-pyramid dedicated to the Feathered Serpent God.
  • The Pacific Rim Whale Festival in Ucluelet in mid-March celebrates the annual migration of the grey whales.
  • Manadonese food is famous throughout Indonesia for two things: the Minahasa eat absolutely anything, and the flavour of choice is very spicy.
  • The Hafnarfjörður Museum (pictured) is a collection of old houses in the centre of town, some containing exhibits and others just renovated to demonstrate their original use.
  • From South Lake Tahoe you can take the Heavenly Gondola to see a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe.
  • The Benedictine Abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat also has a publishing house with the oldest press in the world, still running, with the first book published in 1499.
  • Probably the prettiest street in Khartoum, and with the Blue Nile on one side, Nile street (pictured) is lined with pretty, albeit decaying-looking, colonial buildings.
  • French spelling is not very phonetic.
  • The extensive gardens of Powis Castle in Welshpool look much as intended when they were laid out in the 1770s are an attraction in their own right.
  • Chuncheon (pictured) was featured in the popular Korean drama Winter Sonata, and so it is now a popular destination for tourists from around East Asia.
  • Port-Gentil is Gabon's workhorse with offshore oil rigs and port activities humming around the city.


January 2024

  • A thing to try in Kolhapur is misal, a famous Maharashtrian snack made from spicy sprouted moth beans.
  • The hill Cerro San Luis (pictured) has given name to the adjacent city of San Luis Obispo.
  • The Memorial Ossuary of Kumanovo is a monument to the National Liberation War of Macedonia.
  • A favorite of all kids visiting Ogden, the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park has over 100 realistic full-sized dinosaur sculptures.
  • The beautiful European-style Carlton Gardens in Melbourne features a number of towering plane trees and majestic fountains (pictured), some of which date from the Victorian era, and is a World Heritage Site along with the Royal Exhibition Building there.
  • Cagayan de Oro is known as the "City of Golden Friendship."
  • Musee Basque et de l'Histoire de Bayonne offers an excellent introduction to traditional Basque culture and the town of Bayonne.
  • The Petronas Twin Towers (pictured) in the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur is the tallest twin tower building in the world.
  • Near the southern end of Noordhoek beach is the wreck of the steamship Kakapo, that ran aground in 1900, when the captain mistook Chapmans' Peak for the Cape of Good Hope and put the helm over to port.
  • The Natyanjali annual festival of classical Indian dance in Chidambaram takes place at the end of February is the city's biggest attraction that brings thousands of people from all over the world.
  • Known as "the baroque village", Holašovice is famous for strongly decorated and colorful village houses from 19th century (pictured).
  • Now a museum, Einstein's early 20th-century home in Berne was where his special and general theories of relativity were born.
  • Completed in 1932 in an Art Deco style, the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln is the state's third capitol building.
  • The Nymphaeum (pictured) in Jerash is the ruins of an ornate public fountain that was decorated with lions heads and dedicated to the nymphs.
  • Prohibition in the United States allowed Liverpool to become a rum running centre in the 1920s.
  • Winnemucca's Old West Chinatown has disappeared, but the town's Basque heritage remains strong.
  • The observation deck of the Ping An Finance Centre in Central Shenzhen has little glass-floor nooks where you can see the city far down beneath your feet (pictured).
  • On the thirty-four Boston Harbor Islands, pets are not allowed.
  • Riding a felucca along the Nile River is a great way to relax and enjoy a night under the stars in Cairo.
  • Once a month, at high tide when the moon is full, seawater rises to wash the streets of the historic center (pictured) of Paraty.
  • Along with the poetry of its setting, Hull has a formidable connection with some of the most influential poets in English literature.
  • Almost all well known European cheeses are protected by the protected designation of origin guidelines specifying where and how it can be produced to be use its name.
  • Many of the Wildwood's motels were built in the "Doo-Wop" era of 1950s and 1960s (Caribbean Motel pictured, listed on the National Register of Historic Places).
  • The Port of Rotterdam is the largest harbour in all of Europe.
  • The Oregon Caves are unusual due to the fact that the rock is marble, although the caves were formed from the common process of slightly acidic water seeping through cracks.
  • Morske orgulje (Sea Organ, pictured) in Zadar is a man-made organ working with the motion of the waves and 35 pipes to create a musical soundscape.
  • Modern Tanzania combines two areas that formerly were governed separately: Tanganyika on the coast of the African mainland and the island of Zanzibar nearby.
  • There are long and short vowel sounds in Latvian.
  • The Maxwell Food Centre (interior pictured) is described as one of Singapore's best food hawker centres.
  • It might help nervous flyers to understand what happens before and during a typical flight.
  • The Wentworth Pioneer Museum showcases life on the Murray during the era of agriculture.


Old discoveries