There are over twice as many chickens on Earth as there are people, with 15.9 billion in 2002 and 7 billion people in 2010. There are more chickens on the planet than there are people. In fact, the number of chickens in 2002 is more than double the number of people in 2010. In 2002, […]
Around 11% of land is used for crops and 27% for livestock. 38% of the world’s land is agricultural, including arable land, fruit-growing and grazing. Irrigated land is more productive and represents 16% of cultivated land, producing 40% of the world’s food. The US has the most cultivated land, while Tuvalu has the highest percentage […]
Day of the Dead, originally a pagan celebration, is now celebrated on November 1st and is a festive holiday in Mexico where people deliver special meals to cemeteries for the dead. Other countries have their own customs to remember the deceased. While Halloween now brings to mind trick-or-treating and fancy costumes, the celebration was originally […]
Mohammad is the most popular name in the world, with an estimated 150 million people named after the prophet of Islam. The name is popular even in countries where Islam is not the main religion. Other popular names include Ravi among engineers, Billy among law enforcement, and variations of Emily among girls in various countries. […]
Yaodongs, the earliest Chinese cave dwellings, date back to the Bronze Age. Over 2 million people still live in caves in China, many in Shaanxi Province. Most caves are passed down through generations and are popular due to the easy excavation of the porous soil. Some caves have modern amenities. The earliest type of Chinese […]
Bangladesh has one of the youngest median ages for women getting married at 18, almost 10 years younger than the global average. Chad and Mozambique have even lower ages. Developed countries have an average age of 27 for men and 25 for women, while developing countries have an average of 24 for men and 21 […]
Over a third of the world’s food produced for human consumption is wasted, with over 200 million tons wasted by consumers in rich countries, equivalent to the net food production of sub-Saharan Africa. Food waste occurs at all levels, with buy-one-get-one-free sales being a major source of waste. More than a third of the world’s […]
Over half of the world’s population, or 3.9 billion people, will have internet access by the end of 2018, up from just 20% a decade ago. Mobile technologies have helped fuel recent increases, with Africa seeing the strongest growth from 2.1% in 2005 to 24.4% in 2018. Online growth is slowing, however, with a 5.5% […]
The Great Pyramid of Giza is not the largest prehistoric building project in the world, as it was built during Egypt’s historical era. The Indus Valley Civilization in present-day Pakistan and far western India built great cities, but did not construct monumental structures. Silbury Hill in England, dated to 2750 ±95 BC, is a massive […]
The IKEA catalog is a popular marketing tool, with over 200 million copies sent worldwide each year. It is tailored to specific regions based on research, and even Iceland residents have to opt-out of delivery. IKEA products are named after Swedish proper names and designed to match a specific price point. The IKEA catalog is […]
The Philippines does not allow divorce, but legal separations and annulments are permitted. Some believe this is an honor, while others, especially women’s rights advocates, want divorce to be legalized. In February 2020, the House of Representatives passed three measures towards legalizing divorce. The Vatican is the only other country where divorce is illegal. Infidelity […]
This article lists the top ten deadliest natural disasters in history, including floods, earthquakes, and cyclones. It also mentions that pandemics and famines have caused even higher death tolls. The article concludes by discussing the potential for even deadlier disasters, such as an asteroid impact or a genetically engineered plague. The world’s ten deadliest natural […]
Child labor laws exist in most countries, but are not always enforced. Children are exploited in various industries, including domestic work and the sex trade. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child aims to combat child labor, but its effectiveness is questionable. Poverty is a major factor in child labor, and critics […]
At least half of the world’s population can speak two languages fluently, with some being trilingual or plurilingual. Bilingual education is common in many nations. In Canada, 20% are fluent in both French and English, with 5% fluent in three languages and 1% proficient in four. Russia has up to 200 languages in use. The […]
The UN’s “Women of the World” report found that while women are living longer and marrying later, two-thirds of illiterate adults are women. The UN aims to achieve quality education and gender equality by 2030, but 58 million children are still out of school, with 31 million being girls. The end of illiteracy among children […]
