Little-known facts about world attractions. Tourism: interesting facts Holiday facts

We all love to travel, but not all of us find the time or finances for it. But the facts below will help you change your mind about your vacation and find time to travel regularly.

1. The pilot and assistant pilot must eat different foods. It sounds quite strange, but on the other hand, if you know the reason, then everything is clear. There are only 2 pilots on the plane, and if one of them becomes ill after eating, the second one must replace him. In short, so as not to get food poisoning at the same time.
2. Theoretically, the chances of getting into a plane crash are very small. On average, for every American, the risk of suffering a plane crash is only 1 in 11 million. Whereas for car owners this chance is 1 in 5 million.
3. Everest (Chomolungma) is still growing. Yes, yes, the mountain continues to grow. Now its height is about 8850 meters. But every year it grows by another 4 mm, approximately. This is due to the movement of tectonic platforms.
4. Mexico City (the capital of Mexico) is sinking at 10 cm per year. Due to the fact that the city is based on “fragile” land surrounded by waters. And construction regularly puts pressure on the city's land. By the way, Mexico City is sinking 10 times faster than Venice.
5. Every year, airlines earn more than 640 billion dollars. By the way, there are only 600 companies in the United States, and they bring profit to their owners in the amount of 175 billion dollars. It turns out that ¼ of all global profits.
6. The same food tastes different on the plane and on the ground. When the plane gains altitude, the taste buds change by about a third. This is why many passengers order bloody marys; Tomato juice then seems not so sour. Because of this, many airlines add salt and various spices to their menus.
7. American Airlines once cut its costs by $40,000 by removing just one olive from its salad. In 1980, Robert Crandall, later the head of the company, removed one olive, which ultimately saved such a large amount.
8. In 2003, a Boeing 727 disappeared and has not been found since. On May 25, 2003, the plane disappeared forever in flight. And to this day no one knows what happened to him. The pilot's sister says the plane crashed somewhere in Africa, in the heights.
9. In the United States, one in eight jobs is related to travel and tourism. This is not difficult to imagine, given the fact that there are as many as 600 airlines located there.
10. When you take a vacation, it reduces your risk of heart attack. According to studies, people on vacation have fewer heart attacks than those who are not on vacation.
11. The white streak that a plane leaves behind in the sky can be used to predict the weather. By the thickness of this line you can determine whether the air humidity is high or low. A very thick line could mean a storm is approaching.
12. There are special trophies that are given to pilots for very funny mistakes. There is a special museum in the USA that gave out awards to really funny pilots. So the nominees were: the pilot who hit the parked plane; a pilot who took off without checking the tank, and it was almost empty.
13. Money spent on travel makes people happier than money spent on material goods. This is why heart attacks happen to those who travel less often.
14. After the first day of travel, people's stress drops by 89%. While traveling, you forget about all your problems and your stress level decreases significantly.
15. Travel is used in the treatment of depression. Psychologists use this method of treatment with patients suffering from depression.
16. Couples who travel together report increased intimacy. Traveling brings people together and revives feelings for each other.
17. Mercury on a plane is not good. Most aircraft are made using aluminum and it will be in your best interest not to spill mercury on board.
18. You won't be able to open the door of a plane while it's in the air. Even if you manage to do this, you don't have to worry about everyone falling through the door (as we often see in movies). When the plane is at the top, the doors are made in such a way that air presses against them, and they are absolutely safe. Even several very strong people will not be able to open the door of an airplane.
19. The United States is the only country in the world where there is no person entitled to paid vacation or holiday.
20. Austrians are the most socially protected country in terms of recreation. The country guarantees every worker at least 22 paid vacation days and 13 paid holiday days every year.
21. When you travel, you become more creative. According to research, people who travel regularly can find more creative approaches to solving a given problem.
22. Those who travel become smarter. Everything is simple here, as with books, the more you read, the more you learn. Visual memory works the same way and you will learn a lot of new things during your holidays.
23. The most popular country for tourists this is France. It is not difficult to understand that the most popular place this country is Paris.
24. The most popular city in the world among tourists is Bangkok. This data is according to 2013.
25. A commercial airplane averages 550-580 mph. During takeoff, the speed reaches 160-180 mph. And during landing - 150-160 mph.
26. The busiest airport in the world is international Airport Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, USA. 95.5 million passengers and 930 thousand flights are carried out at this airport every year. Is it true new airport Dubai will accommodate up to 160 million passengers, but it is not yet in great demand.
27. The only place in the United States where there is a royal palace is the capital of Hawaii - Honolulu. Very a nice place in the Pacific Ocean.
28. Russia produces the largest amount of oxygen.
29. France has the largest number of time zones. Already 12.
30. Canada has the most a large number of lakes There are about 3 million lakes in this country. But this is not very strange, because most of the country is not densely populated.
31. Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world. Only 4 people per square kilometer.
32. Niger has the youngest nation. This African country has the youngest population in the world by average.
33. The most densely populated country in the world is India. IN this moment has more than one and a half billion people.
34. The Principality of Monaco is smaller than Central Park New York.
35. The most multilingual country is Papua New Guinea.
36. The most intelligent country is Canada. Here, more than 50% of the population has higher education.
37. There are currently 61,000 people above the US skies. This is the average number of passengers on any day, at any time.

Interesting Facts about vacations:

• The main guarantee of a good rest (vacation) is a complete change of activity. That is, if you sit in a stuffy office from morning to night, you should combine rest with physical activity. If you've been spinning like a top all year, on vacation you should, on the contrary, slow down and take a horizontal position somewhere under a palm tree.
• Scientists have found that people who go without vacation for a long time have even less life expectancy than chronic alcoholics! This illness is called “No Vacation Syndrome.” It is no coincidence that this term appeared in the USA. Judge for yourself, the average vacation in the USA lasts only 10 working days. Moreover, 20% of Americans even refuse this vacation. In the United States, employers are under no obligation to provide paid leave to their employees.
• Interesting statistics: in order to get rid of stress, 46% of Russians use TV, 43% use music, 19% use alcohol, 16% eat, 12% play sports and only 2% take a vacation.
• Marcello Mastroianni was a great connoisseur of women. He knew everything about them, even what kind of woman you should try to meet on the beach when you came to the resort on vacation. You need to choose the most untanned one, she has the whole vacation ahead of her!
• It turns out that men flirt more than women during vacation! However, the flirting techniques used by women are much more masterly and effective. For example: dancing at a disco or provocative behavior on the beach.
• According to experts, you should absolutely not take your work cell phone or laptop with you on vacation. Most the best option- go to a place where there is no cell phone reception and it is impossible to connect to the Internet.
• Where do the stars of our show business usually spend their holidays? Seasoned Valery Leontyev and Nikolay Baskov prefer to relax in Miami, young Sergey Lazarev and Irakliy Pirtskhalava dote on Dubai (United United Arab Emirates), and singer Vitas loves to spend his holidays in Tibet.
• Recently, 60-year-old Athos Bagatin was convicted in Italy. His sentence was: 900 days of paid leave. The union sued him because Bagatin had not taken a vacation for 28 years. As a result, the court decided to punish the workaholic with a vacation.
• Aphorism: “If you want to return from vacation later, warn your boss. And if earlier, warn your wife.”
• A recent survey conducted in England revealed the country where most tourists go on vacation for romantic adventures. Most vacationers prefer Australia for such trips. The least desirable country was Portugal. At the same time, more than half of the respondents consider Italian the sexiest language (that is, the ideal option is: Italian in Australia).
• Statistics: 20% of all holiday romances last only one night. Half of the romances last more than a week. However, romantics should not lose hope! 4% of holiday romances ultimately lead to lasting unions.
• Dmitry Mendeleev discovered the table of chemical elements on the first day of his vacation! Here's how sometimes it's good to relax and get a good night's sleep.
• The most famous leave application in history was once written by General Crillon. He sent his king, Henry the Fourth, a short letter: “Sire, three words: money or vacation.” Henry then answered him: “Crillon, four words: neither one nor the other.”
• As psychophysiologists have calculated, a person needs 28 days for proper rest. Although such a long break is a real stress for the body: the longer you rest, the more difficult it is to get into a working rhythm.
• Finnish employees have the longest vacation in the world: 39 days. Next follow: Sweden and Denmark - 30-35 days; France and Norway - 25 days; Belgium and Great Britain - 20 days. Canadians and Japanese vacation a maximum of 10-14 days a year. Moreover, 60% of Japanese deliberately refuse weekends and only 5% go on vacation. But in Mexico, employers offer their subordinates no more than six days a year for legal rest.
• Experts say that now there is a boom in unusual vacations: adventure travel. They become more and more sophisticated, sometimes moving into the category of feats with increased risk to life. Instead of relaxation - pure adrenaline of our own production.
• The risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by 40% for those who go on vacation at least once a year.
• The Norwegian Medical Commission examined the working hours of the country's citizens. After this, the commission recommended that company managers increase the vacation of non-smoking workers by 3 days. Since, according to statistics, smokers spend just about three days a year on smoking breaks.
• Norwegian law gives men the right to take 6 weeks of maternity leave! In addition, parents can distribute among themselves the total maternity leave granted to care for the child.
• Record: In Sweden, one doctor worked overtime for 24 years, he overworked 10 thousand hours. Now the workaholic doctor is about to take six years off with full pay. Instead, he can receive a cash reward, which will be around 1 million euros.
• There is such a strange tradition in Australia. In addition to regular annual leave, every 15 years, expatriate workers receive additional leave (90 days) to visit historical homeland- England.
• Our teachers and researchers have the longest vacation – 56 days. By the way, in 56 days one American physical education teacher reached the North Pole and became the first woman in the world to make such a difficult journey.
• Now it has become fashionable to divide your monthly vacation into two parts - two weeks each. But scientists believe that proper rest should last at least three weeks. But a week-long vacation does not make any sense at all - this time will only be spent on acclimatization and “perestroika”.
• The USSR volleyball team of the early 1980s swept away everyone in its path. But suddenly there was almost nothing left of the team, and at the World Championships it suffered a fiasco, since at the same time six volleyball players from the main team went on maternity leave.

In anticipation world day tourism, which has been celebrated for 33 years in most countries of the world, we have prepared a selection of interesting facts from the world of tourism and travel, which will once again remind you of the fascinating countries around us and will further stir up interest in travel

On the eve of World Tourism Day, which has been celebrated for 33 years in most countries of the world, we have prepared a selection of interesting facts from the world of tourism and travel, which will once again remind you of the fascinating countries around us and will further stir up interest in travel.

1. Who discovered the first thing in the world tourist agency?

On July 5, 1841, that is, exactly 171 years ago, British entrepreneur Thomas Cook, at that time an active fighter against the widespread drunkenness in England at that time, organized the world's first group tourist trip. At his insistence railway company Midland Counties Railway has provided a special train for an 'alcohol-free' journey for 570 workers across scenic route between the cities of Leicester and Loughborough in Leicestershire in Midland England. 570 “friends of temperance” were loaded into nine open carriages. In the future for advertising purposes railways began to provide Cook with discounts that made it possible to organize recreational trips for people with the most limited financial resources. Therefore, there were not hundreds, but thousands of clients. His excursions and travels were based on a very effective principle: "Getting the maximum benefit for the maximum number of people at the minimum cost." This was the beginning of world group tourism.

Soon trips became regular, and in the 1850s routes to many European cities appeared. In 1865, Cook discovered the New World for his compatriots, and for Americans the homeland of their ancestors. The activities were carried out through the agency "Thomas Cook and Son" - the first company specializing in organizing tourist trips. By the way, one of the first American clients of the company was Mark Twain. Cook was recognized as the “inventor of tourism”, and the travel agency he founded gained worldwide fame. Five decades later, Thomas Cook & Son owned 84 branches, 85 agencies, and more than 3 million people used its services.

2. Which city has the longest name in the world?

Everyone knows that main city Thailand is called Bangkok. But in fact, this short and sonorous word was invented so that people would not break their tongues about its real name, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest name of a settlement.

The real name of Bangkok is Krung Thep, which means “City of Angels”. But this is only part of its full name - it includes 30 words and sounds more than majestic: “City of Angels, great city, the residence of the emerald Buddha, an impregnable city, the great capital of the world, endowed with nine ancient stones, replete with huge royal palaces, reminiscent of a heavenly abode, from which the personification of God rules, the city presented by Indra, built by Wissanukam. In the original language and in a somewhat abbreviated form, it is as follows: Krung Tep Maha Nakorn Amon Rattanakosin Mahanindra Ayutthaya Mahadilok Pop Noprarat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratniwet Amonpiman Avatansatip Sapkakatiya Visanukkampasit.

3. Who is the first space tourist in history?

April 28, 2001 former employee NASA billionaire Denis Tito became the first space tourist in history. Tito paid $20 million for an eight-day "vacation" on the International Space Station. However, the businessman had to overcome many obstacles before he could realize his lifelong dream. NASA considered Tito insufficiently trained, and he had to turn to Russian cosmonauts. But here, too, Tito suffered a setback, since his original destination - the Mir space station - was removed from orbit and sunk in the World Ocean. And only then was the businessman able to get a seat on the Soyuz TM-32 ship, which delivered cargo to the ISS (International Space Station), and, at the insistence of the American side, he had to take full responsibility for his actions.

Currently, the ISS is the only used destination for space tourism. Flights are carried out using Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Training for space tourists is carried out in Star City near Moscow, as well as in small planes simulating weightlessness. The last flight of a space tourist took place in 2009, and a total of seven tourists visited the ISS. One of them is a woman - Anousheh Ansari.

4. How long is the longest trolleybus route in the world, and where does it pass?

The length of the longest trolleybus route in the world is 86 kilometers, and it runs in Crimea between Simferopol and Yalta. Route number - 52. Trolleybuses run among Crimean mountains from Simferopol to Yalta. This route is considered intercity. It connects not only Simferopol and Yalta. On his way there is Alushta - resort town on the shores of the Black Sea. The trolleybus route is operated by the Ukrainian enterprise Krymtrolleybus. To the question: “Why did they decide to build a trolleybus line in the mountainous areas, and not just run buses?” - Crimean trolleybus employee Georgy Slavny replied: “To preserve the environment. Trolleybus is an environmentally friendly transport.”

5. What do the residents of the tallest city in the world do?

The highest city in the world - La Rinconada in Peru - is located at an altitude of 5099 meters above sea level. 30,000 people live here, most of whom are engaged in gold mining. Many miners work for free for a month, and on the last day they are allowed to take as much ore as they can carry on their shoulders. At the same time, it is unknown whether there will be gold in the ore or not. However, La Rinconada is not yet the highest permanent settlement on earth. There are two Indian villages, which are located at altitudes of 5170 and 5219 meters.

6. What is the most visited grave in Israel, and who is buried in it?

In one of the cemeteries in the Israeli town of Ramla there is the grave of Harry Potter. He was a private in the 1st Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment of the British Army, who died on July 22, 1939 in Hebron in a clash with the rebels. Recently, this grave has become the most visited in Israel and was included in the list of local attractions. Every Saturday, several buses with tourists stop near the city cemetery. In the company of a guide, they wander through the cemetery until they come to a gravestone in memory of Harry Potter. Unknown Harry Potter came from Birmingham and died at 19 in an ambush during the British Mandate of Palestine.

7. How long is the largest swimming pool in the world?

The largest artificial swimming pool in the world is located at Chilean resort San Alfonso del Mar. Its length is one kilometer, and its depth is deep point- 35 meters. And it is located just 200 meters from the Pacific Ocean - it is the ocean water that the pumps pump into this pool, after filtering it. Also, a constant water temperature is maintained here - +26 °C, while in the ocean the water is quite cool.

8. Where is the most “leaning” tower in the world located?

No, not in Pisa. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, which before restoration work at the end of the 20th century deviated from the vertical by 5.5°, and after them by 4°, is not at all the most “leaning” tower in the world. Today the record with an indicator of 12° belongs to a 10-meter tower in the Chinese county of Suizhong.

9. In which country do they speak 820 different languages?

In a Pacific State Papua New Guinea With an area comparable to Sweden, 820 different languages ​​are spoken, accounting for 20% of the total number of languages ​​in the world. And in terms of the density of languages, Papua is second only to another Pacific state - Vanuatu (located in Melanesia), where on an area of ​​just over 12,000 square meters. km, 113 languages ​​are spoken.

10. Where is the largest church in the world?

Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Paix, or basilica Holy Virgin Mary of Peace - the Catholic Church in the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest church in the world. It was built in the likeness of Rome's St. Peter's Basilica from 1985 to 1989. At the same time, there are more Muslims in Ivory Coast than Christians.

These world attractions do not need any introduction; everyone has seen and knows them, even if only from photos and descriptions on the Internet. But few people know their little secrets, which guides and guidebooks don’t always tell you about.

1. Stonehenge

Now it seems unthinkable, but 100 years ago Stonehenge was sold at auction for 6,600 pounds sterling (today, that's almost half a million pounds, or 777.5 thousand dollars). The buyer was Cecil Chubb, who decided to make an original gift for his wife. But she did not appreciate the monument, so after 3 years it was “re-gifted” to England, and the generous husband was awarded the title of baronet.

2. Sydney Opera House

In 1980, culture gave way to bodybuilding: here half-naked bodybuilders, participants in the global Mr. Olympia competition, paraded in front of an enthusiastic audience. And then 33-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger won for the seventh (and last) time in his career.

3. Tower Bridge

In 1952, he began to get divorced while he was still driving along it. double-decker regular London route number 78. The driver, Albert Ganton, was not taken aback - he picked up speed and flew to the other half of the bridge through the meter-wide gap that had formed.

For his courage, Albert was awarded a 10-pound bonus (approximately 250 pounds, or 26,000 rubles in today's money).

4. Hermitage

The Hermitage cats are known in Russia no less than the great exhibits of this St. Petersburg museum, but foreign tourists, as a rule, are hearing about them for the first time. These are full-fledged museum workers - the Life Guards of the Winter Palace, protecting works of art from mice and rats.

Cats are prohibited from roaming the museum halls, but they live and hunt in the dry and warm basement of the palace, which is called the “big cat”. Each of the fifty furry inhabitants of the Hermitage has its own bowl, tray and basket for sleeping, and all are under veterinary supervision. By the way, you can become the owner of a Hermitage cat with the right to free access to local exhibition halls for life.

5. Statue of Liberty

The world-famous “symbol of freedom and democracy” has forever retained the appearance of two real women. It is believed that the face of the statue belongs to the mother of the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, and the body to his mistress.

6. Eiffel Tower

When the Nazis occupied France in 1940, the Parisians cut the elevator cables on the tower, so German soldiers I had to climb the structures to hoist the flag of the Third Reich with a swastika to the top. But gigantomania failed: within a couple of hours the huge banner was blown away by the wind. The soldiers were sent upstairs again, this time with a smaller flag.

And in the summer of 1944, by order of Hitler, the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be blown up, and all of Paris was to be razed to the ground, but, fortunately, the military commandant, German General Dietrich von Choltitz, disobeyed and saved the city by surrendering to the French liberation forces.

7. Taj Mahal

22,000 people and 1,000 elephants worked on the construction of the mausoleum-mosque in Indian Agra; the work took 17 years. Moreover, the padishah Shah Jahan, who ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, who died during the birth of her 14th child, planned to build another similar mausoleum on the opposite bank of the river - from black marble.

8. Mount Everest

Imagine, " highest peak world" is not actually the most high mountain on Earth, measured from base to peak. Everest is inferior in this sense Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea (8,848 meters versus 10,203 meters). The difference is that most of the volcano is hidden under water. So, in terms of height above sea level, Everest will really be the winner.

Summer has not gone well this year, and you can completely forget about swimming. The more you want to escape to the south, to the sea and sun. Most of us are sure that sea water and air are very beneficial. But not everyone knows how, when and to whom they are especially useful.

Swimming in sea water is very good for health. It is a fact!

Swimming in sea water:
enriches the body with oxygen and minerals. Sea water contains about 90 elements necessary for our body (iodine, calcium, potassium, silicon, sodium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, iron, nickel, copper, arsenic, oxygen, nitrogen, neon, helium and many other elements, etc.) It is especially useful iodine – it activates brain function and normalizes thyroid function.
improves the functioning of blood vessels and blood circulation, lowers blood pressure and normalizes heart rate
increases vitality, has a hardening effect, strengthens the immune system
cleanses the skin, can help with eczema, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
helps remove toxins from the body

...and not only for health, but also for beauty! This is also a fact

Intense swimming in sea water actively promotes weight loss and gives a light anti-cellulite massage effect. Sea water, rich in microelements, will replace both hair masks and nail baths - provided that you protect your hair from the sun.

Sea air is most useful after a storm. And that's a fact

The air near the sea after a storm is especially rich in oxygen and ozone and richly saturated with mineral salts and phytoncides of seaweed. This air is especially useful for respiratory diseases, and also moisturizes the skin and increases its elasticity.

The saltier the sea water, the healthier it is. Fact!

The saltier the water in the sea, the higher the concentration of nutrients in it and the more intensely they are absorbed by the body.

Seaside holidays are useful for everyone without exception - but this is already a myth

It would seem that such a number of advantages should make a trip to the sea useful for everyone without exception. But, alas, there are exceptions. The sea and sun can be dangerous for patients with heart disease, cancer patients, severe hypertension, people suffering from allergies to iodine, hyperfunction of the thyroid gland, as well as some skin and fungal diseases. If you are a regular patient of any doctor, you should consult with him whether the sea and hot climate will harm you.

The warmer the sea water, the more beneficial it is. And it's a myth

Warm water is preferable for a long and comfortable bath, especially for children. But the greatest health benefits come from water at a temperature of 20-24 degrees. Firstly, in such water you have to move intensively, which enhances its healing effect. Secondly, in sea water warmer than 24 degrees, pathogenic microorganisms actively multiply, so rinsing the nasopharynx with such water is no longer recommended.

It is better to swim in pools with sea water or take baths with sea salt than in a dirty sea with crowds of people and jellyfish. This is also a myth

Sea water extracted from its natural environment retains its beneficial features no more than 24 hours. Therefore, swimming in a pool with sea water can be equated in effectiveness to swimming in the sea only if the water in the pool is completely changed every day and is not chlorinated, killing many beneficial properties. And if you do not chlorinate the pool, then microbes will quickly multiply in a closed environment.
It only makes sense to take baths with sea salt at home, for lack of anything better - after all, tap water with the addition of sea salt correlates with natural sea water in about the same way as juice reconstituted from concentrate correlates with freshly squeezed juice.

Swim in the sea - stock up on health and beauty!