A-Z Travel Trivia: Fascinating Facts from Every Country, Inspired by Lonely Planet's The Travel Book

The world is a truly fascinating place. Lonely Planet's The Travel Book offers an evocative printed journey through every country on Earth, drawing on decades of expert travel insights.

Here's a preview: an A-to-Z selection of intriguing, lesser-known facts about destinations featured in its pages. (We admit, there's no 'X'—but it's close enough!)

Dive in to discover the original 'banana republic,' the nation where vodka treats everyday ailments, and the world-renowned museum guarded by a team of resident cats...

A

• Antarctica: Antarctica’s ice sheets hold 90% of the world’s ice—28 million cubic km—containing about 70% of the planet's fresh water.
• Azerbaijan: Eric Clapton’s rock classic 'Layla' was inspired by the Azeri epic poem Layla and Majnun.

B

• Bangladesh: The national sport is kabaddi, a breathless team game where raiders evade opponents while holding their breath.
• Belarus: Belarusian folk remedies often feature vodka: gargle for sore throats, rinse hair for dandruff, or pour in ears for earaches.

C

• Canada: Every year, Nanaimo in British Columbia hosts a bathtub race across the harbor in actual bathtubs turned boats.

• Chile: The Atacama Desert offers unparalleled stargazing; the ALMA Observatory here is the world's largest astronomical project.

D

• Denmark: Denmark boasts inventive legacies like the loudspeaker, magnetic storage, and Lego.

E

• Ecuador & The Galápagos Islands: Compact Ecuador hosts around 300 mammal species and over 1,600 bird species—more than Europe and North America combined.
• Ethiopia: In 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front used Lonely Planet’s Africa on a Shoestring map to navigate into Addis Ababa.

F

• Finland: Finns are famously reserved—an old joke claims they invented texting to avoid talking.

G

• Gabon: Gabon's forest elephants favor iboga, a hallucinogenic shrub.
• Greenland: Greenlandic numbers stop at 12; beyond that, it's amerlasoorpassuit ('many') or Danish numerals.

H

• Honduras: Honduras inspired the term 'banana republic,' coined by O. Henry in the 1890s amid U.S. fruit company influence.

I

• India: 'Curry' doesn't exist in India; the South Indian kari means 'fried' or 'sauce.'
• Italy: Rome’s Fontana di Trevi collects about €3,000 daily from wish-tossing visitors hoping to return.

J

• Japan: Luxury fruits are popular gifts; the rare black Densuke watermelon can fetch thousands of dollars.

K

• Kyrgyzstan: The Kyrgyz Epic of Manas is the world's longest epic poem—20 times the Odyssey—recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

L

• Lesotho: Basotho tradition buries people seated, facing sunrise, ready to rise.
• Liechtenstein: It's the only country named after its buyers.

M

• Madagascar: Rice is culturally vital; terms for its growth mirror pregnancy and birth.
• Marshall Islands: Bikini Atoll's 1946 atomic test inspired the bikini swimsuit's name.

N

• Netherlands: 20% of Dutch land is water, another 20% below sea level, protected by 2,400 km of dykes.
• North Korea: The late Kim Jong-il's only public words were: 'Glory to the heroic soldiers of the People’s Army!'

O

• Oman: Sohar, a coastal oasis, is Sinbad's legendary starting point in Arabian Nights.

P

• Panama: 'Panama hats' originated in Ecuador, named after their shipping port.

Q

• Qatar: Pre-19th-century foreign maps often omitted Qatar.

R

• Russia: St. Petersburg’s Hermitage employs over 70 cats to control rodents, a tradition since Catherine the Great.

S

• Scotland: Scots have myriad words for drunk: bevvied, blootered, hammered, eein’, fou, steamin’, stotious, plastered, pished...

T

• Tanzania: The 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted just 38 minutes—the world's shortest.

• Tunisia: Tunisia shaped Star Wars: Obi-Wan’s robe from Berber garb, Jawas’ Sandcrawler from Tunis’ Hotel du Lac.

U

• UAE: Dubai police drive supercars from Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren.
• Uruguay: In 2014, Uruguay became the first nation to legalize marijuana cultivation and sales, including 'pot clubs.'

V

• Venezuela: Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World drew from Roraima tepui’s unique species.

W

• Wales: Iconic exports include Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Roald Dahl, and Gareth Bale.

Y

• Yemen: Unified since 1990, after division into North and South Yemen.

Z

• Zimbabwe: Though Zimbabwe dollars are invalid, nine other currencies are legal tender.