1. Many Russians think that Catherine II sold Alaska to the United States, but this is not so. The transfer of the territory of Alaska was completed under Alexander II.
2. If a Hawaiian woman puts a flower behind her left ear, then she is married. If she is for the right, then she is available for men to court.
3. Not all people, as is commonly believed, kiss eyes closed, about 60% of them. Others like to watch their partner's reaction.
4. The most ancient mountains are located on the territory of Russia and are called Ural mountains, which amaze with their picturesqueness.
5. The most unusual school is located in Cambodia, it is located in the middle of the river and is called Kompong Luong. It is noteworthy that children swim to it in basins.
6. The largest prison for political prisoners is located on the territory of the DPRK; more than 50 thousand people are imprisoned almost for life in Camp No. 22.
7. Light-eyed people are better at distinguishing colors than those with brown eyes. Everything is explained by the pigmentation of the iris, which in blue-eyed people is more sensitive to light.

1. In the Altai Territory in Russia there is an amazing place where you cannot stay for more than 20 minutes. This is the famous “Valley of Death”, the volcanic fumes of which kill all living things in just half an hour.
2. The most radioactive place in Russia is Lake Karachay. Fifteen minutes of being on the shore of the lake is enough to receive radiation of 600 roentgens, which is considered fatal.
3. The most expensive potatoes in the world cost more than 500 euros per kilogram. It is called "La Bonnote" and is grown on the French island of Nourmoitier in Atlantic Ocean. Connoisseurs of this potato claim its excellent taste.
4. Petite Jyoti Amge is considered the smallest girl in the world. Her height is only 62 centimeters, the baby lives in the Indian city of Nagpur.
5. The most expensive and valuable mushroom in the world is called the black truffle; the price of a large specimen can reach up to seven thousand euros. Not every common man can afford such a treat.
6. The dirtiest city on the planet is Russian Karabash. Over the almost hundred-year history of the local copper smelter, the entire nature of Karabash has become more like that of Mars. Acid rain occurs in this place, and the rivers have an unnatural color due to iron oxides.
7. The real pole of cold is the Russian city of Verkhoyansk. It is there that the lowest record-low temperatures with a minus sign were recorded on the planet in those places where people live.
8. Most people on earth have demotex mites living in their eyelashes; under microscope magnification these are real monsters!
9. Whatever the date of your birthday, twenty million people around the world celebrate it with you at the same time.
10. The longest reality show in the world is Dom-2. It has been running for more than ten years, and it is obvious that the television production will become the second “Santa Barbara”.
11. When a man watches porn, he pays attention to the actress's face. On the contrary, women look at the genitals.
12. People with blue eyes see better in the dark. It is believed that fewer and fewer blue-eyed children are born in the world each time.
13. In the west of China they drink salty tea. The tradition is deeply rooted in the past, and instead of sugar, table salt is added to hot tea.
14. Russia is not only the largest country in the world by territory, it is also the only state that is washed by 12 seas.
15. The most common name on the planet is Muhammad, and the surname is Lee. Among Russian surnames, the surname Kuznetsov is widespread.
16. During flights, the marabou stork can fall asleep and hover in the air for ten minutes.
17. Cleaner fish are hermaphrodites. The female can degenerate into a male and fertilize the offspring.
18. The only animals in the world that have a rectangular elongated pupil are goats, sheep and octopuses.
19. All people with blue eyes are potential relatives, since blue color is a mutation of the HERC 2 gene. People with this eye color appeared on the planet about 10 thousand years ago.
20. The substances in mosquito repellents do not repel insects, but camouflage a person. As a result, special receptors are blocked, and the mosquito simply does not “feel” its prey.
21. After forty years, people begin to grow down. A person shrinks with age by about one centimeter. This happens due to the drying out of the cartilage tissue in the joints.
22. The creepiest and most unusual road in the world is called “Road to Nowhere”. This is a fifteen-kilometer stretch of highway in New Mexico that ends in an absolute dead end. There are not very good rumors about this expensive place among the locals.
23. Venus is the only planet in the solar system that rotates counterclockwise. Why is this happening? Scientists give this phenomenon a variety of explanations, but the most obvious is the dense atmosphere of the planet.
24. In the nineteenth century, Horace Fletcher proposed a diet called Fletcherism. The idea was to chew your food at least 30 times and then spit it out. It was assumed that the stomach is full and the person does not gain weight.
25. The worst slums in the world are located in Kenya, right in the capital of Nairobi. More than twenty million people live in a world without electricity, water, sewerage, schools or hospitals.
26. The largest meteorite that fell to earth is considered to be the Goba meteorite, which reaches almost three meters in length. A celestial body was discovered in Namibia. It weighs more than 60 tons and is 90 percent iron.
27. The ancient representatives of snakes had legs. Scientists assumed that more than 130 million years ago snakes had limbs that allowed them to move quite quickly.
28. Hong Kong is recognized as the largest and most populous metropolis on the planet. The city is home to more than thirty-five million people.
29. Why do people wear wedding rings on the ring finger? The tradition came from Ancient Greece, where it was believed that the “vein of love” ran through the ring finger and went straight to the heart.
30. Bob Marley's crypt contains his guitar, a bible, a football and a package of marijuana.
31. The human femur inspired Eiffel to create the famous Parisian tower.
32. Perfume was invented in the 16th century to remove the stench from unwashed bodies. In Europe, people haven't swam all their lives!
33. To keep fit, a person must take at least ten thousand steps a day.
34. Americans have the healthiest teeth; approximately forty percent of US citizens have never experienced problems with caries.
35. Every three seconds one child is born on earth, and every 5 seconds someone dies.
36. Over the course of a lifetime, the average person eats 30 tons of food; if you imagine this in volume, then the weight of all the food eaten in a lifetime is equal to the weight of 8 elephants.
37. Most billionaires live not in the United Arab Emirates, but in Moscow. But still, the most expensive city in the world is not Moscow, but Hong Kong.
38. The mythical creature Mothman or Mothman in the Jersey bridge collapse in the late 60s was seen by about a hundred people at a time.
39. American Charles Osborne hiccupped for 65 years without stopping. Nothing helped the poor man.
40. Russia and the United States are separated by only four kilometers. Don't believe me? Find Chukotka on the map and measure the distance from the Chukotka Territory to Alaska.
41. Bolivia has the most dangerous road in the world, its length is 70 kilometers. Drivers drive on a narrow track without bumpers over an abyss of three thousand meters!
42. There are a lot of transvestites living in Thailand. The country's authorities have gone so far as to say that in the cities of Thailand there are schools where young transvestites study; in ordinary schools there is a special toilet for such children.
43. We often hear voice-over laughter in soap operas, but few people know that the same recording from 1950 has been dubbed over and over again for many years. Many of these people are no longer alive.
44. Napoleon Bonaparte has always been considered a short man. But during the 18th and 19th centuries, people were not tall. Napoleon's height was 170 centimeters, and he was even considered above average at that time.
45. On the planet Uranus there is no such off-season as on Earth. There winter constantly gives way to summer. Winter or summer lasts exactly forty-two Earth years.
46. Pluto has long been considered one of the planets solar system. This unusual celestial object was discovered in 1930, and its name was given to it by the 11th girl Venice Bernie from Old England.
47. There is an amazing underground city on our planet. It is located in Australia and is called Coober Pedy. Precious opals are mined there, and local residents They live in apartments literally hollowed out in caves.
48. According to statistics, a person kisses for about three years of his life. By the way, in some countries the French kiss is still considered extremely indecent and is equivalent to a kiss on the genitals.
49. The smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua. Usually these dogs do not reach a weight of more than two kilograms.
50. Up to 100 thousand bees live in one beehive; the queen bee lays more than a thousand eggs a day and lives on average two years. When the queen dies, the bees leave their hive.
51. Most copiers in the world break down after people try to “photocopy” their butt.
52. The most expensive houses are those painted in yellow. There is less purchasing activity for white houses.
53. The famous yo-yo was once used in the Philippines as a weapon against enemies.
54. Bolivia is the only country in the world where there is a navy, but there is no access to the sea or ocean.
55. Everest is not the highest mountain in the world, there is a higher peak. It is called Mauna Kea, its height is ten thousand meters and it is located in the Hawaiian Islands.
56. The largest car in the world is the Ford F 650. Such a colossus weighs twelve tons!
57. Half an hour of listening to music on headphones increases the number of bacteria in the ear canal by 700 times!
58. The only animal that can laugh are ordinary rats. At the same time, all other animals in the world are deprived of this due to the lack of facial expressions.
59. Love is not a hindrance to marriage. The largest age difference was recorded in Malaysia. The groom was 105 years old, and the young bride was only 22 years old.
60. One day Pablo Escobar was very cold while hiding from the police. To keep warm, he threw wads of money into the fire; as a result, two million US dollars flew into the fire.
61. Every minute operators mobile communications earn almost a million dollars from SMS.
62. In India, a man must marry his elder sister's daughter. According to Indian canons, this is not considered incest.
63. Ancient Egyptian nobles kept crocodiles as pet cats, and even bought them jewelry made of gold and precious stones.
64. The tallest man on earth lives in Turkey. His name is Sultan Kosen, and his height reaches a full two and a half meters. Such a giant can be seen a mile away, and in Turkey Sultan is a local celebrity who is often invited to TV shows.
65. The deepest hole in the ocean is Dean's Blue Hole. According to scientists, its depth is more than two hundred meters. Divers and ordinary travelers love this place. It is very picturesque.
66. North Korea is the most closed country in the world. It terrifies the common man with its strict rules. For example, on every street in Pyongyang there are loudspeakers that blare sirens at seven in the morning, signaling that people have to go to work.
67. Amancio Ortega is recognized as the richest man in Europe; he owns such companies as Pull and Bear, Bershka, Zara. At the same time, Amancio Ortega leads a rather secluded lifestyle and does not at all look like a rich man.
68. A child up to five years of age can learn several foreign languages. Children at a young age perfectly remember words and foreign expressions, and this knowledge is retained by a person almost until old age.
69. The most poisonous fish in the world, fugu, has tetrotoxin poison, which kills an adult in almost a few minutes. The poison is found in the innards, skin, gills and eyes of the fugu.
70. In ancient Japan, there was a cult of miniature female legs. Therefore, girls from rich families literally had their feet tightly bandaged from birth so that the bones practically did not grow. Such feet were compared to a lotus, and the smaller the foot, the more noble the bride was.
71. Color blindness is a rather unpleasant phenomenon. Most colorblind people live in Europe, namely in the Czech Republic. Scientists noted that there are no colorblind people in Fiji and in a number of other island settlements.
72. Are you often annoyed by the fact that you did not have time to cross the road at a traffic light? Scientists have found that the average person living in a city spends three whole weeks in front of a traffic light.
73. The weight of our planet is not constant. The most amazing thing is that the earth annually gains about fifty tons in weight and sheds about a hundred tons. Scientists have not yet found an explanation for this phenomenon.
74. Have you ever thought about why the rabbit is the symbol of Playboy? The logo was created and developed by Aruthor Paul back in 1953, as a funny sketch and a kind of comic caricature. It was thanks to this sketch that the layout of the first Playboy magazine was created in 1954.
75. Scientists have created algae that tastes like bacon and ham. They contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals necessary for our body. The main purpose of the invention is to fight hunger in a number of African countries. Seaweed is inexpensive and comes in a wide variety of flavors.
76. The most environmentally friendly city is located in Switzerland. In the city of Zermatt it is prohibited to drive cars, as they pollute the atmosphere. Horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles or electric vehicle travel are permitted.
77. The largest dinosaur was found in Argentina. His height was 32 meters, and the giant weighed approximately 80 tons.
78. The largest dog in the world is a cute Great Dane named Gibson. If Gibson stands on hind legs, then his height is two meters!
79. Every three seconds people claim to have seen a UFO, but this is usually just an optical illusion. Of course, there have been mass UFO sightings, but there has always been a rational explanation for unidentified objects in the sky.
80. A jellyfish that kills with just one touch lives in Australia. Its venom is a hundred times more dangerous than that of a cobra. This baby only weighs a couple of grams!
81. The largest star in the visible universe is Betelgeuse. It is located at a distance of more than six hundred million light years from our planet. If you compare it with the sun, then the sun is a poppy seed, and Betelgeuse is an orange. By the way, in the next 3 thousand years the star will explode, and the glow from its explosion can be observed with the naked eye from the ground.
82. Robots are being developed not only for human needs in the field of science. Robotics is gradually entering everyday life. By 2070, scientists plan to invent robots that can replace humans. Single people will have a chance to find their soul mate, robots will be able to express their feelings and even have sex.
83. The city that has the longest name in the world is Bangkok. The capital of Thailand sounds like "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit" in Thai. It’s surprising that every Thai should know this fancy name by heart.
84. A lightning strike can incinerate a person in literally seconds. But it’s not for nothing that the American Roy Cleveland is called a “lightning rod man.” Throughout his life, he survived seven lightning strikes and remained alive. Roy is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
85. The deepest metro in the world is located not in New York, but in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. It's all about the rocks; during the construction of the metro it was necessary to make tunnels at a depth of eighty meters.
86. The tallest Christmas tree was installed in Russia in 2013. The green beauty was placed on Poklonnaya Hill, and the height of the tree reached 50 meters in height. The record for the tallest tree has not yet been broken.
87. Humanity litters on a simply enormous scale. The largest and most impressive landfill is found in the Pacific Ocean. Right in the middle of the ocean there is a many-kilometer-long landfill of plastic, technical waste, fuel oil and oil.
88. In the Middle Ages there were rather strange beauty rules for women. To achieve a white face, ladies used lead powder, removed freckles with sulfur, and brushed their teeth with arsenic paste.
89. American scientists have found that the best relaxation in the world is contemplation of aquarium fish. A 550-liter aquarium with multi-colored lighting was created especially for visitors to one of the New York parks.
90. Russia is considered the largest country in the world by territory. For quite a long time, Russia occupied third place in the honorable list of empires. Square Russian state is more than seventeen square million kilometers!
91. The crocodile is an amazing creature. Although the Nile crocodile breathes through its lungs, it can hold its breath underwater for about two hours.
92. The most terrible disease that has claimed the lives of almost half of the world's population is not the bubonic plague or the famous Spanish flu. This is malaria, which is caused by the malaria mosquito. In some parts of the planet, malaria is still rampant.

Facts you may not have known. I read it and was surprised!

According to studies conducted in several countries around the world, in particular in the USA and EU countries, the level of education and erudition of the population is steadily falling from year to year. The exception is Asian countries. Statistics compiled by Beloit College sociologists show that a significant proportion of young Americans are struggling to cope in capital letters. Let us recall that the ability to write is one of the manifestations fine motor skills, which, in turn, is associated with the development of the speech center of the brain. Similar degradation is observed among European teenagers: every fifth of them has difficulty reading and writing!

As is known, only elephants, humans and Neanderthals have burial rituals. Typically, an elephant's lifespan is 60–80 years.
If an elephant is sick, members of the herd bring him food and support him while he stands. If the elephant is dead, they will try to revive it with water and food for a while. When it becomes clear that the elephant is dead, the herd falls silent. They will often dig a shallow grave and cover the dead elephant with mud and branches, and will then remain near the grave for several days. If the elephant had a very close relationship with the deceased, then it may be depressed. A herd that accidentally encounters an unknown, lonely, dead elephant will exhibit a similar attitude. In addition, there have been cases where elephants were buried dead people in the same way that they found.

Ronald Reagan (who was a popular actor before his political career) did not get a role in the Broadway production of “Most Worthy” because the playwright decided that he would not be convincing enough as the President of the United States.

Waste disposal in Germany is so difficult that the city administration has to send residents a magazine with detailed instructions every year.

German scientists recently published interesting data: over the past 50 years, Germans have become 400% richer on average, and the number of unhappy people suffering from depression has increased by 38%.

In 1972, a Spanish postman was sentenced to 384,912 years in prison for failing to deliver more than 40,000 letters. He was just too lazy to carry them around.

The first athlete to die during the modern Olympic Games was Portuguese marathon runner Francisco Lazara. Before the competition, he covered his entire body with wax to protect against sunburn. But the wax clogged the pores, preventing sweat from evaporating from the surface of the skin. This led to an imbalance of fluid in the athlete’s body and, ultimately, to death.

Researchers working in Antarctica have a tradition: run out naked into the cold after a sauna, run to the ceremonial South Pole and back. This means a temperature difference from +90 to -70 degrees Celsius. Polar explorers have to run very quickly so as not to freeze their dignity and not lose the opportunity to procreate. Not everyone can do this.

1. In the months that begin on Sunday, there will always be Friday the 13th.
2. The average graphite pencil can write a line approximately 56 kilometers long, or approximately 45,000 words.
3. One cloud can weigh more than 450 tons.
4. In Japan, surgical masks are used for fashion, warmth and to prevent talking to strangers.
5. Every 5 minutes the Earth travels a distance of 8 thousand km.
6. A mole can dig a 9 kilometer long tunnel in just one night.
7. Research shows that consuming spicy foods prolongs life.
   
   
8. When drying fruits lose about 30-80% its vitamins and antioxidants.
9. Ketchup was used as a medicine in the 1930s.
10. Honey never spoils. We can say that this is a timeless product.
11. Chewing gum burns approximately 11 calories per hour.
12. The word "gorilla" comes from Greek language and means "Tribe of Hairy Women."
13. In Japan, crooked teeth are considered cute and attractive.
14. Swedish woman lost hers wedding ring and found him 16 years later - growing on carrots in her garden.
    
    
15. Human femurs stronger than concrete.
16. To produce 450 grams of honey, a bee needs to fly around 2 million flowers.
17. When you sneeze, air comes out of you at about 160 km per hour.
18. A hamster on a wheel can run up to 12 km per night.
19. Earth is the only planet that not named after god.
20. This is what you get if you multiply these two numbers: 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321. Check with a calculator!
21. A giraffe's tongue is so long that it can lick its ears with it.
    
22. Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.
23. There are about 96 thousand kilometers of blood vessels in the human body.
24. The largest snowflake was recorded in Montana, USA in 1887, and was 36 cm wide.
25. If a pregnant woman has damage to an organ, the baby in her womb donates its stem cells to help repair that organ.
26. The lens of the human eye is the only organ that does not change size throughout a person’s life.
27. If 33 million people if they joined hands, they would cover the entire equator.
    
    
28. “Blink” is the scientific name for 1/100th of a second.
29. Bananas are the only fruit that no allergies even in babies.
30. Just like everyone's fingerprints are different, they have different tongue prints.
31. A flea can jump up to 200 times its own height. This is equivalent to a person jumping to a 100-story skyscraper.

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Slide captions:

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

Frogs do not drink water, but absorb it through their skin.

The giraffe's tongue is completely black, and its length can reach 50 cm. Giraffes use their tongue to clean their ears.

A dragonfly lives 24 hours.

The elephant is the only animal that cannot jump.

A slug has four noses.

There are more cars in Los Angeles than people.

To make a kilogram of honey, a bee must fly around 2 million flowers.

Lightning kills 1,000 people every year.

People with blue eyes are more sensitive to pain than others.

did you know that a dog’s nose print is individual, just like a person’s papillary lines? Simply put, you can find a dog by its nose print.

Mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of people who have recently eaten bananas.

Peanuts are used in the production of dynamite.

A person can perceive only four tastes: salty, bitter, sour, sweet. The entire picturesque picture of taste is painted solely by the sense of smell.

Do you know that a goat has square pupils?

The heart of a human fetus begins beating on the 18th day after conception and does not stop throughout its life.

Sloths spend almost their entire lives hanging with their backs down.

Did you know that there are rivers without water? They are found mainly in deserts and are called “wadis”. Water appears in the riverbeds only during rains; the rest of the time they are dry depressions.

Did you know that the best pretender among mammals is the possum? There is even an expression in English that translates as “play possum,” and is used to mean “pretend,” “deceive.”

In 1998, miracle tights were invented - with three legs - the third leg was supposed to be used if one of those the girl was wearing broke

Butterflies have taste buds on their legs.

Did you know that Napoleon could have become a great Russian commander? In 1785, Bonaparte graduated from the Paris Military School with the rank of lieutenant, and in 1788 he tried to enlist in the Russian army!

The only animal whose upper jaw is movable is the crocodile. Other animals have a movable lower jaw. Crocodiles are the only animals on Earth that do not naturally have a tongue.

Do you know that gorillas sleep in nests? These large, muscular primates every evening (and even after hearty lunch) build a new nest for themselves - on the ground or on the lower branches of trees.

The rarest colloquial on our planet it is the Bikya language. It is spoken only by one 87-year-old woman from a village on the border between Cameroon and Nigeria. And she has no one to talk to.

Was it Peter I who invented the original way to combat drunkenness? Alcoholics were given... a medal. Medal for drunkenness. Its weight was approximately 7 kg, and this was without chains, because it was made of pure cast iron. The medal was “presented” at the police station, and the structure was attached to the neck so that the “awardee” could not remove it. You had to wear the insignia for a week.

Not only people use the services of nannies, but also, for example, owls? North American owls use... narrow-mouthed snakes as these nannies.

There are so many interesting and unknown things in our lives that we don’t even know about, living next to the simplest things in our opinion.

Live, enjoy life and learn more and more new things! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

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Do you know that? - interesting facts for you.

Did you know that our double-headed eagle came to us straight from Byzantium? The double-headed eagle became the state emblem of the Eastern Roman Empire, and in 1261 it was depicted on the coat of arms of the last imperial dynasty of Byzantium - the Palaiologos. This is how the eagle ended up on the grand ducal seal of Ivan III after his wedding with Sophia Paleologus. The first Russian coat of arms itself appeared under Ivan the Terrible, the first Russian Tsar, and on the chest of the double-headed eagle there was initially a unicorn, and then St. George the Victorious appeared, the symbol of Moscow and the entire Moscow Principality. The eagle changed - it raised and spread its wings, crowns or Orthodox cross, and in its paws are state regalia. One of his heads looked to the West, the other to the East, and in the middle was Russia.

In the 17th century, two-headed birds sat on the tops of the tents of the Kremlin towers. In 1935, they were replaced by semi-precious stars, and now the earliest image of a double-headed eagle in Moscow can be seen in the tiled frieze of Stepan Polubes in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gonchary - this is 1654.

Did you know that the apparent similarity of the anthem of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar!” and the British anthem - “God Save the Queen!” in fact, not at all apparent. They are indeed terribly similar, because at the end of 1816, Emperor Alexander I ordered that Vasily Zhukovsky’s poem “The Russian Prayer” be set to the music of the British anthem and that this work be performed at the emperor’s meetings. The familiar version of “God Save the Tsar!” to the music of Alexei Lvov was written only in 1833 after, as they say, a not very pleasant visit of Emperor Nicholas I to Austria, where he was greeted everywhere to the sounds of an English march.
Another interesting fact is that this was not the only case of borrowing foreign anthems. For the first few months after the February Revolution, the anthem of our country became the French “La Marseillaise” - its melody was set to the words of a poem by P.L. Lavrov "Working Marseillaise". After the October Revolution, the country began to play “The Internationale,” which from 1918 to 1944 was the official anthem of the country of the Soviets.

Did you know that very often the flag of one country influences the flags of many countries in the region. The idea is quite simple - by choosing the colors of the flag, its creators try to express the most important ideas and values ​​for the inhabitants of a certain place. It often turns out that these ideas and values ​​are shared by neighbors. In addition, many countries are ready to accept the colors of more developed leading countries as a sign of loyalty. There are entire groups of countries that, for one reason or another, use colors that first appeared on the flag of one country. Various interesting facts are associated with such groups. For example, there are the so-called Pan-African colors - green, yellow (gold) and red; often black is also added here - they are used on the flags of most African countries.

Ethiopia was the first African country to use these colors in its flag, with its flag originally symbolizing the rainbow. Original flag of Ethiopia:

Did you know that there are flags that look different from the back side than from the front? Even more precisely, there are three types of flags: (a) those in which the back side reflects the front as if it were almost transparent (sometimes they are actually made translucent) - i.e. where the sides are mirrored, (b) those in which the back side looks exactly the same as the front, and (c) those in which the two sides are different. At the moment we can talk about at least two states that use the flag " different sides» – Paraguay and Moldova.

It’s unlikely that many of you know such an interesting fact that the well-known flag of the Soviet Union was actually also conceived as having a reverse side that was different from the front (simply red). In practice, however, there was no special regulation of the sewing of Soviet flags.

Did you know that the Philippine flag is the only flag in the world where the colors are reversed: in times of peace, there is a blue stripe at the top, and when the Philippines is at war, there is a red stripe at the top.

The flag of the Philippines consists of a white triangle containing a golden sun and three stars, and blue and red stripes. The golden sun with eight rays symbolizes freedom and the eight provinces that were the first to rise up to fight Spain. True, the official website of the flag and coat of arms of the Philippines does not indicate an exact list of these provinces, and therefore scientists still have difficulty identifying them. The stars are symbols of the three island groups that make up the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao.

In the form we see it now, the Philippine flag was approved only in 1998 - the design has remained approximately the same for a long time, but Blue colour gave no rest to anyone and was changed all the time. Finally we settled on “royal blue”.

Did you know that even a people without a state - the Roma - have their own flag. It was adopted at the First World Gypsy Congress in London, which took place in 1971. The Gypsy flag is divided into two fields - blue at the top and green at the bottom. They symbolize heaven and earth respectively. In the center of the flag there is a red wheel, or, scientifically, the dharmachakra - it symbolizes the Indo-Aryan origin of the gypsies. By the way, a similar dharmachakra is found on the Indian flag. Of course, all these elements are intended to show us that the gypsies are on the road all their lives, if not physically, then certainly spiritually.

True, not all gypsies in the world agree to recognize this flag. Thus, many Eastern European gypsies do not agree with this flag. For example, in 1992, the Gypsy Congress took place in Riga, at which it was proposed to depict a horse’s head on the flag instead of a wheel.

Did you know (or rather, have you noticed) that the Russian coat of arms has more than one double-headed eagle? If you look closely, you will notice that on the scepter that the eagle is holding, there is another eagle - the same two-headed one as the first. So there are two of them? No - there are much more of them, or rather, an infinite number. After all, the eagle located on the scepter also holds a scepter crowned with an eagle, and so on. This heraldic idea is intended to symbolize the eternity of the Russian state.

Did you know that the famous British flag, the Union Jack, appeared gradually. From the 13th to the 17th centuries, English flags used on merchant and naval ships were white with a red St. George's Cross. This is the flag that English football fans wave at the World Cup these days. The flag of Scotland was blue with a white cross of St. Andrew the First-Called. When the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne and became the English king under the name James I, it became necessary to create a flag for the united kingdom. On April 12, 1606, such a flag was approved. On January 1, 1801, this work had to be done again, because the united Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland arose. For representatives of Ireland, the oblique red cross of St. Patrick on a white background was chosen. This is how the flag has survived to this day. The blue on the Union Jack is of course much darker than Scottish blue, but what can’t you do to make the flag look nobler! By the way, the name “Union Jack” comes from the English name for the jack - the flag hoisted on warships - in English the jack used to be called a jack - that’s so prosaic. Picture for clarity:

Did you know that Japan is practically the only country that does not have an official state emblem. Sometimes, for example, on the cover of foreign passports, the emblem of the Imperial House is used instead, which is a symbol in the form of a yellow or orange 16-petal chrysanthemum with a double row (although, by the way, the second row of petals is not depicted on passports for some reason).

Japan - interesting facts

The chrysanthemum, imported from China, became a symbol of happiness and wisdom in Japan. Also, the Japanese often associated this bright flower, bursting with strength and energy, with the sun. Therefore, since ancient times, the chrysanthemum has been a symbol of high position or nobility.

Emperor Gotoba-in, ruler (1183-1198) of the Kamakura period, was a great lover of chrysanthemum flowers and began to use their image as his own seal. This tradition was continued by other emperors, and, since the Kamakura period (XII-XIV centuries; when Japan's first shogunate appeared), it has been considered the emblem of Japanese emperors and members of the Japanese imperial family.
Officially, the sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum was recognized as the kamon (coat of arms) of the ruling imperial house in 1869 by order of the Meiji government, and since 1871, persons who did not belong to the imperial family were strictly prohibited from using it. After World War II, this ban was lifted, and, for example, the most senior of the Japanese orders is called the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

Did you know that the flag of Israel appeared long before the formation of the State of Israel? The first to feel the urgent need for such a state symbol, even in the absence of a state, was Theodor Herzl, the great Zionist dreamer. He believed that having the flag would help him return the Jewish people to the Holy Land. In 1895, Herzl carefully designed the flag in The Jewish State: it was to consist of seven gold stars, symbolizing the seven-hour work day, on a white field, symbolizing “new and pure life.” In a later version, Herzl proposed placing six stars at the corners of the magendavid, and the seventh above it.

However, this design apparently seemed too complicated, and the Jews accepted it reluctantly. In 1897, David Wolfson became involved in the creation of the future Israeli flag. When going to Basel for the first Zionist congress, he also thought about what flag would be used at the congress so that it would express the very essence of the Jewish problem. And then it dawned on him. “We have a flag - and it’s white and blue. The tallit we wrap ourselves in during prayers is our symbol. So let’s take the prayer blanket out of the chests and unroll it in front of the whole world!” he wrote. The modern Israeli flag, adopted in 1948, still resembles the tallit.

Did you know that although officially the Greek anthem consists of only two verses, this was done precisely so that it did not seem too long. In fact, the work written by Dionysios Solomos, which in 1865 became the anthem of Greece - “Hymn to Freedom” - consists of as many as 158 (!) verses. Thus, if not for legal restriction, the Greek anthem would be (and is often considered) the longest anthem in the world. And here is the official part of the anthem:

I recognize the blade of retribution,
Blazing with a thunderstorm,
I recognize your winged gaze,
Covering the globe!

The pride of the ancient people,
Reborn again,
Hello, proud Freedom,
Hello, Ellin Love!

By the way, an interesting fact - this anthem is played every time at the opening and closing Olympic Games as a tribute to the country that gave this tradition to the world.

Did you know that the oldest tricolor flag still in use is the flag of the Netherlands. This flag has existed in almost unchanged form since the end of the 16th century. The end of the 16th century was the period of the struggle of the Low Countries (as the Netherlands were then called) for their independence from the Spanish king Philip II. The banner of the Prince of Orange, the leader of the uprising, with his family colors: orange, white and blue, was chosen as the flag of the young democratic state. The number of stripes on the flag varied for a long time (sometimes their number reached nine), as did the order.

Over time, orange was replaced by red in this flag. After 1630, the orange stripe gradually fell out of use. According to one of the most common versions, this happened because the combination of orange and blue is much more difficult to distinguish on long distance than red and blue - and this is very important at sea.