250 Fun Facts
250 Fun Facts: Technology, Sports, Music, Art & Famous Places
Famous Places & Buildings Facts
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is currently the world's tallest building, standing about 828 metres high.
The Eiffel Tower can grow around 15 centimetres taller in summer, because its iron expands in the heat.
The Eiffel Tower is repainted roughly every seven years, using around 60 tonnes of paint.
A detailed survey in 2012 found that all the sections of the Great Wall of China add up to more than 21,000 kilometres.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa started to tilt while it was still being built in the 1170s, because of soft ground underneath.
Big Ben is the name of the giant bell inside London's clock tower. The tower itself is called the Elizabeth Tower.
The roof of the Sydney Opera House is covered with more than a million tiles.
The ancient city of Petra in Jordan was carved directly into rose-red sandstone cliffs.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world.
The Taj Mahal seems to change colour during the day
Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is made of white marble that reflects the changing light. Visitors often describe it as soft pink in the morning, dazzling white at noon and golden in the evening, with a silvery glow under the moonlight.
Qutub Minar in Delhi is the tallest brick minaret in the world, at about 73 metres.
The Iron Pillar of Delhi has stood for around 1,600 years without rusting away, thanks to the special way its iron was made.
Hyderabad's famous Charminar was built in 1591.
The Gateway of India in Mumbai was built to mark the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.
Kolkata's Victoria Memorial is built from the same white Makrana marble from Rajasthan that was used for the Taj Mahal.
Jaipur's Hawa Mahal, the "Palace of Winds," has 953 small windows, designed so royal women could watch street life without being seen.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur was completed around 1010 by Chola king Rajaraja I, and its towering top is crowned with a massive stone.
The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai has 14 colourful gateway towers, called gopurams, covered with thousands of sculptures.
The Statue of Unity in Gujarat, honouring Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is the world's tallest statue at about 182 metres.
Gol Gumbaz has a famous whispering gallery
The Gol Gumbaz in Vijayapura, Karnataka, built in the 1600s, has one of the largest domes in the world. Inside, a circular gallery carries sound so well that a whisper on one side can be heard clearly on the opposite side, and a single clap can echo several times.
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur has the world's largest stone sundial, which can tell the time to within a couple of seconds.
Chand Baori in Rajasthan is one of the deepest stepwells in India, with around 3,500 steps arranged in perfect patterns.
Rani ki Vav, a beautifully carved stepwell in Gujarat, appears on the back of India's ₹100 note.
Kolkata's Howrah Bridge was built without using any nuts and bolts. Its steel parts are held together by rivets.
The original Pamban Bridge, which opened in 1914, was India's first sea bridge, linking Rameswaram island to the mainland.
The Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the world's highest railway arch bridge, rising about 359 metres above the river.
The Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh is the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet.
The Vivek Express, running between Dibrugarh in Assam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, covers one of the longest train routes in India, more than 4,000 kilometres.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train," is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Christ the Redeemer is struck by lightning several times a year
The giant statue of Christ the Redeemer stands about 30 metres tall on top of Corcovado mountain above Rio de Janeiro. Because it's so high and exposed, it gets hit by lightning a few times every year, and repair crews keep spare soapstone on hand to fix any damage.
Each of the presidents' faces carved into Mount Rushmore is about 18 metres tall.
The Golden Gate Bridge isn't golden. It's painted a colour called "International Orange," which helps it stand out in fog.
The Empire State Building in New York has its own ZIP code.
The largest stones at Stonehenge weigh around 25 tonnes each.
Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany inspired the design of Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland.
The city of Venice is built on more than 100 small islands and stands on millions of wooden piles driven into the mud.
Beijing's Forbidden City contains around 980 buildings.
If you clap at the base of the main pyramid at Chichén Itzá in Mexico, the echo sounds a bit like the chirp of a bird.
The famous stone heads on Easter Island actually have bodies, many of them buried underground.
Hagia Sophia has changed roles many times over 1,500 years
Completed in 537 in what is now Istanbul, Hagia Sophia was built as a cathedral and had the world's largest dome for centuries. It later became a mosque, then a museum in 1934, and was converted back into a mosque in 2020. Its blend of Christian and Islamic art makes it one of the most remarkable buildings on Earth.
Legend says that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall, so at least six ravens are always kept there.
The glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris is made up of 673 panes of glass.
The Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai was built on its own artificial island.
Singapore's Marina Bay Sands has a rooftop infinity pool 57 floors above the ground.
The Lotus Temple in Delhi is shaped like a lotus flower, with 27 petals made of white marble.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh was first built by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, making it one of the oldest stone structures in India.
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is a working railway station that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fatehpur Sikri, a grand city built by Mughal emperor Akbar, served as his capital for only about 14 years before it was largely abandoned.
At Hyderabad's Golconda Fort, a clap at the main entrance can be heard at the top of the fort, almost a kilometre away. It was used as an early warning system.
Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world
Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, sits on the banks of the Ganges and has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years. Its riverside ghats, temples and evening Ganga Aarti ceremonies draw millions of pilgrims and travellers, making it one of the most spiritual places in India.
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