Nauru
- Nauru has the world’s highest level of type 2 diabetes, with more than 40% of the population (10,084 in a 2011 census) being affected.
- It’s believed that Nauru’s phosphate deposits come from the droppings of seabirds.
- John Fearn, the first Western to visit Nauru, named it “Pleasant Island”.
Tajikistan
- Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe means Monday in Tajik, so named because it grew from a village originally having a popular market on Mondays.
- Tajikistan has the largest glacier in the world, except for polar areas. The glacier is Fedchenko Glacier.
Azerbaijan
- The first known fireplace and construction in human history was found in Azikh Cave, dating back from 700,000–500,000 years ago.
- Neft Dashlar is the first and largest town on stilts to be constructed at sea.
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
- The primary staple food is corn, not rice.
- People sending mail to East Timor should include “via Darwin, Australia”, else it may never reach its destination.
Brunei
- Brunei was discovered by Awang Alak Betatar. He said “Baru nah!” which led to the word Brunei.
- The 29th Sultan of Brunei was the world’s richest man in 1993.
Kyrgyzstan
- Kyrgyz comes from the Turkic word for “forty”, a reference to the 40 clans of the great Manas. The country’s flag has a 40 ray Sun.
- Kyrgyzstan is worth 30 points in Scrabble.
Footnotes