Qatar is a country in the Middle East, home to 2.8 million people. Here are some fun facts that you may not have known about it.
The wealthiest country in the world
A flat country
City dwellers
No rainforest
Natural disasters
Robot camel racing
A population of men
The best airline
Lamp bear
2022 world cup
The wealthiest country in the world
Qatar’s per capita GDP is $130,475, making it the richest country in the world. The second richest country is Luxembourg, with a per capita of $116,808.
You won’t find any hills or mountains in Qatar. The average elevation is 28 meters, making it the second flattest country in the world. The first is the Maldives.
City dwellers
Doha, the capital city of Qatar, is one of the most urbanised places in the world. 99% of people live in the city or surrounding towns.
No rainforest
Qatar is made up of mostly desert. Only 5% of the land is used for agriculture. As such, it is one of the four territories with no rainforest. The other countries are San Marino, Greenland, and Oman.
Natural disasters
According to the World Risk Report, Qatar is the least likely country for a natural disaster to occur. In fact, there is a 0.1% chance of an earthquake occurring in Qatar.
One of the favourite local sports for Qatar residents is camel racing, however, rather than using jockeys, robots ride the camels. You can catch a race in the small town of Al Shahaniya.
A population of men
Qatar is home to around 2.8 million people, however, only around 700,000 of them are women.
The best airline
Qatar’s airline, aptly named Qatar Airways, has won ‘The Best Airline of the Year’ award five times at the Skytrax World Airline Awards. It is the only airline in history to have achieved this.
Lamp bear
As soon as you touchdown in Hamad International Airport you are greeted with the friendly presence of Lamp Bear. Lamp Bear is an art installation by Swiss artist Urs Fischer. The piece cost roughly $6.8 million.
In 2022 Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup, making it the first World Cup to be hosted in the Arab World and only the second world cup to be held in Asia. In addition to this, it is the smallest nation by land size to ever host the world cup.
If you are residing, or travelling, in Qatar, don’t let laundry get in your way. Book your Laundryheap service by heading to the Laundryheap website or by downloading the free Laundryheap app.
Bahrain is a sovereign state in the Persian Gulf. Here are 10 fun facts about the country.
A small Asian country
Bahrain’s population
The Bahraini dollar
Wind turbines
The first Middle East Grand Prix
Biggest consumer of electricity
Al-Fateh Mosque
The Tree of Life
Chicken Machboos
Al Khalifa family
A small Asian country
Bahrain is the third smallest country in Asia, and the smallest sovereign state in the Middle East. The only two Asian countries that are smaller are Singapore and the Maldives.
As of October 2020, the population of Bahrain was 1,701,575. Most of the population live in Manama and Al Muharraq, the two main cities of Bahrain.
The Bahraini dinar
The Bahraini dinar is the official currency of Bahrain. It was introduced in 1965 to replace the Gulf rupee. It is the worlds second most valuable currency after the Kuwait dinar.
Wind turbines
The Bahrain World Trade Center was the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines in its design. Standing 240 meters tall, it is a twin-tower complex that can be found in Manama. The towers are connected by three sky bridges, each holding 225 kW wind turbines. They are estimated to provide 11-15% of the tower’s total power consumption.
In 2004 Bahrain staged the Middle East’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4th April 2004. The event was such a success that it was given the award for “Best Organised Grand Prix” by the FIA.
Image by JaffaPix +6 million views-w
Biggest consumer of electricity
Per-capita, Bahrain is the biggest consumer of electricity in Asia and the third largest in the world. The only two countries that use more electricity are Iceland and Norway.
Al-Fateh Mosque
Al-Fateh Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world. Built in 1987, it takes up 6,500 square meters and can hold over 7,000 worshippers at one time. In 2006, Al-Fateh Mosque became the site of the National Library of Bahrain.
The Tree of Life is a single mesquite tree that was planted in the southern desert around 1583. Despite there being a severe lack of rain in Bahrain, and no obvious water source close to the tree, it continues to flourish. It has become somewhat of a tourist attraction and is visited by approximately 65,000 people per year.
Chicken Machboos is Bahrain’s national dish. Consisting of tender chicken and rice flavoured with a blend of spices and dried loomi (dried and brined limes).
The Al Khalifa family began ruling over Bahrain in 1782. Interestingly, the family are still in power today. As of 2010 roughly half of the cabinet ministers of Bahrain are members of the Al Khalifa family, as is the country’s prime minister.
If you are living or travelling in Bahrain make sure to use Laundryheap. We will pick up, dry clean, and re-deliver your clothes to you. To book your Laundryheap service head to the Laundryheap website or download the free Laundryheap app.
New York is one of the most famous cities in the world. From The Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty, everyone knows at least something about The Big Apple. But, did you know any of these 10 New York City fun facts?
The meaning behind The Big Apple
The languages of New York
The story of the Statue of Liberty
The length of the Subway system
The Empire State Building
New York’s coastline
Rich New Yorkers
The Pizza Principle
The whispering gallery
The New York City library
The meaning behind The Big Apple
New York City is lovingly known by many as The Big Apple. There are many rumours about how this nickname came about, including a nod to the Great Depression when prior financiers would sell apples to make money. The first published use of the term was in the 1920’s when sports writer John J Fitzgerald used the phrase to describe New York’s horse racing track. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the name The Big Apple began to be widely used in reference to New York itself.
The languages of New York
There are over 800 different languages spoken in New York, making it one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the world. As a result of the cities’ rich immigration history, Only 51% of its residents solely speak English, the other 49% are bilingual. The second most popular language in New York is Spanish, followed by Chinese and Russian.
The story of The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is arguably New York’s most notable landmark. Standing 83 metres tall, The Statue of Liberty is a historic American landmark that millions marvel at every year. The statue arrived in New York in 1885, in 214 crates and 350 pieces. It was a gift from France to celebrate America’s centennial celebration. Interestingly, the statues iconic arm holding the torch arrived in America a decade earlier in 1876. It was put on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia to raise money for the construction of the whole statue.
New York’s Subway system is one of the largest urban mass transportation systems in the world. Each year, approximately 1,727,366,607 passengers use the underground system, consisting of 34 lines and 469 stops. If you were to travel to every stop on the system, without leaving the Subway, it would take you 21 hours and 49 minutes.
The Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is another of New York’s famous landmarks. Standing 102 stories high in Midtown Manhattan, it has been a New York highlight since 1930. Despite being a notable NYC landmark, The Empire State building is very unlucky. There is a 1 in 9 million chance of being struck by lightning twice in your lifetime. The Empire State Building is struck 23 times every year!
New York’s coastline
When you think about American coastlines, New York will not be the first place you think about. That being said, New York actually has a coastline of 520 miles, which is longer than the coasts of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco combined.
Rich New Yorkers
New York is the only city in the world that is home to more than 100 billionaires. There are actually 113 billionaires currently living in the city, the richest of which is former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has an estimated net worth of $60.1 billion. Asides from the billionaires, there are also more than 380 million millionaires living in New York City.
The Pizza Principle
For over 50 years the average price of a Subway ride and the average price of a slice of pizza has been relatively the same. Whenever one of the prices goes up or down, so does the other. Economists have lovingly named this the Pizza Principle.
Grand Central Terminal is a commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan and home to the whispering gallery. If you were to stand at one corner of the platform and have a friend stand at a diagonal corner to yourself you will be able to whisper to each other. This secret conversation can happen because of the perfectly curved arches that make up the platform.
The New York City Library is the third biggest library in the world and the second biggest library in America. It is home to 50 million books and when the library first opened in 1911 it was the largest marble building ever built in America. Today 3.5 million people inhabit the library and explore its extensive collections.
If you are in the New York City area don’t forget to book your Laundryheap dry cleaning service. Use the code FIRST10 to get $10 off of your first order. To book your slot head to the Laundryheap website or download the free Laundryheap app.
