The world's longest continuous hereditary monarchy is in Japan.
Japan's Imperial Family, or the Yamato Dynasty, dates back to 660 B.C., when Emperor Jimmu legendarily "founded" Japan. The Imperial Family lists its line of succession through 125 generations, including the current monarch, Emperor Akihito, who inherited the throne 20 years ago.
A grateful tip of the hat to EF's resident trivia expert, Nicholas Brankle, for this week's Friday Fun Fact.
How many steps are there to the top of the Eiffel Tower?
Some sources insist there are 1,792 steps, which conveniently coincides with the year of the French First Republic.
However, according to the official Eiffel Tower website, there are a total of 1,665 steps to the top. Some of them are even numbered (above).
Photo: midnightglory via Flickr (CC license)
San Marino may be mighty small, but its history is mighty impressive.
The landlocked country—completely surrounded by Italy—comprises just 23.5 square miles, making it the third smallest country in Europe. Only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller.
However, San Marino—founded on September 3, 301—remains the world's oldest sovereign state and constitutional republic. In fact, the Constitution of San Marino, which dates back to 1600, is the world's oldest, functioning constitution.
Photo: fdecomite via Flickr (CC license)
Tiny Liechtenstein—the European country wedged in between Austria and Switzerland—boasts a mere 35,000 citizens. That's roughly equivalent to the population of San Dimas, California.
However, according to National Geographic, because of its liberal tax policies and banking laws, Liechtenstein has more companies than citizens in its 62 square miles.
Lake Arenal—Costa Rica's largest lake, which sits in the shadow of the Arenal Volcano—was enlarged to three times its original size following the volcano's major 1968 eruption. According to Arenal.net, the lake's basin now forms a hydroelectric project that produces 9 percent of Costa Rica's electricity.
Photo: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust via Flickr (CC license)
Today is the March equinox—the moment that the sun passes directly overhead the equator and the official beginning of spring.
In fact, the precise moment came at 11:44 UTC (7:44 a.m. on the East Coast) today, when, according to EarthSky, the sun was over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the west coast of equatorial Africa—south of Nigeria and west of Gabon.
The World Sunlight Map above depicts the position of the sun at the equinox this morning.
St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated around the world on Tuesday, but in Dublin, Ireland, the festivities began yesterday.
To commemorate Ireland's national holiday, St. Patrick's Festival is a six-day celebration of "performance, spectacle and participation," culminating with Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival Parade on Tuesday.
The Dublin parade, however, is not the world's biggest. The largest annual St. Patrick's Day parade is in New York City, which draws upward of 2 million spectators. New York City also held the world's first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade in 1762, although it's believed that a parade by Irish settlers was held a year earlier in Boston.
Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade, by the way, will be held Sunday.
And, yes, I'll be there.
Photo: infomatique via Flickr (CC license)
Seville's famous military watchtower has been known for centuries as Torre del Oro, which means "gold tower" in Spanish. However, the exact origins of the tower's name are a bit unclear.
The popular explanation for Torre del Oro's name is that it may have once been covered in golden tiles, like the ones that still cover its dome. Another naming theory suggests that the tower was used to securely store precious metals during the Middle Ages.
However, at least one source, says that the tower was named Torre del Oro in 1248, "when Fernando III gave it to an Italian named Nicoloso de la Torre del Oro."
Whichever theory you believe, there's no doubt the tower lives up to its name when it's illuminated at night.
Photo: clspeace via Flickr (CC license)
Église Saint-Eustache—the picturesque Gothic church in Paris' Les Halles section—dates back to 1532 and has been the site of many historic occasions, including the first communion of Louis XIV, the funeral of Mozart's mother and the baptisms of Cardinal Richelieu, legendary playwright Molière and Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the future Madame de Pompadour.
Photo: Following the Equator via Flickr (CC license)
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