9 world facts that people get wrong

Some common “facts” that everybody thinks they know about the world aren’t actually true.

Think back to learning about geography in school.

Did you ever question the “facts” that you were taught, or did you take them as gospel because you thought you wouldn’t be taught incorrect information?

Prepare to be shocked when you read the following list as you are about to discover that at least ten of those geographical “facts” that you believed to be true are false.

From the Nile Rivernot being the world’s longest river to Geneva not actually being the capital of Switzerland, you are about to question everything about the world that you thought you knew.

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You can’t actually see The Great Wall of China from space. Picture: iStock

1. You can see The Great Wall of China from space.

Although The Great Wall of China is “frequently billed as the only man-made object visible from space”, the Chinese landmark cannot be seen in space without a camera according to NASA.

The Statue of Liberty is actually located in New Jersey. Picture: iStock

2. The Statue of Liberty is located in New York.

Not quite. The famous statue which was assembled in 1875 is geographically located in New Jersey waters. However, the sculpture is technically “a part” of New York because the Supreme Court refused to strip the statue of its status as a New Yorker back in 1987.

The Amazon River is about 105 kilometres longer than the River Nile in Egypt. Picture: iStock

3. The Nile River is the world’s longest river.

This is false too. After a 14-day expedition, Brazilian scientists found that the Amazon River is 6800 kilometres long, while The Nile is only 6695 kilometres long.

Toronto isn’t the capital city of Canada. Ottawa is. Picture: Getty

4. The capital city of Canada is Toronto.

Wrong again! Ottawa is actually the Canadian capital.

Queen Victoria picked Ottawa as it was a fair distance from Canada’s border with the United States of America, the central point between Montreal and Toronto, and was along the border of Quebec and Ontario.

Is Iceland made of ice? Picture: Getty

5. Iceland is made of “ice” and Greenland is all “green”.

Don’t be fooled by the names of these countries, Iceland isn’t literally made of ice and Greenland isn’t coloured green.

Legend has it that Norse explorer Erik the Red – who was exiled from Iceland – named the land he found, Greenland, because he wanted more people to live there.

Iceland is said to have been named by a Norwegian called Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson who climbed a mountain only to see the next fjord (body of water) full of icebergs.

Although Geneva is a tourist hotspot, it is not the Swiss capital. Picture: Getty

6. Geneva is the capital of Switzerland.

Incorrect! Contrary to popular opinion, Geneva is not the Swiss capital. Switzerland does not officially have a capital but the city of Bern is considered its de facto capital.

Surprisingly, Mount Everest isn’t the tallest mountain in the world. Picture: Getty

7. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.

If you ask people around the globe to tell you the name of the world’s tallest mountain, they will probably say “Mount Everest”.

Unfortunately, that’s not right with Mauna Kea in Hawaii being 1116 metres taller from base to peak than Mount Everest (8849 metres).

Mount Everest’s peak is the highest altitude above sea level in the world though.

Deserts don’t always need to be hot and sandy. Picture: Getty

8. Antarctica is not a desert.

Did you learn that every desert needs to be hot and sandy like the Sahara? It doesn’t.

Deserts can also be covered in ice like Antarctica provided they receive little rain.

Antarctica is the world’s largest and coldest desert spanning a whopping 14.2 million square kilometres.

The map shows what parts should be referred to as the United Kingdom and Great Britain. Picture: Encyclopaedia Brittanica

9. Great Britain and the United Kingdom are the same.

Given that The Queen is currently Australia’s head of state and most of us know the names of the British Royals by heart, it’s about time that we all learn that the terms “Great Britain” and the “United Kingdom” are not synonymous.

The term “Great Britain” consists of England, Scotland and Wales. Whereas, the “United Kingdom” (its full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is made up of all of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.