Interesting Facts

Weekly listening practice based on fun and interesting facts in easy English. Try the gap-fill exercises and comprehension quizzes.

Preferred Gender Pronouns

The Suffix –stan Means Land

Pollyanna the Russian Reindeer

Black Friday is Also Buy Nothing Day

International Pilots Require English Proficiency

All Roads Lead To Rome

An American Football Game Has 11 Minutes of Action

A Day on Venus is Longer Than a Year on Venus

Alexander Graham Bell Preferred “Ahoy” To “Hello”

Tortoises And Turtles

Accessible Currency for the Blind

Pumpkin is a Term of Endearment

Timbuktu is a Real City

Spelling Errors in the US Constitution

Luxury Cars Abandoned at Dubai Airport

Lamborghini Started as a Tractor Company

Gaudy Does Not Come from Gaudí

The Diomede Islands: Tomorrow Island & Yesterday Isle

Ramparts Are Protective Barriers

Frogs Were Used In Pregnancy Tests

Allspice is a Single Spice

English is Jamaica’s Official Language

How To Name An Octopus

Canada is Twice the Size of the European Union

Canadian Police Hand Out Positive Tickets

The First Ambulance Wheels Were Feet

Photographers Line Up For Manhattanhenge

New York City Was Once New Amsterdam

The Limit of the Human Memory

Six Feet Under Means Departed

Da Vinci’s Rule of the Trees

“Q” is the Second Least Common Letter

Habitat Loss is the Leading Cause of Extinction

Spring Fever is a Real Condition

The Difference Between White and Brown Eggs

Sarcasm Means To Tear Flesh

The Birthmark Theory

Shrink Is Slang for Psychiatrist

The Cover That Came Before the Book

Pica Means Magpie

Owls Fly Silently

Juliet Receives Heartbroken Letters

Twitter Was Born from a Hackathon

Dolphins Get High on Puffer Fish

Air Rage Is Common in China

Fingernails Grow Faster Than Toenails

A Disaster Was a Bad Star

Santa’s Reindeer Must Be Female

Shortbread Means Crumbly Bread

Boy’s Kite Helps Build Niagara Bridge

Ben Franklin and the Turkey

Airplane Mode Saves Your Battery

Feathers Were More Valuable Than Gold

Windowless Airplanes

The Word “Scissors” is a Defective Noun

Keep Calm And Carry On

How the Ampersand Got its Name

Trailers Used To Come After the Film

Wisdom Teeth Don’t Make You Smarter

An English Breakfast Is A Full Breakfast

One World Trade Center Stands 1,776 Feet High

Switzerland Has A Square Flag

Caffeine Is A Natural Pesticide

“Spaghetti” Means Little Strings

Bangkok Is Sinking

“Hen” Is A Swedish Gender-Neutral Pronoun

A Novel Without The Letter “E”

Bees Are Neat Freaks

Goody Two-Shoes Was A Goody-Goody

Cat Cafés Are On The Rise

Finnish Babies Sleep In Boxes

The Birthday Paradox

New Technology Prevents Ghost Goals at World Cup

The Recycling Symbol Is In The Public Domain

The King Of Fruit Is Stinky

Crocodiles Tear Up While Eating

Vultures Aren’t Just Ugly Birds

A Pretzel Is A Little Reward

“Nice” Hasn’t Always Been Nice

Squirrels Don’t Like Daffodils

Egg Decorating Is Serious Business In Ukraine

A Black Box Is Actually Orange

The Great Fire Of London Had Few Recorded Casualties

Einstein Was Born On Pi Day

The Word ‘Verb’ Is A Noun

Dr. Seuss Was Not a Doctor

A Road Built From Unsold Books

Humans Share 99% Of The Same DNA

Olympic Gold Medals Are Made Of Silver

Valentine Comes From The Word Valour

A Caruncle Helps You See

Figure Skaters Do Get Dizzy

The Army That Saved The Olympics

Red is The First Colour A Baby Sees

Martha Was The Last Passenger Pigeon

Engaging The 5 Senses With Wine

Tiny Tim Was Originally Little Fred

“Serendipity” Is Difficult To Translate

The Verb “Run” Has The Most Definitions

“Selfie” Is The Word Of The Year

Charlie Chaplin’s Moustache Was Fake

Race Car Is A Palindrome

Bats Aren’t Blind

The Halloween Capital Of The World

Applesauce Is A Substitute For Oil

“Netherlands” Means Low-Lying Lands

An Asterisk Is A Little Star

Honey Does Not Go Bad

The Swing At The End Of The World

PPS Stands For Post Postscript

A Traffic Jam That Lasted Ten Days

Themed Restaurant True To Its Name

Smithsonian Donor Never Visited America

Cows Have Accents

Shark Attacks Are Rare

The Language Of Whistling

“Nail House” Is A Neologism

The Spanish Flu Did Not Originate In Spain

A Man Was Buried Inside A Pringles Can

Two US Presidents Died on Independence Day

A Myth About Monarchs

Body Doubles Do More Than Stunts

Bill Gates Credits ‘Think Week’ For Success

Cicadas Spend Most of Their Lives Underground

The Dead Sea Is A Lake

Basements Are Rare In Tornado Alley

Preventing “The Bends” In Spacewalks

Peacocks Are Always Male

Mr. Bean Saves The Day

A Boat That Lived Up To Her Name

Yawning Is A Form Of Communication

Three Dogs Survived the Titanic

Jumbo The Elephant

You Need ID To Buy Gum In Singapore

The Evolution Of The Military Salute

A Dentist Invented “Cotton Candy”

Uppercase And Lowercase

The First Coupon

The Stamp Without A Name

Roses And Apples Are Related

The Vein Of Love

The Colour Orange Was Named After The Fruit

Your Brain Feels No Pain