#StrangePlanet: Travel Trivia
April 10, 2015
Truth is stranger than fiction.
Here are five travel factoids to help prove it:
Worldly Wall: The base of Chicago’s Tribune Tower contains fragments of some 150 iconic sites around the world, including the Taj Mahal.
Shaky Start: The handshake goes back at least as far as ancient Greece, but the Chinese have made it a form of physical endurance, often pumping hands for several minutes.
Rotten Luck: Diners need to be as bold as Vikings to enjoy Icelandic hákarl, or rotten shark meat—traditionally prepared by burying the flesh of a Greenland shark for months to get rid of the toxic urea. Served in cubes on toothpicks, the odorous hákarl repels even some Icelanders.
Dancing Queen: Ninety percent of the disco balls made in the United States each year come from Louisville, Kentucky.
Who’s Driving: At 32.4 miles, Dubai’s Metro line ranks as the world’s longest stretch of driverless metro rail.
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