Counter-intuitive or surprising facts (trivia)

[aster]

Canada is larger than America.

I'd vouch that most Europeans don't know that!

CAN 3,855,100 Miles2
USA 3,794,100 Miles2

One of my favourites that a lot of people in the US might not know:

In all his travels and discoveries, Christopher Columbus never stepped foot on what is the present-day US!

[JR8]

'I thought he was on HMS Mayflower, that landed at Wall Street.'



lol...

[zzm9980]

One of my favourites that a lot of people in the US might not know:

Or a lot of people in the US may know. But let's feel free to interject baseless, intentionally biased, and inflammatory supposition that insults Americans wherever we can since it's so trendy and all.

[the lynx]

Did you know that the Malays are as much of immigrants as everyone else is in Malay peninsula and Malay archipelago?

They were descendants of Proto-Malays who arrived after the Senois, who came when Negritos were already inhabiting the lands.

via Imgflip Meme Maker

[JR8]

Did you know that the Malays are as much of immigrants as everyone else is in Malay peninsula and Malay archipelago?

They were descendants of Proto-Malays who arrived after the Senois, who came when Negritos were already inhabiting the lands.

Hmmm, that's interesting. I had mistakenly thought the Sundanese were the proto-Malays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundanese_people

This situation reminds me rather of the West Indies. You have Afro-Caribbean people there, who are descended from African indentured labour. They're only there because the slavers shipped their ancestors there (a parallel to Chinese/Indians in Malaysia?).

So who were the equivalent of the Negritos of the Caribbean? The similarly almost forgotten Arawak... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arawak