Pins — Bite-Sized Travel Facts

Did you know most Icelanders don't have a family last name? Instead, a child's surname is built from a parent's first name plus "-son" or "-dóttir" — so Jón's daughter Anna is Anna Jónsdóttir. Even the phone book is alphabetized by first name, and citizens can only pick from an approved list of given names.

Did you know New Zealand has a hill with an 85-letter name? Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is one of the longest place names on Earth. In Māori it roughly tells the story of Tamatea, a chief who played his flute to a lost love on that very hill.

Did you know roughly 10,000 vermilion torii gates wind up the mountain at Kyoto's Fushimi Inari shrine? Each gate was donated by a person or business hoping for good fortune, and their names are inscribed on the back. The tunnels of orange gates stretch for about 2.5 mi or 4 km.