International exchange programs

The most isolated place on Earth in terms of Western civilization is the Hawaiian Islands, 3,700 kilometers from the nearest landmass (the U.S. mainland). It’s also one of the most isolated places in the world in general. Maybe that’s why Hawaii has the highest life expectancy in the U.S.—82 years. In Mississippi, by contrast, life expectancy may not be worse, but it’s much lower—only 75 years.

Hawaii’s national fish is called Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, which, in Russian, translates to the much duller “ugly-tail triggerfish.”

The tallest mountain on the planet is Mauna Kea, if measured from its base (10,203 meters), not from sea level (4,205 meters). The majority of the volcano is underwater. Meanwhile, the Waialeale volcano holds the title for the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,684 mm, and a record of 16,916 mm in 1992. For comparison, the average annual rainfall in Riga is just under 700 mm. Nearby is the largest active volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa, which is only 36 meters shorter than Mauna Kea.

On the night of Sunday, November 27, 2022, the volcano erupted for the first time since 1984, flooding the caldera at its summit with lava. By November 28, lava fountains were erupting along cracks, with most reaching several meters in height, and the tallest ones reaching 30-60 meters.

Did you know that the person on the American $100 bill was never a president? That’s Benjamin Franklin, one of the leaders of the American Revolutionary War, the only Founding Father who signed all three critical historical documents that form the foundation of the United States as an independent nation: the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris 1783.

The mountain with the longest place name in the world is located on the North Island of New Zealand. Its name, Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, can be translated from Māori as “The summit of the hill where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed, and swallowed mountains, known as the land-eater, played his nose flute for his loved one.”

The name consists of 85 letters and is listed in the Guinness World Records. Locals often refer to the hill simply as “Taumata.”

Here are some curious laws with a century-long history in some U.S. states. Time has passed, but the laws remain… In Colorado, men are prohibited from kissing sleeping women. In Wisconsin, men are forbidden from shooting at women during their orgasm. In some U.S. states, such as Arizona, Indiana, and New York, a visible erection through clothing in public places is considered illegal. You can be fined—and even jailed—for it. In one Oregon city, men are not allowed to swear during sex.

In Death Valley, the driest and hottest place on Earth, there are over 15 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 44 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians, 13 species of fish, and 545 species of plants.

450 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America, Central Asian scholar and encyclopedist Abu Rayhan Biruni, who lived in the 11th century, confidently predicted the existence of this continent.

Of the 18 million Australians, over 4 million arrived in Australia in the last 50 years.

The world’s northernmost city with a population over one million is St. Petersburg, while the closest to the equator is Singapore.