The Phoenicians created the world's first alphabetic writing system, the ancestor of most modern alphabets.

The word 'nerd' was first used in a Dr. Seuss book in 1950.

Machu Picchu was never discovered by Spanish conquistadors — it was abandoned around 1572 and remained unknown to the outside world until 1911.

The Hawaiian language has only 13 letters — 5 vowels and 8 consonants.

The Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters.

The Basque language of northern Spain is a language isolate — it has no known relatives anywhere in the world.

Some languages mark grammatical distinctions English lacks — such as whether the speaker knows something directly or by report.

The first novel ever written in English is generally considered to be 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719.

Sign languages are complete, independent languages — American Sign Language and British Sign Language are mutually unintelligible.