The first use of poison gas in modern warfare occurred at Ypres in 1915, when Germany released chlorine gas.

The world's first university, the University of Bologna in Italy, was founded in 1088.

Antarctica is technically a desert — it receives less precipitation than the Sahara.

Antarctica is the windiest continent — wind speeds can exceed 200 mph.

The Nile River delta is fertile farmland.

The longest mountain range in the world is the Andes.

Mount Everest is not the closest point to space — that distinction belongs to Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, due to Earth's equatorial bulge.

The Andes mountain range runs along the western edge of South America.

The longest river in the world is often considered to be the Nile.