Dateline Jerusalem — I am fascinated by trivia, especially about Israel. Little known facts, the more obscure the better, captivate my attention, my imagination. The following odd and quirky trivia are in no particular order. Taken as a whole, they say so much about Israeli ingenuity, inventiveness, creativity, innovation, and enterprise. They say a lot about Israel as a people, as a nation, as a land.
Israel is the 100th smallest country in the world, the size of New Jersey. It, and it is can fit into California 19 times, and is half the size of Lake Michigan. It is also 1/6 of 1 percent of the landmass of the Middle East. It is at the junction of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Just 8.7 miles wide at its narrowest point, that is the length of Tel Aviv's beach front. With such a narrow width, no wonder Israel cannot afford to give up any more land and why it is so concerned about its security. Israel spends more money on its security than any other nation in the world spends on security. Israel has less than 1/1000th of the world's population. In relation to population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation in the world. Although Israel's official languages are Hebrew and Arabic, and English is learned in school, more than 80 languages are spoken here.
The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean, making it easy to float but almost impossible to dive into. Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) is the lowest freshwater lake in the world, almost 700 feet below sea level. The largest known cemetery for dogs in the ancient world is in Ashkelon. For humans, the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is the world's oldest continuously used cemetery. Also in Jerusalem, more than one million notes are left in the Kotel (also known as the Waling Wall and Western Wall) each year. Haifa has one of the smallest subway systems in the world – 1½ miles long with four cars. The city of Be'er Sheva has the largest number of chess grandmasters per capita than any city in the world. Tel Aviv is a UNESCO World Heritage site because it has the most Bauhaus buildings in the world. Tel Aviv is also known as the “City that never sleeps.”
Seeing-eye Money
More trivia. An Israeli built the world's first flying car, available for sale next year. Israeli bank notes carry Braille markings to make it easier for the blind to recognize them. Israel was the first country to a ban underweight models on catwalks, and the first country to adopt the use of the Kimberly process, the international standard that certifies diamonds as “conflict free.” Israel receives more media coverage per capita per square mile than any other country in the world. Israel had 34 political parties participating in last year's elections and new elections are to be in March of next year, with who knows how many political parties on the ballot. Over 500 million migrating birds representing 300 species migrate Israeli airspace, giving Israel one of the highest levels of bird traffic in the world. Israel's national bird is the hoopoe and its national flower is the cyclamen persicum.
How Smart?
With respect to culture and education, Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. Israeli academics produce more scientific papers per capita and the highest number of patents per capita. Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books and the highest ratio of college degrees per capita. This is probably because Israel has the highest percentage of home computers per capita in the world and the greatest number of personal computers in Israel are in my city of Rehovot. Israel has the highest percentage of engineers, with 135 engineers per 10,000 persons compared to 85 per 10,000 in the U.S. As for higher education, almost half of all lawyers registered in Israel are women. Israel has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world.
Israel is a leader in technology and medicine. Microsoft has more employees in Israel than it does per capita anywhere in the world. Israel has the highest number of biotech start-ups per capita. Israel developed the cell phone, voicemail technology, instant messaging, and the first antivirus software for computers. Israel was the first to patent and introduce “Disk-On-Key.”
An Israeli-developed algorithm enabled NASA to transmit images from Mars. Israel designed and manufactured the first flight system to protect passenger and freighter aircraft against missile attack. Israeli scientists developed a device that helps restore the use of paralyzed hands, a blood test that diagnoses heart attacks via the telephone, and the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer. It developed the first ingestible video camera that fits inside a pill.
Israel is at the forefront for the environment. It is one of two countries that began the 21st century with a net gain in the number of trees over the prior century. Ninety percent of homes in Israel use solar power to heat water. Eighty-five percent of solid waste in Israel is treated in an environmentally sound manner. Israel developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops. Israel produces 93 percent of its own food requirements, and Israelis consume the third highest amount of vegetables and sweets in the world. Last year, Israel grew the world's largest green pepper, weighing over one pound. Israeli cows produce more milk per capita than almost any other country. Even the glue on Israeli stamps is kosher.
There are too many interesting facts about Israel to describe in one essay.
L'hitraot. Shachar