Fun Facts – 20 January 2016

Fun fact red stamp text on white

Fun fact red stamp text on white

  • More people die in New Zealand each year playing lawn bowls than scuba diving.
  • NZ is home to more species of penguins than any other country.
  • New Zealand is similar in size to the UK, but only has a population of about 4 million (compared to 63 million in the UK).
  • About one third of NZ is protected national park.
  • NZ is the least corrupt nation in the world (tied with Denmark), according to the Corruptions Perception Index.
  • In 1990, the NZ prime minister appointed a National Wizard.
  • NZ high schools and universities are permitted to keep a pound of uranium or thorium for educational purposes.
  • From 1867 to 1927, the government planned ahead for shipwrecks by building supply-filled huts on remote islands.
  • New Zealand is the only country in the world where all the highest positions have been simultaneously held by women: In 2006, the Queen, the Governor-General, the PM, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice were all women.
  • The man who pioneered plastic surgery, Harold Gillies, was a Kiwi.