Netherlands is known worldwide for its tulip gardens, canals, cheese, and windmills. The country boasts to have some of the most scenic country side. No wonder it always tend to occupy place in every travelers list. But if you want to know the fun and the surprising side of the Netherlands, you are at the right place. There is a lot about Netherlands you might know even if you have travelled there.
In this blog we have listed interesting, fun and bizarre facts about Netherlands. So you can be prepared to talk about the country with your friends or family, while trying to persuade them for a trip.
1 – Dutch people are known to be the tallest in the world. The average height of Dutch male is 183.8 cm, while the average height of Dutch female is 170.7 cm.
2 – Dutch people are known to consume licorice more than any other country in the world. It is estimated that around 32 million kilograms of Licorice is eaten by Dutch people annually.
3 – Netherlands is only next to Mexico for being the second largest exporter of beer. We all are familiar with the popular drink Heineken and it’s a Dutch brand.
4 – We all have seen the map of Europe, and we might not know where every country is located, but we can all figure out how small Netherlands is. But the fact is that Netherlands is still the world’s second biggest exporter of food. As per estimation 70% of the world’s entire bacon comes from Netherlands.
5 – We all have heard about the popular cannabis coffee shops of Netherlands. Yes you can consume cannabis here, but the coffee shops are supposed to follow certain rules. Technically it’s not fully legalized but you can keep it for personal use and below 5 grams.
6 – In the town of Weesp there is a small village named Hogeweyk which is known to be built to take care of elderly people that suffer from dementia. It is believed to have a staff of 250 healthcare professionals.
7 – Netherlands is the biggest exporters of Tulip. But Tulip was never native to Netherlands. It was introduced to Dutch people by the Ottoman Empire. It is estimated that 90% of the world’s entire Tulip grown land is in Netherlands. It produces 4.3 million tulip bulbs annually.
8 – The electric train network in Netherlands is all powered by renewable wind energy. Yes it is not a small rail network and caters to 600,000 people on a day to day basis.
9 – In Netherlands there more number of bicycles than the number of people. It is estimated that for every person there are 1.3 bicycles. It is a part of their culture and daily lifestyle.
10 – Bluetooth was invented by a Dutch engineer, in 1994 while he was working with Ericsson. The technology is so widely used that it is estimated to be present in 3 billion devices worldwide.
11 – Amsterdam is popular for its canals and we have all seen it in the pictures floating around us. It is home to 165 canals that are 100 kilometers long. Also there are estimated 1200 bridges in Amsterdam.
12 – The first ever civilian airport constructed in Europe was in Netherlands and was named Waalhaven. Earlier it was used for Cargo, but later people used it to take a quick tour of Rotterdam. The airport no longer exists as it was razed down by the Nazis in world war 2.
13 – Almost one third of the Netherlands is under the sea level. In fact the term Netherlands means the low lands. The lowest point in Netherlands is 6.7 meter down the sea level.
14 – The first ever stock market in the world was Amsterdam Stock exchange and it was opened in 1602. It was incepted and founded by Dutch East India company was the first place to trade company stocks.
15 – Only few people know this but the city of Amsterdam is built above a bog. All the establishments and houses of Amsterdam are supported by wooden poles. There are 11 million such poles.
16 – Cassette tapes and CD’s were invented by Dutch engineer, Lou Ottens, while working with Philips. The cassette tapes were invented in 1960 while the CD in 1979.
17 – In the city of Utrecht more than 316 bus stops have Bee sanctuaries. It was a step taken for bio diversity. They work like a bus stop but also have plants and flowers, and even LED lights for energy efficiency.
18 – Netherlands has many narrow buildings, the reason is not some aesthetics of the country, but back in the day if you had wider homes you were supposed to pay more tax. So it was for tax cutting.
19 – The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander has a passion for flying planes. It was in 2017 that he revealed that he has been flying for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for more than 20 years.
20 – Gin was first invented in Netherlands and the history goes back to 16th century when the Dutch people used it for treating stomach aches.
21 – The Rotterdam police has started the practice of using rats for sniffing drugs, since 2013, as Rats are supposed to have a great sense of smelling. They are named after popular detectives.
22 – De Drie Gezusters (The Three Sisters) is the name of the biggest pub of Europe. It is estimated to have the capacity to hold 3750 people at a time. Now that is what we call a big pub.
23 – Netherlands also has some of the highest rates of home birth in the world. Around 30% of Dutch children get delivered in home. The reason being health insurance not always cover hospital delivery cost, but covers home births.
24 – Carrots were originally purple, pale yellow or white. But when Dutch won independence from Spain in 17th century, the farmers honored it by breeding and making the carrots orange. Yes we should all thank the Dutch people of keeping the carrots orange.
25 – Netherlands is one of the happiest countries in the world. It has maintained its spot in the top ten countries for several years consecutively. It is believed that Dutch people have a high quality of life.
Netherlands is a place in hearts!
