50 Curious Maps That May Not Keep You From Getting Lost, But Can Still Teach You Something

Many of you likely clicked on this article for the interesting trivia, so here are a few more. Did you know that the tallest mountain in the world isn’t Mount Everest?

It is actually Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, which stands 33,500 feet (10,210 meters) above sea level when measured from the seafloor. It is technically taller by 4,471 feet, but since measurements are done above sea level, its official height is 13,796 (4,205 meters). Mount Everest stands at 29,029 feet (8,848 meters).

The Vatican may be referred to as a city, but it is actually the country in the world. It became a sovereign state in 1929 and is approximately one-eighth the size of NYC’s Central Park, with a total area of around 0.17 square miles (0.49 square kilometers). 

As of 2025, the population in the Vatican is 764. It is also one of the last two countries (along with the Philippines) where divorce is illegal.

Los Angeles, as we all know it today, had a much longer name. Back in its founding in 1781, the “City of Angels” was called “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula.” 

In English, it means “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula.” Los Angeles became the city’s official name in 1850, which became much easier to say.

Global franchises like McDonald’s and Starbucks are both American-born, which makes it easy to assume that every corner in the country has at least one branch. However, there is actually one city where neither of these two franchises is present. 

That place is the city of Montpelier, the capital of the state of Vermont. It is also the smallest US capital.

There was a time in history when Canada’s population was smaller than that of California. In 2016, Canada reached a population of 36 million, a first in the country’s history. Meanwhile, California’s population at the time was 38.9 million. 

Canada has since surpassed “The Golden State” in terms of residents, as recent statistics reveal an estimated population of over 40 million. California’s current estimated population, on the other hand, is 39.6 million.