David K. Israel
Tuesday Turnip
by David K. Israel - September 15, 2009 - 8:30 AM
bloghead_tuesdayturnip1

In case you’re not familiar with the Turnip, it’s a whimsical Google search, wherein I type a random phrase and we see what kind of interesting pages “turn-up.” As always with this feature, the _floss is not responsible for accuracy. If you know one of the below statements/links to be untrue, by all means, let the world know in the comments below.

Today I typed “the only country” into Google, unearthing the following:

Turnip #1

Picture 2The Only Country In The World Without Coins For Currency [is] Laos.

Turnip #2

Picture 3 The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Norway, and Sweden are the only countries in which the legal status of same-sex marriages are exactly the same as that of opposite-sex marriages, though South Africa is due to fully harmonize its marriage laws.

Turnip #3

Picture 4Poland is the only country in the world to invoke Napoleon in its national anthem.

Turnip #4

Picture 5Iran is the only country in the world that requires both men and women to take a class on modern contraception before receiving a marriage license.

Turnip #5

Picture 6The only country to have a Bible on their national flag… [is] the Dominican Republic.

Turnip #6

Picture 7What is the only country named after a Biblical king? The Solomon Islands.

Turnip #7

Picture 8Malaysia is the only country in the world which gives monthly allowance to fishermen.

Turnip #8

Picture 9America is the Only Country Whose Labor Day Holiday is in September.

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (18)

  1. Boy, is #8 off. There’s at least 1 other country, just north of the US, that has their Labor Day (or Labour Day) holiday on the SAME DAY: that would be Canada. There’s another one, just east of the US: Bermuda. All three hold theirs on the first Monday in September.

    posted by SomeGuy on 9-15-2009 at 8:46 am

  2. 8 is wrong. Canada’s Labour Day is the same.

    posted by dimwit on 9-15-2009 at 8:48 am

  3. I guess that day I had off last week was my imagination! Maybe it’s because we Canadians spell it with a U (Labour Day! : )

    posted by Sheila on 9-15-2009 at 9:16 am

  4. Or is it that Canada isn’t a country – just a state of mind?

    posted by RobertSeattle on 9-15-2009 at 11:07 am

  5. Putting aside that Labour Day is a holiday that originated in Canada and that we celebrate it in September, Bermuda observes labour day in September as well.

    posted by Jon on 9-15-2009 at 11:38 am

  6. Word on the street is that #8 may be a bit off. I heard somewhere something about Canada. Not sure if the rumors are true.

    posted by EMStoveken on 9-15-2009 at 1:59 pm

  7. Did anybody look into when Canada’s labor day is?

    posted by David on 9-15-2009 at 4:14 pm

  8. When you live on a Canadian border, Canada isn’t really a different country… it’s more like another part of the states, except you have to have a chat with border guard.

    posted by Amy on 9-15-2009 at 5:10 pm

  9. Yeah, like another part of the states. Except for the public health care and gay marriage. But those are being nationally embraced down there with no problems or protest, right?

    posted by Erik on 9-15-2009 at 5:25 pm

  10. Take that back Amy. I mean it, take that back now! As a Canadian I am highly offended. Seriously.

    posted by Amanda on 9-15-2009 at 5:40 pm

  11. Just putting on 2 more cent: A friend of mine was in Nova Scotia recently and said that Labour Day was on a Monday.

    posted by Don Reed on 9-15-2009 at 6:17 pm

  12. Oops, that should have been two more cents, not cent.

    posted by Don Reed on 9-15-2009 at 6:19 pm

  13. #1 might be a bit off too, might be getting too technical, but Andorra has no currency at all (of its own), though it uses the Euro as its de facto currency.

    posted by Chris on 9-15-2009 at 8:08 pm

  14. Why is everybody hating on Canada? They sent troops to the mid east, health care is free, marijuana is merely frowned upon(allegedly), the hookers are cheap but hot(allegedly),Ice hockey, the beer is good and they gave us Rachel McAdams. Canada’s alright in my book.

    posted by CJ on 9-15-2009 at 8:24 pm

  15. Yeh Canada is alright but im still waiting for an apology for releseing Celine Dion on the world.

    posted by Hf on 9-15-2009 at 11:48 pm

  16. I agree that Canada is awesome… and of course the two (personally) most interesting facts are the only ones with technical errors, but they’re still good to know. But thanks for the chuckles canadians v. americans:)

    posted by Kelly on 9-16-2009 at 1:27 am

  17. canada’s labor day is the first monday of September as well.
    and canada is waay better than america.

    posted by rachel on 9-16-2009 at 12:53 pm

  18. Hey! Did anyone mention that Canada has its labo(u)r day in September as well???

    Oh. Like, 75 of you did… Nevermind.

    Wait! What about Bermuda?!?!?

    Oh…

    posted by PJ on 9-25-2009 at 1:50 pm

Comment

commenting policy