A one-way trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway involves crossing 3,901 bridges. Not only is the Trans-Siberian Railway the longest railroad in Russia, but it’s also the longest one in the world. The journey takes seven days, during which time passengers pass through eight different time zones and cross 3,901 bridges.
100 Mind-Blowing Crossing Facts
A Lord of the Rings actor would rather hike up a whole mountain than ride a helicopter. One of the things that makes Lord of the Rings lore so rich is the immersive environment of the story’s settings. While shooting the films, the cast had to fly to remote locations via helicopter. Sean Bean, who plays Boromir (and Ned Stark in Game of Thrones) was afraid of flight, and would only do it if he had no choice. During the shootings for the Fellowship crossing snowy mountains, he’d climb for two hours every morning to get to the set. He would make the climb already dressed as Boromir.
Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to wear tail lights.
Two significant car crashes. On 13 December 1931, Winston Churchill was struck by a car while crossing Fifth Ave in New York City. He had looked the wrong way before crossing the street and was dragged for several yards, sustaining bruises, sprains and cuts. In the same year, a 19-year-old British aristocrat named John Scott-Ellis was driving a red Fiat in Munich and almost hit the future Führer, Adolf Hitler. Scott-Ellis jumped out of his car and apologised, and Hitler only suffered minor bruises. They shook hands, and Scott-Ellis later remarked, ‘For a few seconds, perhaps, I held the history of Europe in my rather clumsy hands. . . [Hitler] was only shaken up, but had I killed him, it would have changed the history of the world.’
Cheese rolling is a sport: Yes, you read it correctly, cheese rolling is a sport. It is estimated that the sport started in the 15th century. Once a year, competitors compete in a cheese rolling competition at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire. During these competitions, participants chase a 3.2-kilogram (7lb) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a steep hill. It is certainly a sport at risk, but it is a tradition not to be missed in the region. The winner, the one crossing the finishing line first, wins the wheel of cheese as their prize.