Ten things you probably didn't know about Africa:

1. The Nile is the longest river in the world, flowing through Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt - if all the bends in the river were straightened out, it would flow from the Equator right up to the Scottish Highlands.
2. Many children in Africa don’t get the chance to go to school. If you grew up in Mali in west Africa, for example, you’d only have a one in three chance of being able to go to primary school. Puts things in perspective rather yes?
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4. Four of the five fastest land animals live in Africa – the cheetah, which can run at an amazing 70 miles per hour, wildebeest, lion and gazelle.
5. Lake Malawi in southern Africa is home to around 500 different types of fish. That’s more than anywhere else in the world! Gosh!
6. Africa is almost an island. Its only connection to other land is the tiny Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
7. Africa is the home of the Human species, which developed there about 5 million years ago.
8. More people are killed in Africa by crocodiles than by lions. We probably should include crocs on our scary stuff page .. oh well, too late!
9. The banjo as we know it originated from a single-string, gourd-bodied African lute (sometimes called the "hodu") which the Griots of West Africa played to accompany storytelling. Now, bet you feel better for knowing that!
10. Only three countries in the world are bigger than the Sahara Desert – Russia, Canada and China. The Kalahari Desert in southern Africa covers an area larger than France.
11. The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace prize winners is in Soweto, South Africa. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses in Vilakazi Street.

Mount Everest (Ultimate Fact Sheet )

Age of Everest:
Everest was formed about 60 million years ago

Elevation:
29,035 (8850m)-found to be 6' higher in 1999

Name in Nepal:
Sagarmatha (means: goddess of the sky)

Named after:
Sir George Everest in 1865, the British surveyor-general of India. Once known as Peak 15

Location:
Latitude 27° 59' N.....Longitude 86° 56' E It's summit ridge separates Nepal and Tibet

First Ascent:
May 29,1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary, NZ and Tenzing Norgay, NP, via the South Col Route

Mt. Everest rises a few milimeters each year due to geological forces

Everest Name:
Sir George Everest was the first person to record the height and location of Mt. Everest, this is where Mt."Everest" got its name from

First Ascent by a Woman:
May 16,1975, Junko Tabei, JAP, via the South-Col

First Oxygenless Ascent:
May 8, 1978- Reinhold Messner, IT, and Peter Habeler, AUT, via the South-East Ridge

First woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both north & south sides:
Cathy O'Dowd (S.A.) South May 25,1996/North '99

Fastest Ascent from South:
Babu Chhiri Sherpa 34, NP-16 hours and 56 minutes (5-21-2000)

Fastest Ascent (north side):
Hans Kammerlander (IT) May,24,1996, via the standard North Col Ridge Route, 16 hours 45 minutes from base camp

Youngest person:
Temba Tsheri (NP) 15 on May,22,2001

Oldest Person:
Sherman Bull May,25,2001 -64 yrs
First Legally Blind Person:
Erik Weihenmeyer May,25,2001

Most Ascents:
Eleven, 24th May 2000 Appa Sherpa became the first person to climb Everest 11 times-Ten, Ang Rita Sherpa, Babu Chiri Sherpa all ascents were oxygen-less.

Best and Worst Years on Everest:
1993, 129 summitted and eight died (a ratio of 16:1); in 1996, 98 summitted and 15 died (a ratio of 6½:1)

Highest cause cause of death:
Avalanches-about a (2:1) ratio over falls

Country with most deaths on mountain:
Nepal-46

Most dangerous area on mountain:
Khumbu Ice Fall-19 deaths

First ski descent:
Davo Karnicar (Slovenia) 10-7-2000

Corpses remaining on Everest:
about 120

Longest stay on top:
Babu Chiri Sherpa stayed at the summit full 21 hours and a half

Largest team:
In 1975, China tackled Everest with a 410-member team.

Fastest descent:
In 1988, Jean-Marc Boivin of France descended from the top in just 11 minutes, paragliding.