Characterized by modern-looking buildings and blossoming vegetation, as well as a fast-walking zippy population the majority of which is at least bilingual, Singapore represents a curious city-state that certainly has no shortage of peculiarities.

In this article, we’ve compiled a list o’ 6 cool facts you might find interesting about this world-renown metropolis! Without further ado, here’s what we’ve got:

1) The Curious Case of a City-State

Surely one of the weirdest parts about Singaporean rich heritage is that the entire country is comprised of only one city- the city of Singapore. Having been ruled over by the British, then briefly Japanese (during the Second World War), then the British again, and then Malaysia (from which it was rather unceremoniously thrown out), the people of Singapore saw no other option than to establish their own country. Thus, the nation proceeded to declare its independence on August the 9^th, 1965. (Even though its territorial expanse was restricted to only one city.)

Curiously, this makes Singapore one of the three remaining city-states in the world today, the other two being Monaco and the Vatican City.

2) Gait as fast as a Bumblebee’s Flight!

Whether it’s because the dense traffic makes everyone run about in hope of not being late (or otherwise run over by a bus), or the structure of our legs is quite different, but it turns out that Singaporeans are the fastest walkers on Earth!

According to some research carried out by the British Council, a healthy Singaporean can cover the distance of 18 meters in 10.55 seconds, which is just under 4 mph! There’s no stopping these people any time soon. To put this into perspective- 4 mph for a walking gait is light speed pretty much, folks. Way too fast.

3) A Language Savvy Population

If you’re an avid language learner, venturing into any of Singapore’s public places with plenty of chatty people will make you feel like you’re a kid in a candy store. It’s a paradise for folks who fancy studying the languages of Southeast Asia, really.

There are 4 official languages in this city-state, one of which mercifully happens to be English! The other three are Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil. As we’ve already stated, most of the population of Singapore speaks English and some of the remaining three (or perhaps all of them), so you can pick up a new language with ease if you just take your time to talk with the friendly locals!

4) Its Name is Oddly Misleading and Downright Wrong

Once upon a time in the ancient lands of the Far East, there lived a prince called Sang Nila Utama. Otherwise bright and displaying a multitude of talents, the young Sang did find its art lessons too hard, for alas, his was not the blessing of a regal eyesight. Upon observing a painting or a stark canvas, his youthful gaze would struggle so! Consider, kind Sire! Gracious Dame!

Oh, the daily struggles of his royal pursuits. Oh, do imagine his loo visits. Imagine the horribly soiled knicker…  Erhm, alright that may be enough of the backstory.

The thing is, having visited the yet-unnamed island of Singapore, the prince Sang thought he saw a lion in the dark and decided to name the newly-found land ‘Singapura’ which means Lion City in Sanskrit. Of course, there were never any lions in Singapore, hence the confusion.

P.S. We don’t know if the prince really had bad eyesight, we made the story for purposes of online entertainment and Internet-bound leisure.

5) Its State-City Symbol is Half-Valid (but otherwise quite Beautiful)

When it comes to the historical monuments and the folklore of the Singaporean people, it’d be fair to say that quite a lot of it was affected by the aforementioned cheeky nomenclatural mistake.

For example, if you take a look at the Merlion, Singapore’s national monument, you will see that it’s half lion and half fish- a curious combination of animals only one of which can be found indigenously near the island of Singapore. (We mean the fish, if you’re still uncertain. The lion was imported in a box later on.) Still, a magnificent statue and a worthy symbol for all the people of Singapore!

6) The People of Singapore Can Showcase Their Lion in a State-of-the-Art Nighttime Zoo!

Just to make it clear, we’re not implying that the nation of Singapore has only one very old lion for display. Singaporean zoological prowess goes back decades and the zoos in this country have probably had many many lions so far. (Well, certainly more than one.)

What is quite unique to this city-state is the fact that Singapore has become home to the world's first nighttime zoo, which offers a tour called Night Safari! If you decide to take this tour, you can not only see the lions but also many other exotic animals, as well as neon lights and many other exciting things.

All things considered, Singapore is surely one of the most exciting and exotic locations in the world. Whether you like it for its fast-paced modern-day lifestyle (and fairly quick people, as well), or you fancy paying your respects to their world-renown lion-fish monument, visiting this enchanting city-state is a must for any adventure-bound globetrotter!