the state flower is the beautiful orchid!
The Singapore flag was officially adopted on December 3, 1959. The white crescent represents Singapore as a new nation, the five stars symbolize democracy, equality, justice, peace and progress, while white is representative of the purity and virtue of the people, and red stands for universal brotherhood.
- There’s only three city-states in the world – Monaco, Vatican City and Singapore!
- Singaporeans have the fastest walking speed averaging a distance of 18 meters in 10.55 seconds. That’s approximately 6.15km an hour! And I always thought the Big Apple walked fast.
- Singapore has the highest paid Prime Minister in the world but Mr. Loong took a major cut (down 36%) to a measly $1.7 million!
- Everyone knows about strict litter laws but did you know that you may be caned if you fail to flush the toilet?!
- Caning is a form of corporal punishment still practiced. You must be physically awake for the caning and if you pass out, they will stop the caning and let you heal with more jail time.
- One more to be aware of is connecting to an unsecure wifi is considered hacking and punishable by law. Beware techies!
- There are four official languages in Singapore: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, reflecting the different ethnic make-up of the city.The schools educate children primarily in English, with a small portion of the day in “Mother Tongue” (e.g. if you are Chinese, you learn in Mandarin).
- The lowest minimum recorded temperature ever is Singapore was 68F and that was 80 years ago! This is one HOT spot!