1Bruce Simpson
In 2003, a New Zealand engineer named Bruce Simpson designed a $5,000 cruise missile using off the shelf parts sourced from the Internet. Despite being entirely legal, his project was shut down by the government.
2New Zealand badminton team
The New Zealand badminton team were called the "Black Cocks" however The International Badminton Federation (IBF) found the name hard to swallow and made them change it.
3New Zealand parliament
The Parliament of New Zealand keeps an official list of "unparliamentary language", that is, insults/obscenities its members have used through the years that were not considered appropriate, such as "His brains could revolve inside a peanut shell for a thousand years without touching the sides."
4Mountain name
There is a mountain named Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu in New Zealand. Its name translates to "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his nose flute to his loved one."
5James Ward
New Zealand Victoria Cross recipient James Ward, won it for actions during a raid over Germany on 7 July 1941. When his aircraft was set on fire, Ward crawled out onto the wing, several thousand feet in the air, and smothered the flames out. The bomber made it back
6New Zealand
New Zealand is a small piece of the 8th continent Zealandia. It is known as a drowned continent.
7Disappointment Island
Disappointment Island is an uninhabited island in New Zealand. In 1868, a steel tanker crashed on the island which killed 68 people, leaving the 15 survivors waiting 18 months to be rescued. In 1907, another ship ended up crashing there and 12 men drowned.
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8Shark
A shark at a New Zealand aquarium was discovered to be pregnant when another shark attacked her and 4 baby sharks emerged from the open wound. Staff were surprised and found 4 more babies in her. If she’d given birth at night, then her babies would have been eaten alive by other sharks.
9Cromwell Chafer
On a small field outside of the town of Cromwell in the South Island of New Zealand is a beetle called the Cromwell Chafer (Prodontria lewisi). The beetle is found nowhere else on the planet. The entire species can be found on an 81-hectare nature reserve.
10Rivers and lakes
In Auckland, New Zealand, 62% of the rivers and lakes are graded as poor by the Ministry for the Environment for swimming, and 0% of the rivers and lakes are graded as good.
