Japan's real name translates into the Land of the rising Sun

The official name of Japan is Nihon or Nippon
The red circle in the middle of the flag represents the sun meaning brightness, sincerity and warmth, and the white represents honesty, purity.

This amazing country constitutes of more than 3000 islands! And there are 3 main religions in Japan: Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity.
The head of the country is an emperor while the chief of the government is the prime minister.
The highest mountain in Japan is Mount Fuji which is an active volcano.
Japan experiences around 3 mild earthquakes per day and still they are the largest automobile producer in the world! :-)
Life expectancy in Japan is one of the longest in the world!

Chicago is full of Polish folks

After Warsaw, the capital of Poland, Chicago is the most crowded city of Polish population! Na zdrowie!

A few facts about Poland:
Poland is famous for: its beautiful women, stuffed cabbages (Golabki), central location between Soviets and Nazis, being one of the most largest and significant home of Jewish community, pope John Paul II, and recently for the Katyn disaster.

From Moronail.net

Antarctica doesn't belong to any country

Yes, no country owns Antarctica. Why?
There are no permanent residents in Antarctica. Only researchers go there for a few months a year to conduct various studies.
On average, Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent and has an annual precipitation of 200 mm (~8 inches) which makes it considered a desert. Its humidity level is lower than Gobi desert's!

90% of ice on Earth is in Antarctica and it also represents 70% of the fresh water.

Only cold resistant species survive the conditions there, such as penguins, mites, seals and many kinds of algae.

Expression "to get fired" was literally real long time ago

Apparently in the past, when a clan no longer wanted a member in it, they would burn down his/her house. This is where the expression "to get fired" originates from.
I didn't do a lot investigation on this fact... Feel free to confirm or deny it!

There are no natural lakes in Ohio

All lakes in Ohio are man-made! The state has over 2,500 lakes that are bigger than 8Km2. Here are some townships where you can find lakes in Ohio: Israel, Miami, Marseilles, Oxford, Hanover etc. Copycats!

More details on the Wikipedia article here.