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10 Cool Facts About Los Angeles

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Los Angeles is one of the most popular cities in the world, and you probably already know a thing or two about it and its geography. It's home to Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, it's a celebrity hot spot, the traffic is bad and it has some really cool beaches. However, there's much more to the city than that. Check out these cool facts:

The Film Industry

You already know the film industry is big in Los Angeles, but do you know why? You can think inventor Thomas Edison for that. The New Jersey businessman had over 1,000 film patents and attempted to monopolize the industry, driving filmmakers west.

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Luxury and Lima Beans

Today, Beverly Hills is a glamorous little spot where the rich and famous residents of Los Angeles and tourists from around the world come to shop at high-end boutiques. It's almost hard to believe that it started out as a simple lima bean farm.

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LA Laws

If you see a toad in Los Angeles, don't try to lick it. Apparently, that's against the law. It's also against the law to herd more than 2,000 sheep down Hollywood Boulevard and to wear a zoot suit, aCC0rding to Mental Floss. And if you have two children under the age of two, don't bathe them in the same bathtub, as that's also against the law.

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Oil Fields

Los Angeles produced about a quarter of the world's oil supply by 1923, aCC0rding to Mental Floss. Even though Texas has a reputation for being the place for big oil in the U.S., Los Angeles still has the third-largest oil field in the country. It was discovered near Dodger Stadium in 1892. There are still several other active oil fields, too, particularly in the Beverly Hills area.

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LAX

Behind Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, LAX is the second-busiest airport in the country. It's the fourth-busiest airport in the world. The airport was originally used for military crafts during World War II.

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Mulholland Drive

If you've ever wondered who the iconic Mulholland Drive was named for, wonder no more. It was named for William Mulholland, the man who ran the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power during the early 1900s. If you live in the city today and have water and power, you can thank him.

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Cars

Los Angeles has more cars than people, aCC0rding to Jack FM. As a matter of fact, cars take up a little less than one quarter of all land space in the city. No wonder traffic in town is always congested.

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The Name

Los Angeles hasn't always been called Los Angeles. Its original name was the much longer "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles sobre el Rio Porciuncula." In Spanish, that means "the town of our lady queen of the angels on the Porciuncula River," aCC0rding to Mental Floss. Luckily, it's been shortened to something that's much easier to say.

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Diversity

Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the world. Over 135 languages are spoken among the city's residents, reports Jack FM. It's also home to the largest Thai population beyond Thailand.

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Underground LA

Few people realize that Downtown Los Angeles sits on top of a large series of underground tunnels. They were used during Prohibition to illegally transport alcohol from once place to another.