29 Beach Facts That Sound Made Up . . . But are Totally True

Published October 13, 2025

There is a singing sand beach in Japan and a few other places around the world where the sand hums or squeaks when someone walks on it._[1]
The tallest sand castle ever made was 37 feet and 10 inches tall._[1]
The longest beach in the world is Casino Beach in Rio Grande, Brazil._[1]
About 1 in 3 people who visit the beach can't swim._[1]
Some scientists believe that beaches are only temporary._[1]
Shell Beach in Australia consists of trillions of tiny shells._[2]
The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth's surface._[1]

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came."

- John F. Kennedy

The Gulpiyuri beach in Llanes Asturias in Spain is the smallest beach in the world._[1]
Venice Beach, California is ranked as the most dangerous beach in the U.S._[1]
Lady Bay Beach in Sydney Australia is the most famous nudist beach in the world._[1]
Victorians would use horse drawn bathing machines to enter the sea._[1]
The most crowded beach in the world is Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro Brazil._[1]

Copacabana is one of the world's most famous beaches

There are four main types of beaches: barrier beaches, mainland beaches, spits, and pocket beaches._[1]
New Smyrna Beach near Dayton Florida has the most shark attacks in the world._[2]
Cumberland Island is known for its wild horses._[1]
The most photographed beach in the world is Anse Source d' Argent._[1]
Charlton Heston's closing scene in "Planet of the Apes," when he drops on his knees was filmed at Malibu's Pint Dume State Beach._[1]
Most white, sandy beaches are created by the excretion of the parrotfish._[1]

Scientists estimate that over 80% of the sand around tropical coral reefs is parrotfish poop

Most beaches are made up of silica._[1]
Glass beach near Fort Bragg in California is made from glass that was formed from trash. While trash was eventually banned, the glass sand remains. While it is illegal for people to remove glass from the beach, over the years, people have taken so much that pockets of beach have been depleted._[6]
Scientists warn that climate change could destroy 50% of the globe's sandy beaches by the year 2100._[4]
Sandy beaches constitute about 1/3 of global coastlines._[4]
Since Roman times, wealthy people have spent their free time on the beach._[7]

The beach used to be perceived as a place of ship wrecks and disaster. During the Industrial Revolution, all that changed.

During the Industrial Revolution, aristocrats and intellectual elites flocked to the beach for fresh air, exercise, and sea bathing._[7]
The first beach in the U.S. opened on July 12, 1896 in Revere, Massachusetts. Known as Revere Beach, over 45, 000 attended on opening day._[8]
The coldest African American beach resort town in the United States is Highland Beach, Maryland. Charles Douglass, the son of Frederick Douglass established the beach in 1893 with his wife, Laura._[5]
The beach with the most casualties in WW 2 was Omaha Beach._[1]
In 1992, a cargo ship container fell off a ship and dumped 28,000 rubber ducks into the ocean. The bath toys are still washing up on beaches to this day._[3]
In 2012, an intact, albeit rusty, Harley Davidson washed up on the beach of British Columbia, Canada. It is thought that it is from the 1.5 million tons of debris from the Japanese tsunami._[3]