Time for a list. And why not some random facts from our home in the Gulf.

1. The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi claims that 5 kg of pure edible gold is used at the hotel per year, mostly on desserts. Five kilograms is 10.1 pounds. At this writing, gold costs $1,648 per ounce. Thus, annually, $268,000 of gold is eaten, at Emirates Palace. The hotel also is known for its lobby ATM which dispenses gold bars.

2. Of the 7 million people living in the UAE, fewer than 1 million are citizens.

3. A gold-plated iPad with 64 gigs of memory will go on sale soon at a jewelry store in Dubai. Price tag: 20,198 dirhams, or $5,499.

4. In nearly 2.5 years here, I have yet to see a coin on the ground. And the smallest commonly circulated coin is worth 25 fils (100 fils make 1 dirham), and 25 fils is worth about 7 US cents.

5. One of the seven grounds for capital punishment in the UAE is conversion away from Islam.

6.  The legal speed limit on the major highways of the country is 140 kph, or 87 mph. A year ago, it was 160 kph, which is a tick under 100 mph.

7.  The price of gas in Abu Dhabi is about $1.65 a gallon.

8. Making an obscene gesture is punishable with jail time. A Frenchman was given a six-month suspended sentence for flipping off two undercover Dubai police officers. The Frenchman denied the charge.

9. The population of Dubai recently crossed the 2 million mark. That would make it the fourth-biggest city in the U.S., just behind Houston but well ahead of Philadelphia. And 76 percent of the Dubai populace is male.

10.  Ski Dubai, the famous indoor ski run in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai has brought in 20 penguins to make the place look … colder, perhaps.

11. A bonus fact! In case you have forgotten, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which is 2,723 feet high, stands in Dubai.