Things you didn't know about (insert your countries name)

[RaspberrySwirl 20]

There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium.

Belgians consume in average 150 liters of beer per person per year.

The world's first beer academy opened in Herk-de-Stad, in the Belgian province of Limburg, in 1999.

The world's biggest chocolate selling point is Brussels National Airport.

Belgium became the world's first country to ban cluster bombs, and second to ban forced marriages in 2006.

Possession of up to 3 grammes of cannabis is legal in Belgium.

The Belgian motorway system is the only man-made structure visible from the moon (at night, due to the lights all along the motorway network).

In 2003, there were 884 registered Belgian comic series, up from 104 in 1985 (i.e. a 750% increase).

Belgium has more comic makers per square kilometer than any other country in the world (even Japan).

The saxophone was invented in the early 1840's by Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) in Dinant.

http://www.eupedia.com/belgium/trivia.shtml

Edited May 17, 2007 by RaspberrySwirl

[Fandango 1,439]

...it's like I've already been there.

oh shush you

we need a shaking fist smiley! lol

[Alex+R 0]

Argentina

*We have a reputation of having big egos!!

*We eat a lot of meat. Oddly enough, we mostly raise british breeds: hereford, aberdeen angus and shorton.

*We have the southest city of the world, called Ushuaia

*It was an argentinian that developed the by-pass procedure, and first put it into practice. His name was Dr Rene Favaloro. He commited suicide in the year 2000. His Fundation, University, and Hospital, all named after him, still remain active.

*The Public university is the most challenging and respected of all. It's free, and it's called Universidad De Buenos Aires (UBA)

*Famous comics: Mafalda (Joaquin Salvador Lavado, "Quino") and Paturuzito. Mafalda has been translated into 5 languages and made into a cartoon program.

*Soccer (or "Futbol") is huge!. Home of Diego "El 10" Armando Maradona!!. We won the World Cup twice, Copa de America 23 times.

Our most promesing players now: Messi and Riquelme

*Night clubs open at 12. people ussually get there around 2am. they close at 6am

*We have a great public transportation system. you can take a bus anywhere, and they have a frequency of 5-10 minutes.

I can't believe you left out the free dental care. Saved my life, literally!

Sincerely,

Alex, who LOVES Argentina

[JODO 2]

CROATIA

Area of Croatia is 56,542 km2, with an additional 31,067 km2 of territorial waters.

Population in Croatia is 4.437.460

There is 1,185 islands in Croatia. The largest islands are Krk and Cres. There are 67 inhabited islands.

The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited (archaeological findings in caves near the islands of Hvar and Palagruza, etc.).

It is not known where do Croats come from, there are several theories. The more prevalent one is that Croats were nomadic people who came from the area of current Iran to settle in what is now Croatia.

Croatia is known for its long history, especially for the old alphabet called Glagoljica, which was used no where else.... the city of Dubrovnik has been declared a Cultural Historical Monument and is under the protection of UNESCO....

Dubrovnik is gorgeous.

Edited May 17, 2007 by JODO

[JODO 2]

CROATIA

Area of Croatia is 56,542 km2, with an additional 31,067 km2 of territorial waters.

Population in Croatia is 4.437.460

There is 1,185 islands in Croatia. The largest islands are Krk and Cres. There are 67 inhabited islands.

The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited (archaeological findings in caves near the islands of Hvar and Palagruza, etc.).

It is not known where do Croats come from, there are several theories. The more prevalent one is that Croats were nomadic people who came from the area of current Iran to settle in what is now Croatia.

Croatia is known for its long history, especially for the old alphabet called Glagoljica, which was used no where else.... the city of Dubrovnik has been declared a Cultural Historical Monument and is under the protection of UNESCO....

Dubrovnik is gorgeous.

Ever since reading this travel article in the New York Times a year ago, I put Dubrovnik on my list of must sees.

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/trav...70&emc=eta1

Edited May 17, 2007 by JODO

[~*Dorothy*~ 2]

MOROCCO

• It is said that Hercules (a hero of Greek legend) decided to pull Africa and Spain apart, using Gibraltar and the Moroccan mountain of Jbel Musa as his handgrips. They are known as "The Pillars of Hercules".
  
• Morocco has a number of stone circles which prove contact with the megalithic cultures of Atlantic Europe (Brittany, Ireland and Britain).
  
• At Oujda, the most eastern city of Morocco is the shrine of Sidi Yahya which is said to be the tomb of John the Baptist.
  
• Morocco is an Islamic country but only follows the Muslim calendar for religious purposes. All other aspects of national life follow the Gregorian calendar (used in the UK, Europe and America). Saturday and Sunday are weekend holidays, unlike in other Muslim countries.
  
• The University in Fes founded in 859 AD claims to be the world's oldest university.
  
• The numbers we use today are called Arabic numbers; the Arabs were responsible for much of the growth of learning in mathematics and the word "algebra" is itself an Arabic word.
  
• It is said that Pope Sylvester II learned mathematics at Fes over one hundred years before the first European university was founded in Bologna (Italy).
  
• One of the world's most famous trade routes ran from Morocco (taking salt from the Mediterranean) through the Sahara to the market cities on the river Niger. Gold, slaves, ostrich feathers, spices and precious wood were carried back, eventually to the ports on the Atlantic coast.
  
• Date palms, which can remain productive for over a hundred years, have always been important in Morocco. It used to be unlawful to sell a tree, because it was the family's source of food.
  
• In September the tribes of the Atlas mountains meet for their great Marriage Festival. Young men and women from different clans meet and families negotiate dowries.
  
• One of the most spectacular of Morocco's festivities is the war exercise, Fantasias, where armed men on horseback perform acrobatic tricks and fire their muskets at a full gallop.
  
• From 1922 to 1956 Tangier was an International City, ruled by representatives of eight European countries.
  
• In World War Two it was Moroccan troops who finally stormed the German stronghold at Monte Cassino, at the end of one of the war's hardest-fought battles.
  
• In 1975 over 350,000 Moroccans, led by King Hassan, marched to take back the Spanish colony of Western Sahara. The "Green March" is now celebrated as a national holiday on 6 November.
  
• A giant system of sand wall defenses was built in the 1980s to keep back the Polisario guerillas (who were fighting for independence for their part of the Sahara).
  

[~*Dorothy*~ 2]

Since I am originally from Poland I felt compelled to provide some info about my native country as well so here it is:

POLAND (Polska)

• Polish legend tells of three brothers, Lech, Czech and Rus, who travelled Eastern Europe founding countries. Lech is said to be the founder of Poland.

• While other countries are much older and have had far more stable government, Poland was the first country in Europe to adopt a written constitution.

• In Warsaw’s Wilanow Park, you can find a museum dedicated to a slightly offbeat type of art form – it is entirely devoted to posters.

• Krakow’s town square is the biggest in Europe.

• The Bielowreza National Park is a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. You can see all manner of wildlife there, including boars, wolves and bison.

• The church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw is home to famous Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin’s heart.

• Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice (Krakow), Poland in 1920. He became the 265th Pope in 1978.

• The icon of the Black Madonna is the most important shrine in Poland. The Black Madonna, in the Paulite Monastery of Jasna Gora (Czestochowa), is visited by millions of pilgrims every year.

• The old city centre of Warsaw is not really that old at all. Most of it was destroyed during the Second World War, and had to be rebuilt afterwards. That this has been done so quickly, and largely in the same style, is one of the world’s great construction achievements, and UNESCO have bestowed World Heritage status upon it.

• The Jagiellonian University, previously the Krakow Academy, was established in Krakow in 1364.

• Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) attended the Jagiellonian University at the end of the fifteenth century. Copernicus was an astronomer who published the theory of a sun-centred solar system.

• Built in the mid seventeenth century the Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica are the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe.

• Poland’s tallest building is the Communist-era Palace of Culture and Science.

• Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934) was born in Poland. She moved to Paris where she worked with her husband, Pierre. Marie Curie won Nobel Prizes for Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). The awards were for her work on the discovery of radioactivity and radium respectively.

•During the Second World War Oskar Schindler ran a factory that saved the lives of over a thousand of his Jewish workers. Schindler drew up a list of his staff and persuaded the Nazis that they were essential workers.

•The former concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau is one of Poland's World Heritage sites.

•Poland's Wieliczka Salt Mine is on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. The mine is now a museum with underground exhibits.

[The Molinas 0]

GERMANY:

* Germany is the most populous European country (apart from Russia), with a population of 81 million.

* German people are the second biggest consumers of beer in the world (after the Irish), with an average of 119 litres per person per year (or 0.32 l per day).

* 15 million people in Germany are of non-German descent (first and second generation), i.e. 18.5% of the population. About half of them are foreign residents, not German citizens.

* Germany has nearly 700 zoological gardens, wildlife parks, aquariums, bird parks, animal reserves, or safari parks, including 414 registered zoos (more than the USA) ! Berlin's Zoologischer Garten is the largest zoo in the world, both in terms of number of species (1,500) and animal population (14,000).

* German athletes have won a total of 1548 Olympic medals (summer and winter combined), i.e. more than any other country in the world except the USA.

* Since 2003, Germany is the world's largest exporter of goods with $1.016 trillion exported in 2005. 10.1% of world exports come from Germany.

LINK

*GERMAN INVENTIONS:

*1817: The bicycle

Karl von Drais (1785–1851) was especially taken by the “two-wheeler principleâ€. The bicycle was soon to become a success story world-wide

*1854: Light bulb

The clockmaker was well ahead of his day. For in 1854, when Heinrich Göbel (1818–1893) caused bamboo fibers to glow in a vacuum, there was still no electrical grid. Today, some 350 million light bulbs are sold each year

*1861: Telephone

The era of revolutionary communications technology commenced with Philipp Reis (1834–1874). A mathematics teacher, he was the first person to transform sounds and words into electric current that could be reproduced elsewhere

*1876: Refrigerator

On March 25, 1876 Carl von Linde (1842–1934) was awarded the patent for the first refrigerator, which used ammonia as a cooling agent. In 1993, German company Foron introduced the world’s first CFC-free “Greenfreeze†refrigerator

*1885: Automobile

They made society mobile: Carl Benz (1844–1929) and Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900). Today, over 45 million automobiles are registered in Germany

*1930/1931: Television

On Christmas Eve, 1930 Manfred von Ardenne (1907–1997) was the first person to succeed with an electrical television broadcast. Today, 95 percent of German households have a TV. Average viewing time per day is about 220 minutes

*1941: Computer

Because he did not like maths tasks, Konrad Zuse (1910-1995) invented the first binary calculator: the Z3. The first computer managed four basic arithmetic functions in three seconds. It was the beginning of the digital age. Today, 150 million PCs are sold each year, alone seven million of them in Germany

*1995: MP3

For millions of kids today, MP3 players are simply the best. This method of audio compression was developed by a team at the Fraunhofer Institute under Karlheinz Brandenburg

LINK

Edited May 17, 2007 by The Molinas

[no name 1]

CROATIA

Area of Croatia is 56,542 km2, with an additional 31,067 km2 of territorial waters.

Population in Croatia is 4.437.460

There is 1,185 islands in Croatia. The largest islands are Krk and Cres. There are 67 inhabited islands.

The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited (archaeological findings in caves near the islands of Hvar and Palagruza, etc.).

It is not known where do Croats come from, there are several theories. The more prevalent one is that Croats were nomadic people who came from the area of current Iran to settle in what is now Croatia.

Croatia is known for its long history, especially for the old alphabet called Glagoljica, which was used no where else.... the city of Dubrovnik has been declared a Cultural Historical Monument and is under the protection of UNESCO....

We Croatia!

Split & Hvar, especially!

There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium

HUbby was drooling when I told him that! He LOVES Belgian beer.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

* German people are the second biggest consumers of beer in the world (after the Irish), with an average of 119 litres per person per year (or 0.32 l per day).

Some Germans must be slacking 'cause according to this statistic, I am pulling for other people to keep the nations ranking. Country ain't what it used to be. Oh wait, I am now counting for the US. That explains Germany's lack of consumption.

[The Molinas 0]

actually germany is now on place 3 after czech and ireland.... with 115.8 liters/yr (wikipedia)

[no name 1]

* German people are the second biggest consumers of beer in the world (after the Irish), with an average of 119 litres per person per year (or 0.32 l per day).

Some Germans must be slacking 'cause according to this statistic, I am pulling for other people to keep the nations ranking. Country ain't what it used to be. Oh wait, I am now counting for the US. That explains Germany's lack of consumption.

Behind the Belgians as well...

Belgians consume in average 150 liters of beer per person per year.

[The Molinas 0]

belgium is on place 7 (wikipedia)

oh well every website says something different... i just googled with german google and there it says germans consume over 200 liters/yr

Edited May 17, 2007 by The Molinas

[The Molinas 0]

* germany shows "soft porns" on regular television on weekday & weekend nights (usually after 11pm)

* to drive a car you have to be 18

* to drink beer you have to be 16, to drink liquor 18

* we usually go to clubs around 12am, clubs are open until 5 or 6 (big clubs)

[SoL. 0]

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico

(Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)

* Capital: San Juan

*Currency: US Dollar

*Birthplace of Piña Colada

*Home of Bacardi Rum

*Population 3,944,259, 1115/sq mi

Puerto Rico consists of a main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos

The mainland measures some 100 miles by 35 nautical miles (170 km by 60 km). It is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south regions of the island.

Located in the tropics, Puerto Rico enjoys an average temperature of 82.4 °F (28 °C) throughout the year. The seasons do not change very drastically.

Puerto Rico is composed of Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic and plutonic rocks.

The Roman Catholic religion has been historically dominant and is the religion of the majority of Puerto Ricans, although the presence of various Protestant denominations has increased under American sovereignty, making modern Puerto Rico an interconfessional country.

The official languages of the island are Spanish and English. Spanish is the primary language of Puerto Ricans, though English is taught, as a second language, in schools from elementary levels to high school. As of 2006, an estimated 3,860,120 people use Spanish as their primary language; English is the primary language of 82,000, which is less than 2.2% of the population. The large majority of residents living in metropolitan areas are bilingual, or at least understand and speak English to a certain extent.

Under the 1952 constitution, Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth and enjoys an administrative-autonomy similar to that of a state of the Union. Because it is not a state of the Union, federal elections are not held on the island, but everyone born in Puerto Rico is a US citizen and may vote in federal elections held in any state or incorporated territory as long as the citizen can claim residence in said state or incorporated territory.