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

[homesick_american 1]

I'm pretty sure these are all true about Texas, but there are some tall tales out there that aren't true.

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, TX, in 1885 and there is only one plant in Texas that makes it properly.

75% of the world's Snickers bars are made in Waco, TX.

Texas is the only state that was also an independent country, from 1836 to 1845. Other states lay claim to also having been independent nations, but Texas was the only one that was recognized by other countries.

The King Ranch in Texas is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

The first word spoken from the moon was "Houston".

El Paso is closer to Needles, California, than it is to Dallas.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/TX-TexasFacts.html

This comes from the Texas Historical Commission, so it's more than likely true:

The dome of the Texas Capitol building is 7 feet taller than the US Capitol building in Washington, DC.

http://www.thc.state.tx.us/triviafun/trvdefault.html

And others:

Texas is the largest producer of wool in the USA.

Texas comprises 7.5% of the land area of the United States.

Texas has more species of bats than any other state.

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden with 38,000 rose bushes.

http://www.50states.com/facts/texas.htm

The largest military base in the world is Fort Hood, located in Killeen, Texas.

Texas has more miles of highways than any other state, with over 70,000 miles.

Texas is the USA's top producer of oil, natural gas, cattle, sheep, rice, watermelon, and cotton.

http://traveltexas-online.com/photo2.html

[homesick_american 1]

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.

Great facts...I'm 1/4 Polish and I know very little about Poland. I feel smarter now!

[JVKn'CVO 11]

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

Awesome Alex! Brazil and Argentina, paises hermanos!!

Now than I am having breakfast, (it's 8 am here), I realized I left out something really important...El Mate!!

mate is a drink, sort of like a tea...but much better in my opinion hehehe

it's meant to be shared with friends...nothing more lonely than drinking mate by yourself!

Edited May 17, 2007 by JVKn'CVO

[ivona 0]

Dubrovnik is gorgeous.

Sometimes I feel Dubrovnik has been unfairly put to stand out, compared to other cities... the whole coast is truly magnificent... If you start from Istria and Pula and work your way down through Zadar, Sibenik, Split and so on, to Dubrovnik you'll get the experience of a life time

We Croatia!

Split & Hvar, especially!

The islands are my personal favourites, Hvar with their lavander fields

There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium

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

Tell him to try Cherry Beer, it IS amazing

Edited May 17, 2007 by ivona

[JODO 2]

Dubrovnik is gorgeous.

Sometimes I feel Dubrovnik has been unfairly put to stand out, compared to other cities... the whole coast is truly magnificent... If you start from Istria and Pula and work your way down through Zadar, Sibenik, Split and so on, to Dubrovnik you'll get the experience of a life time

We Croatia!

Split & Hvar, especially!

The islands are my personal favourites, Hvar with their lavander fields

There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium

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

Tell him to try Cherry Beer, it IS amazing

Oh I am quite sure the Dalmation coast is beautiful.

[ya falaha! 0]

Egypt

In terms of average rainfall, Egypt is the driest country in the world.

Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city.

Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with the state of Israel, after the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty at the Camp David Accords.

Egypt is divided into twenty-seven governorates (my husband is from the el Beheira governorate).

Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.

Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab World, Middle East.

Michigan

Bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair, Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States.

Michigan is the only bi-peninsular state.

Michigan has an estimated population of 10,095,643.

Metro Detroit is the home of the largest Arab and Chaldean community in the U.S.

Michigan is known as the birthplace of the automobile industry. Hence Detroit's nickname, the Motorcity.

Michigan's Department of Natural Resources manages the largest dedicated state forest system in the nation.

The Detroit-Windsor international border is the busiest border between the United States and Canada.

Michigan has the most registered boats (over 1 million) of any state in the Union.

Michigan is home to more public golf courses than any other state.

[Oath 0]

Scotland

• Is not full of Alchoholics
  
• Is not full of wife beaters
  
• Is not full of savage men in kilts running around screaming at everyone all day long, however is full of savage men screaming all day long.
  
• Has some of the best beef in the world
  
• Makes some of the world worst lager (Tennants but I love it) go go floor cleaner in a can
  
• Has in my opinion the most beautiful countryside known to man
  
• One of the worlds worst football teams (american and soccer)
  
• The only producer of real Scotch in the world (duh)
  
• Is doomed due to the SNP and its new first minister Alex Salmond.
  

Just a few things off the top of my head.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

i see someone already covered texas so i'm stuck with kansas

the state

song: home on the range

insect: honeybee

flower: wild native sunflower

reptile: ornate box turtle

tree: cottonwood (like ####### chose this junk tree? )

amphibian: barred tiger salamander

bird: western meadowlark

animal: american buffalo

state nicknames: wheat state, sunflower state, jayhawker state

34th state of the union

14th largest state

among the top 10 mineral producing states, leads in the production of helium, 5th in natural gas (this was before moved here obviously ) and 8th in petroleum.

kansas also has the largest flock of prairie chickens

kansas produces 1/5 of all wheat grown in the usa. kansas grows more wheat than argentina it would take a train stretching from western kansas to the atlantic ocean to contain all of the wheat grown in kansas in one year.

kansas ranks 2nd in the nation for producing beef.

famous people from kansas include dwight d. eisenhower, bob dole, amelia earhart, clyde tombaugh (the discover of pluto), several astronauts and lucy hobbs taylor, the worlds first fully trained female dentist. also lutie lytle, the first african american female lawyer (1897), and nellie cline was the first female lawyer to appear before the us supreme court (4 apr 1918). the first female us treasurer, georgia neese clark grey, came from kansas, as did walter p. chrysler, who founded the chrysler corporation in 1925.

city of leavenworth:

was founded in 1854 and it is the first incorporated city in kansas, it is just outside fort leavenworth, which is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi.

from the city of leavenworth we have melissa etheridge and Wayne Simien. leavenworth is also the hometown of 2 medal of honor winners, and fort leavenworth has a national cemetary. the only person to receive two medals of honor during the civil war - Lt. Thomas Custer - brother of George Armstrong Custer - is buried at fort leavenworth, which is the resting place of eight Medal of Honor recipients, and also at the cemetary is Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth, namesake of Fort Leavenworth and leavenworth kansas. also on fort leavenworth is the usdb, the military prison

just outside fort leavenworth is the leavenworth federal penitentiary, famous "residents" of it included:

Robert Stroud, "The Bird Man"

Manuel Noriega, ousted Panamanian dictator

George "Machine Gun" Kelly, prohibition-era gangster

George "Bugs" Moran, prohibition-era gangster

Leonard Peltier, Native American activist, convicted murderer of two FBI agents

Tom Pendergast, Kansas City mob boss

link and link

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

there is also the graves of about half a dozen executed prisoners of war (german) from ww2 here on fort leavenworth.

Edited May 17, 2007 by charlesandnessa

[Traviesa 0]

About Mexico:

(1) The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica calculated the solar year at 365.2422 days and the moon's period at 29.5209 days. Both figures are so accurate that it was only in the 20th century that scientists came up with measurements infinitesimally more exact.

(2) Mexico is one of the few remaining countries in Latin America where bullfighting is still practised. The Plaza Mexico in Mexico City is the biggest bullring in the world, seating 50,000 spectators.

(3) The world-famous resort of Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula was a government-planned creation. Before 1970 the huge holiday centre was not even marked on maps.

(4) Mexico City's two most famous volcanoes, Popocatupetl (5,452 metres) and Iztaccahuatl (5,286 metres) are affectionately known as Popo and Izta. According to legend, Popo (Nahuatl for "Smoking Mountain") was a warrior in love with Izta ("white lady").

(5) Under Mexican law, at least 51 percent of any tequila must come from the tequila weber agave plant, which grows only in the region around the town of Tequila, to the northwest of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco.

(6) Papantla is a village near the Port of Veracruz in Mexico. Vanilla is produced in the area. One main tradition in Papantla is the Rito de Los Voladores (Rite of the Flyers).

(7) Mexico City is the largest city in the world. It was built on the site of the ancient city of Tenochtitlán. Tenochtitlán was built in 1325 by the Aztecs. It was destroyed by the Spanish when they conquered Mexico. Hernando Cortez first entered the Valley of Mexico in 1519. With fewer than 200 soldiers and a few horses, he conquered the Aztecs. In 1521 the Spanish destroyed the city of Tenochtitlán.

(8) Corn is the main food crop grown in Mexico. It is grown on half of the cultivated land. The Indians living in what is now central or southern Mexico ate corn from wild plants about 10,000 years ago. About 5000 B. C. the Indians learned how to grow corn themselves. Corn is used to make flat pancakes called tortillas. They are sometimes folded and stuffed with different foods to make tacos.

(9) Mexican children are given both their father's last name and their mother's maiden name. This tradition helps preserve the heritage of both parents. Fathers would often weave a God's eye when their children were born. At each birthday for five years the father would weave another God's eye.

(10) According to the 1995-1999 figures, the "quality of life" in Mexico was as follows:

Population that lives in poverty (1999): 44 to 60%, Houses with electricity (1995): 93.52%, Houses with running water (1995): 87.0%, Houses with sewage (1995): 76.7%, Houses with an earthen floor: 15.40%.

[Traviesa 0]

YAY Maryland!

Motto: Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words)

State symbols:

bird Baltimore oriole (1947)

boat skipjack (1985)

crustacean Maryland blue crab (1989)

dinosaur Astrodon johnstoni (1998)

dog Chesapeake Bay retriever (1964)

beverage milk (1998)

flower black-eyed susan (1918)

fish rockfish (1965)

folk dance square dance (1994)

fossil shell ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (Wilson) (1994)

insect Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (1973)

reptile Diamondback terrapin (1994)

song “Maryland! My Maryland!” (1939)

sport jousting (1962)

team sport lacrosse (2004)

tree white oak (1941)

Nicknames: Free State; Old Line State

Origin of name: In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I of England)

10 largest cities (2005 est.): Baltimore, 635,815; Frederick, 57,907; Gaithersburg, 57,698; Rockville, 57,402; Bowie, 53,878; Hagerstown, 38,326; Annapolis, 36,300; Salisbury, 26,295; College Park, 25,171; Greenbelt, 22,242

Land area: 9,774 sq mi. (25,315 sq km)

[Lewis 0]

YAY Maryland!

Motto: Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words)

State symbols:

bird Baltimore oriole (1947)

boat skipjack (1985)

crustacean Maryland blue crab (1989)

dinosaur Astrodon johnstoni (1998)

dog Chesapeake Bay retriever (1964)

beverage milk (1998)

flower black-eyed susan (1918)

fish rockfish (1965)

folk dance square dance (1994)

fossil shell ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (Wilson) (1994)

insect Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (1973)

reptile Diamondback terrapin (1994)

song “Maryland! My Maryland!” (1939)

sport jousting (1962)

team sport lacrosse (2004)

tree white oak (1941)

Nicknames: Free State; Old Line State

Origin of name: In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I of England)

10 largest cities (2005 est.): Baltimore, 635,815; Frederick, 57,907; Gaithersburg, 57,698; Rockville, 57,402; Bowie, 53,878; Hagerstown, 38,326; Annapolis, 36,300; Salisbury, 26,295; College Park, 25,171; Greenbelt, 22,242

Land area: 9,774 sq mi. (25,315 sq km)

That's interesting, I knew about jousting being the state sport but I did not know about milk being the beverage or about the square dance fact either! Maryland is a great place to live, "America in miniature". We have mountains, beaches, metropolitan areas, some great schools and plenty of jobs. Here is a list of some famous Marylanders below. Some are pretty notorious, one from the town that I live in now. (Booth)

Spiro T. Agnew vice president, Baltimore

Benjamin Banneker mathematician, astronomer, Oella/Ellicott City

John Barth writer, Cambridge

Eubie Blake musician, Baltimore

John Wilkes Booth actor, Lincoln assassin, Harford County

Francis X. Bushman actor, Baltimore

James M. Cain writer, Annapolis

Samuel Chase jurist, Sumerset Cty

John Dickinson statesman, Talbot Cty

Frederick Douglass abolitionist, Tuckahoe

Christopher Gist frontiersman, Baltimore

Philip Glass composer, Baltimore

Matthew Henson explorer, Charles Cty

Billie Holiday jazz-blues singer, Baltimore

Johns Hopkins financier, Anne Arundel Cty

Reverdy Johnson lawyer, statesman, Annapolis

Thomas Johnson political leader, Calvert Cty

Francis Scott Key laywer, author, Carroll Cty

Thurgood Marshall jurist, Baltimore

H. L. Mencken writer, Baltimore

Charles Willson Peale painter, naturalist Queen Annes Cty

Babe Ruth baseball player, Baltimore

Upton Sinclair author, Baltimore

Roger B. Taney jurist, Calvert Cty

Harriet Tubman abolitionist, Dorchester Cty

Leon Uris author, Baltimore

Frank Zappa singer, Baltimore

http://www.50states.com/bio/maryland.htm

[Traviesa 0]

Maryland is a great place to live, "America in miniature".

I couldn't agree with you more! I've been a Marylander all my life (except college when I was out in WV) and I can't imagine ever living anywhere else!

[PaulineA 1]

Some famous facts and famous people: Scotland

Facts:

Scotland has the least populated density in Europe.

Scotland is the only country in the world, that Coca Cola is not the best selling soft drink. Irn Bru made by the Barr company is the best selling soft drink.

There are over 450 golf courses in Scotland.

St Andrews golf course is the oldest in the world.

The first Airship to cross the Atlantic was built in Scotland.

Famous people:

John Williams, born Glasgow, developed the vaccine against smallpox.

John Loudon MacAdam, born Ayr, invented tarmac road surface.

John Logie Baird, born Helensburgh, invented the television.

James watt, born Greenock, Scotland, invented the modern steam engine.

This is only a few facts and famous people, there are much more that I haven't listed.

[Reynaldo 0]

About Brazil:

* Brazil is the only country in the New World to have been the seat of government for a European country.

* The Amazon River is the mightiest on Earth – 17,500 liters of water empty out of it every day. The Amazon is also the 2nd longest river in the world.

* Alberto Santos Dummont was the first person ever to fly a heavier-than-air aircraft. (But he did it in Paris)

* Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup 5 times – more times than any other country.

* Brazil has the 2nd highest Christian population in the world.

* Brazil was the 4th country in the world to abolish capital punishment.

* The country that issues the 4th most daily newspapers is Brazil.

* The 5th largest country on Earth is Brazil.