Trivia About The Philippines-part Two

Here are some more facts and trivia about my home country that you may or may not know. Enjoy!

Read more: http://purpleslinky.com/offbeat/trivia-about-the-philippines-part-one/#ixzz1Yn6r0itv

» The popular toy, the yoyo, was invented by 16th century hunters in the Philippines.

» The word “boondocks,” which is now a part of the English language comes from the Tagalog word “bundok” meaning the mountains.

» The Philippines became the first Asian country to win five major international beauty pageant crowns — two for Miss Universe, in 1969 and 1973, and three for Miss International, in 1965, 1970, and 1979.

» Diving paradise Anilao which is in the province of Batangas is the theme of a picture book that bagged the International Prize for Underwater Images at the 27th World Festival of Underwater Images in France in November 2000. Anilao book creators and Filipino scuba divers Scott Tuason and Eduardo Cu Unjieng defeated big names in underwater photography such as Jacques Mayol, Pascal Kobeh, Monique Walker, and Alessandro Tommasi.

» The antibiotic erythromycin, used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections such as respiratory tract infections, middle ear infections, and skin infections, was created by a Filipino scientist named Abelardo Aguilar, and has earned American drug giant Eli Lilly billions of dollars. Neither Aguilar nor the Philippine government received royalties.

» Fernando Amorsolo was officially the first National Artist of the Philippines. He was given the distinction of National Artist for Painting in 1972.

» Philippines Herald war journalist Carlos P. Romulo was the first Asian to win a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in 1942. He was also aide-de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur in World War II, the Philippine resident commissioner in the U.S. Congress from 1944-46, and the first Asian to become UN President in 1949.

» The largest fish in the world, the Whale Shark locally known as butanding, regularly swims into the Philippine waters.

» The world’s shortest and lightest freshwater fish is the dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka Pygmaea), a colorless and nearly transparent species found in the streams and lakes of Luzon. Males have an average length of 8.7 mm. and weigh 4-5 mg.

» On January 18, 1995, Pope John Paul II offered mass to an estimated 4 to 5 million people at the Luneta Park in Manila, Philippines, making it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the Biggest Papal Crowd.

» The Philippine Madrigal Singers bagged the 1997 European Choral Grand Prix, the choral olympics of the world’s best choirs. The group, being the only Asian choir, bested five regional champions from all over Europe earning them the title as the “world’s best choir.”

» There are 12,000 or more species of seashells in the Philippines. The Conus Gloriamaris or “Glory of the Sea” is the rarest and most expensive in the world.

To be continued…