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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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 Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject: Fun Facts about Mexico |
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I thought it'd be fun and informative if we complied a list of curious facts about the country.
I recently read this interesting fact about Mexico.
If you flattened out all the mountains, Mexico would be the size of Asia.
(But I haven't been able to verify this) |
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TheLongWayHome
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 1016
Location: San Luis Piojosi
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Fact 2: Watch out for chupacabras!
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The Chupacabra is a creature resembling a living gargoyle and said to exist in parts of Latin America (mainly Mexico). The Chupacabra is also reported to have been seen by multiple eye-witnesses in Calaveras County, California. According to these reports, the creature was sighted for the first time in the early to middle 1990s, harming animals of different species.
Translated literally from Spanish as "goat-sucker" (compare with chotacabras, the nightjar), the chupacabra is said to attack small livestock and drink their blood. Descriptions of this creature vary, and no one has produced undisputable evidence of its existence.
Some believe the chupacabra myth is a product of "mass hysteria", while others feel this is a weak explanation for the real dead animals resulting from the creature's unexplained attacks. There are eye-witness accounts dating back many years. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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Fact #3: Chocolate was created in Mexico
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The tasty secret of the cacao (kah KOW) tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. The pods of this tree contain seeds that can be processed into chocolate. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican beverage into a global sweet encompasses many cultures and continents.
The first people known to have made chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America. These people, including the Maya and Aztec, mixed ground cacao seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink.
Later, the Spanish conquistadors brought the seeds back home to Spain, where new recipes were created. Eventually, and the drink�s popularity spread throughout Europe. Since then, new technologies and innovations have changed the texture and taste of chocolate, but it still remains one of the world�s favorite flavors. |
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dixie
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 644
Location: D.F
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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Fact #4:
Mexico City is the oldest capital in the Americas.
Fact #5:
Mexico City is sinking at a rate of 6-8 inches a year, due to being built atop an underground reservoir. |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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| The UNAM was the first university to be founded in the Americas, in 1553. |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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While trying to verify fact # 1 I found
Fact #7: Mexico is the 14th largest country in the world, the 11th most populous and the 12th largest economy. |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Let's not forget food! Before America was "discovered" by Columbus and company, Europe (and the rest of the world) had no tomatoes or potatoes or corn or chiles or avocados, etc., etc. |
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sarliz
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 198
Location: Jalisco
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:57 am Post subject: |
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Seriously? No tomatoes? What did they eat in Italy?
*after some googling, I would like to retract my indcredulity. The consensus seems to be that tomatoes started in the Andes. |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: |
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| sarliz wrote: |
Seriously? No tomatoes? What did they eat in Italy?
*after some googling, I would like to retract my indcredulity. The consensus seems to be that tomatoes started in the Andes. |
Yes, I've often wondered what Italian food was like before tomatoes. By the way, "tomato" comes from the Nahautl "tomatl" via the Spanish "tomate". I've always thought that tomatoes were first nurtured in what is now Mexico, but I could be wrong... |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:41 am Post subject: |
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| English draws a few words from the same source...tomatl, coyotl, chocolatl. Here's a quiz for you...what do you think the word (and colonia name) Coyoacan means? |
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dixie
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 644
Location: D.F
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| English draws a few words from the same source...tomatl, coyotl, chocolatl. Here's a quiz for you...what do you think the word (and colonia name) Coyoacan means? |
Without cheating and looking it up on google, I know it means something to do with where the coyotes gather/live....but all in all...something to do with coyotes. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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I think this is...
FACT #8 Mexico is the only non-English-speaking country that has borders with 2 English speaking countries (USA & Belize)
(England is bordered by Wales & Scotland, but they all speak English...kind of  ) |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 4:21 am Post subject: |
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Fact #9: No one surnamed Bush, Clinton, Thatcher, Howard, or Mulroney will ever become president in this country.
...though we can't discount the possibility of someone named Adolfo rising up. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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Who would have thought someone named FOX would be president!
Apparently this name came about when his German grandfather emigrated to the US. His name was FUCHS and he anglisized it. Probably a wise decision! |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm sure there's a pun to be made with the original of Fox's name and the Mexican equivalent, but I haven't had enough coffee yet to pull it off! I was up late last night working on a translation. |
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