BootsnAll's Travel Community

So, what interesting little factoids do you all have about living in your host country?

On the Jesus Camp thread, a little thing that came up was that in Switzerland we pay a 'religion tax'. Basically, the established churches can collect at small tax ("tithe", i think they call it) on the wages of people 'declared' to be of that religion. As I am a registered atheist, I pay nothing. Catholics pay the most. Wacky, huh?

Sooooooooooooo...what little entertaining bits about your host country can you tell us? Stuff that a local might take for 'normal', things that you found bizarre, items and events that someone passing through would never actually experiance.

Dish it out!

Two taps, everywhere.
A license for a TV
How old people are when they finally get a driving license
There are almost no pretzels available in Scotland, why?

Where do I start? Peru has so many interesting factoids and is such a diverse country. So here’s my first cut, leaving out the obvious Inca, Titicaca, etc facts.

• The potato originated in Peru and there are over 3000 varieties here
• Viagra (the plant with the active ingredient anyway) originated in Peru and Peruvians have been using it to get boners for centuries
• One of the highest density of orchid varietes (1,625)
• Highest density of bird species (1,701 identified so far)
• Highest density of ecological zones (84 of the 103 ecological zones in the world)
• Highest automobile highway pass and train pass in the world (Ticlio - 4,815 m / 15,739 ft)
• Home to Caral, the oldest city in the Americas (built between 3000 BC and 2500 BC)
• Home to the two deepest canyons in the world (Cotahuasi – 3,600 m / 11,810 ft ) and Colca (3,400 m / 11,150 ft), for comparison purposes, the Grand Canyon of Colorado is only 1,600 m / 5,250 ft deep
• The Peruvian Andes have 50 peaks over 6,000 meters (for comparison purposes, the entire US has one mountain over 6,000 m (Denali in Alaska)

I could keep going but you’re probably bored by now and probably wouldn’t have finished the list if I hadn’t put the boner entry near the top.

Slovakia has a national hero called Janosik - kinda like Robin Hood and probably around the same time. He got caught when he was hiding in the home of an old woman who had prepared him dinner and then decided to take the money the police were offering and turn him in. He stood up to run and she threw a handful of peas on the floor to make him slip. He was caught and hanged (don't read this if you're squeamish by the ribs, somehow.

Because of that, if you order a dish and it has Janosik in the name...it probably involves ribs

This is an odd one, but Botswana has the BEST beef in the world! never have i tried any better; they have really perfected it as cattle is one of their top industries. i would bet on it that there is no other country that can match it! now if only they could work on getting some sushi in there...

Ukraine is the largest country entirely within Europe and the U.S. Government's fourth largest mission in Europe.

LSD was discovered/invented in Switzerland.

The Swiss like voting--they do so about four times a year.

Japanese children learn to unicycle in elementary school. They practise by getting up on their unicycles then holding hands and cycling/wobbling together in a row down the playing field--pretty much the cutest sight in the world, especially in their school caps.

Grocery stores here have ice dispensers by the door, so you can add a scoop of ice to the bag holding your fish and keep it fresh for the trip home.

Students in high school and junior high aren't allowed to lighten their hair, and if they come to school they're sent home to dye it back to black (true where I am, maybe not in the big cities?)