Portugal

Portugal is the oldest country in Europe

Portugal has had the same defined borders since 1139, making it the oldest nation-state in Europe.
Afonso Henriques was proclaimed the first King of Portugal in 1139 and the country remained a
kingdom for almost 800 years thereafter, until 1910.

One of the oldest universities in Europe is in Portugal

The University of Coimbra was established in 1290, making it one of the oldest universities on the
European continent.

Portuguese is the official language of 9 countries

Over 236 million people world-wide are native Portuguese speakers. Portuguese is the official
language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Principe, Sao
Tome, and Equatorial Guinea. Portuguese is also spoken in Goa (India), Macao, and East Timor

Portugal has the longest bridge in Europe

The Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon is 10.5 miles (17 kilometers) long, making it the longest in
Europe.

The oldest bookstore in the world is in Portugal's capital

Established in 1732, Bertrand bookshop, located in Lisbon, Portugal, is the oldest operating
bookshop. Although it was destroyed in the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, it was moved
to the very location it still occupies in 1773.

World record holder for largest dining table set

The world record for the largest dining table was set when around 15 000 people were
served lunch on the bridge as part of the inauguration celebrations.

ICELAND

No McDonalds, 7-11 or even Starbucks

As astonishing as it sounds, Iceland is the only country I have ever been to

where McDonalds restaurants do not exist! Yes, you can find KFC and even
Taco Bell in Reykjavik, but forget about picking up a Big Mac or some Chicken
McNuggets you wont find them here! I found this fun fact very refreshing.

No Mountains
Even though photos might lead you to believe otherwise, there are no mountains
in Iceland just valleys. If you look closely, most of the mountains here are
relatively flat on top. This is because, as mentioned above, the country was
carved out by slow-moving glaciers, chewing up the land and gouging deep
valleys into it.
Icelanders dont have family names
The vast majority of Icelandic people have a last name that is comprised
from their fathers (or in some cases their mothers) first name with the
addition of -dttir (-daughter) or -son. These are called patronymic names,
which differ from the typical western family-name system. For example,
my fathers name is Magns there for my last name is Magnsdttir
(Magnss daughter). This means that children will have a different last
name to their parents and siblings of a different gender. Also women do
not change their last name when they get married.

SERBIA
A Serbian word everyone knows.

Vampire is the only word of Serbian origin that is known the world over.

Serbia has a village made entirely out of stone. Yes, youve read it correctly! The stone village of
Gostua, located on the slopes of mt. Stara planina, is the most unusual village in Serbia with
houses built exclusively out of stone, mud and natural materials. Time hasnt damaged them so
people still live in them.

Those raspberries you are eating are Serbian!

Serbia is the largest raspberry exporter worldwide, producing 30% of the total

FRANCE

In france, calling your PIG napoleon could land you in a jail

in france, it is against the law to call your pig napoleon. It appears the famous leader
has left a lasting impression on his country

French women are having more sex than ever. French men have the reputation for
having all the sex but French women have been catching up recently. A 2008 study
revealed they are having their first sexual encounter aged 17, down from aged 20 in the
mid-1990s. French women on average have five lovers in the course of their lives,
instead of the four, 20 years ago. And 90% of women aged over 50 say they remain
sexually active, up from 50% in 1970.
French parents produce the most sets of twins in Europe. About 48.6 sets of twins
are recorded per 1,000 births in France, which is well above the average for
neighbouring countries, a 2012 study found. Researchers believe it is likely the result of
France's heritage having a mix of Latin, Scandinavian and Celtic bloodlines, which
generally experience above average numbers of twins.

GREECE
No birthdays, just name days.
Name day is the celebration day of the saint, and everybody sharing the
name celebrates that day as its own; birthdays are not celebrated as name
days, if at all. If you have Greek friends, you will be invited to the name
party instead of a birthday party, and now you know why.

Dont wave with an open palm to Greek.

This is considered as an insult in Greece; the moutza is among the worst gesture
insults. Greeks are known as emotional, loud and energetic people, and when they
are arguing, with this simple move they can say it all. So, next time when you notice
this gesticulation, dont try to reason with the person. And, avoid doing this at all
time. Greeks wave with closed palm.

No video games in Greece.

Greece has a law that forbids playing video games in public, brought in 2002. Not
a single platform is excluded from it, as many people received penalties and
sentences for playing and owning video games. We dont know the possible
reason for this
Mexico
Mexico has the worlds smallest volcano.

Hawaii has Mauna Loa, the worlds largest volcano. Well, Hawaii can keep it,
because in Mexico, its about the motion in the magma, not size of the
stratovolcano. The Cuexcomate volcano outside the city of Puebla is just 43
feet tall. To put it into perspective: Thats not even half as tall as the Statue of
Liberty, and its equal to about 6.45 LeBron Jameses stacked on top of one
another. But why would you have six LeBrons, let alone 0.45 of him? Lets
move on....

Perform the anthem correctly, or else....

The Mexican national anthem (himno nacional mexicano) is nothing to joke

about. There are actually nine or 10 articles in a chapter of the law that go into
detail about how to properly honor and perform the national anthem. If you
play it incorrectly, you will be fined, and in some cases, will need to issue an
apology to the country. I probably shouldnt even make a joke about it here, in
case someone in Mexico is reading.

MEXICANS ARE THE 2 ND FATTEST NATION IN THE WORLD

A lot of Mexicans are huge over 70% of all Mexicans are

overweight, what makes the country the 2 most obese nd

nation.
CHILE
The worlds biggest swimming pool is at San Alfonso del Mar Resort in the
Chilean city of Algarrobo. It is over 1,013m (3,323ft) in length, covers an area
of eight hectares (20 acres) and has a maximum depth of 115 feet. It holds 66
million gallons of water and costs over $3 million USD a year to maintain.
Chiles Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth with an average of 15mm
(0.6in) of rainfall per year. Periods of four years have been registered with no
rainfall in the central sector and some weather stations havent received any
rain at all since records began. The area is so dry, planetary scientists used it
to test early prototypes of Mars rovers.

Chile is the worlds longest country from north to south measuring at 4,620km
(2,647mi). It extends across 38 degrees of latitude but is only 150km (93mi)
wide from west to east.

Colombia
The Colombian national anthem is played on the radio and television
every day at 6am and 6pm by law

The Colombian people are very patriotic and their laws reflect this. The law 198
sees that Oh gloria inmarcesible! is played daily at 6am and 6pm both on the
radio and on public television.

Colombians have a special type of cheese that they dip into hot
chocolate
This is possibly the weirdest fact of them all. Colombians love nothing better
than dipping a special, melting cheese into a steaming hot mug of hot chocolate.
Why? We have no idea.

Freshwater plants turn a freshwater river in Colombia into a liquid

rainbow
The Cao Cristales river in Colombia get transformed every year into a liquid
rainbow, full of incredible bright colours, clashing against the grey rocks,
highlighted by the crystal blue waters.
ARGENTINA

The current pope, and the first from the Americas, Pope Francis, used to
work as a bar bouncer in Buenos Aires.

The highest mountain outside of Asia is in Argentina. Aconcagua is

6,962m (22,841ft) high and is located in the Mendoza province. It is also
one of the seven summits.
Argentina was the first country in Latin or South America to legalize
same-sex marriage in 2010.

BOLIVIA

A clock on the National Congress building in the main square of La Paz

runs backwards to remind citizens to think differently.

Zebras (or rather people dressed as zebras) wander the streets of La Paz
helping children cross the road safely and educating drivers and
pedestrians about road safety.

The most dangerous road in the world is in BoliviaThe Road of

Death, Only about 30% of all roads in Bolivia are paved (mostly in
the city).