Did you know….

Currently, I am working on a Didactic Unit on Culture. The objective of this project is to create a kind of book for teaching cultural aspects from around the world. So, for a while I have been surfing on the web in order to collect useful information for my project. Searching I found many interesting facts about different cultures that I want to share with you… Hope you enjoy as much as I did…

o In Africa there are over 1,000 languages spoken and some of these languages are not written, only spoken. (When a language is not written but spoken, it is called pidgin. When a pidgin evolves and becomes the first language of a group it is called creole.)
o The majority of Spaniards are Catholic, though Spain is a secular state. For over 300 years, most of Spain was Muslim. Parts of Spain were under Muslim rule until 1492 when the last Moorish king fell (in Granada).
o Right behind Christmas and Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday ranks as the third largest occasion for Americans to consume food, according to the National Football League.
o Fortune cookies were actually invented in America in 1918 by Charles Jung.
o Donald Duck comics were banned from libraries in Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.
o Americans send an estimated 900 million Valentine’s Day cards each year.
o In Tibet, it is considered polite to stick out your tongue at your guests.
o The most common surname in the world is Li, and about 87 million people have it.
o Opera is an Italian creation.
o Italians on average eat around 30 kg (66 pounds) of pasta and drink 60 liters of wine per year.
o There is no need to send invitations to weddings, funerals, and the like as they are community events which are shared by all in Japanese villages. All of the village women prepare food and the entire village either mourns or congratulates the newly-wed couple.
o It is considered rude to openly express your emotions in public. This is why a straight face showing absolutely no emotions is worn by most of the people in Japan. It is also unheard of to show any signs of affection in public.
o When eating in this Asian country, forget what your mother taught you about having good manners and not slurping. It is Japanese custom to slurp while you eat foods such as soup. If you do not slurp, then your host will think that you do not like your food and will take offense.
o Mexican children do not receive presents on Christmas Day. They receive gifts on January 6, the day on which Mexicans celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men.
o The Aztecs adopted human sacrifice from earlier cultures (such as the Olmecs) because they believed the universe would come to an end and the sun would cease to move without human blood. There are many ancient statues of gods sticking out their tongues, such as Huitzilopochtli, which may be a sacred gesture that suggests their thirst for blood.
o Istambul is the only city in the world built on two continents.
o In Australia, guests to a barbeque typically bring wine or beer for their personal consumption.
o Belgium has the highest density of roads and the highest density of railroads in the world.
o France is the most visited country in the world.

And the most interesting fact is that all people belong to the same species called Homo Sapiens which means "wise man" in Latin. We all have the same origin, but with different points of view, behaviors, traditions. Just different cultures that we should learn from, respect and enjoy them…