Do you have a bit of trivia to add? Use this form!
Note: These items come from various sources and their accuracy isn't verified.
History, Food and Culture
By Bonnie Hamre, About.com
History
Cumana, Venezuela is the first city founded on South American soil. Founded
in 1521 by Gonzalo de Ocampo on the site of a Franciscan mission on Rí Manzanares,
Cumana is the birthplaces of
General Antonio Jose de Sucre,
a participant in the Wars of Independence and the first president of Bolivia.
The Dutch acquired Surinam in exchange for Manhattan Island in 1667.
Geography Trivia
The potato from South America had a lasting effect on Irish history via
the Irish Potato Famine.
The shovels that excavated the Panama Canal were later used to dig a mine
which eventually became one of the world's largest open pit copper mines at
Chuquicamata in the Atacama Desert.
Brazil is the only South America country to have an emperor residing there.
John IV fled Napoleon from Portugal and his son and grandson,
Dom Pedro I and Dom
Pedro II, all ruled in Brazil.
The Inca Empire, for all its fame, was a relatively short one. For thousands
or years before them, other cultures created sophisticated and powerful civilizations.
See the TimeLine.
Food and Culture
Argentineans eat more meat than any other nation in the world - an average of
10 ounces per person per day.
Food Trivia
Incan soldiers used to eat freeze-dried potatoes when they were on a march.
The Incans would leave the food outside to freeze overnight, then thaw them out and
stomp on them to remove the excess water.
History Trivia
Lamaism, a Mongolian form of nature worship, a kind of Tibetan Buddhism mixed with
Shamanism, came from South America. Note: This bit of trivia may be no more than Urban Legend.
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
Legal Trivia
The ramming of the Nantucket whaleship Essex off the coast of South America
became the basis for Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick.
Avianca, Colombia's national airline, founded in 1919, is South America's oldest
airline.
The Inter-Continental Hotel chain began in South America in 1946 by Pan American World Airlines.
Baseball is very popular in Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Of the 849 players in the United States' Major League Baseball on the roosters,
Opening Day 2002, 222 were born abroad. This equates to a quarter of the league.
At the top of the list is the Dominic Republic, represented by 65 players, followed by
Puerto Rico and Venezuela with 38 each and Mexico with 18.
Latin American Baseball.
Andean Pre-Columbian musical instruments are still popular and used by
Wayanay Inka.
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