trivia

Motto: Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan, at Makabansa

(English:"For God, People, Nature and Country")

The Philippines has the longest accessible underground river in the world.

With a total membership exceeding 3 million, the Philippines has the third largest Boy
Scouts organization in the world, behind the United States and Indonesia.

The Leaf Musician

He became famous around the world for his distinct talent. The Guinness Book of
World Records has recognized Filipino National Artist Levi Celerio as the only man
who could play beautiful music with a leaf.

Celerio appeared in "That's Incredible" and the Mel Griffin show where he played
music with a leaf. The Guinness Book of World Records said: "The only leaf player in
the world is in the Philippines". As a composer and lyricist, Celerio wrote more than
4,000 songs.

The Woman With 3,400 Shoes

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as
the woman with the largest collection of shoes. Reports said that when the Marcos
family fled to Hawaii during the People's Power Revolution in 1986, around 3,400
pairs of shoes were discovered in one room at Malacanang Palace. They were the
First Lady's collection.
in 1987, Mrs. Marcos denied this and claimed she had only 1,060 pairs of shoes. The
former First Lady has an eight-and-a-half inch footwear size. She said her having
many shoes is not a symbol of extravagance but an expression of love and
appreciation for Filipino-made shoes. Most of her shoes, she added, were bought from
Marikina, the shoe capital of the Philippines. For this, Marikina City had acquired 200
pairs of the Marcos shoes and put them on display at the city's shoe museum.

World's Fastest Reader

As a student at the Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, Maria Teresa Calderon
became the world's fastest reader. She set the record of having read 80,000 words
per hour.

Sili King
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Eriberto Gonzales of Camalig, Albay
as the fastest chili eater. In the Philippines, he is known as the "Sili King". Gonzales
accomplished his feat in the "Sili-Eating Challenge 1999" in Bicol where he ate 350
pieces of sili in three minutes. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

World's Sweetest Fruit

What can be considered as the world's sweetest mango is produced in the island
province of Guimaras. While other countries have different varieties of the tropical
mango (Mangifera indica), none of them tastes like the superbly delicious Guimaras
mango, which is a variety of the popular Carabao Mango (Manginera indica).

In 1995, the Guinness Book of World records listed the Carabao Mango as the
sweetest fruit in the world. In the Philippines, mango ranks third among fruit crops in
production, next to banana and pineapple.

World's Third Largest Banana Producer

The Philippines is considered as the world's third largest producer of bananas, after
Costa Rica and Ecuador. Large plantations in southern Mindanao produce most
bananas exported by the Philippines. Some 30,000 hectares in the region are planted
to bananas.

The Philippines is also one of the largest producers of coconut, cassava, mango,
pineapple, tilapia, tuna, shrimps, and prawns.
The Bible Also Mentions the Philippines
It can be easily understood that no verse in the Bible carried the term Philippines,
since the Bible was written two thousand years ago or centuries before the Spaniards
came here. However, there are verses in the Bible that prophesy about the Philippine
archipelago and other islands in the Pacific. In the chapter 24 of the Book of Isaiah,
verses 15 to 16 read "Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of
the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we
hear singing: 'Glory to the Righteous One.'" The Philippines is the only Christian
archipelago in the Pacific covering East Asia.

First 3 Beauty Queens Married Pinoys

The first Miss Universe, Armi Kuusela of Finland won the crown in 1952 and married
Virgilio Hilario of Tarlac the following year. The first Miss International (1961), Maria
Stella Marquez Zawadsky of Colombia, married Filipino millionaire, Jorge Araneta. The
first Miss Asia (1965), Angela Filmer of Malaysia, married Jose Faustino, also a Filipino.

A Filipino Spread Love Bug Virus

In May 2000, the so-called "love bug" computer virus spread worldwide and infected
millions of computer files. The virus, quickly infiltrated government and corporate
computer systems around the world. Described as the worst computer virus ever
created, the "love bug" wrought damages amounting to US$10 billion. It could not
have been big news in the Philippines, if not for the fact that the suspected creator of
the virus is a Filipino. He was identified as Onel de Guzman, a student of AMA
Computer College in Quezon City.

Romulo Put RP in UN Map

According to Beth Day Romulo, Carlos P. Romulo literally put the Philippines on the
world map. "When the UN official seal which depicts the world was being selected,
Romulo asked 'Where is the Philippines?'
The answer came, 'It's too small to include. If we put the Philippines, it would be no
more than a dot.'
'I want that dot,' Romulo insisted." The UN seal now has a tiny dot for the Philippines.

Smallest Shell in the World

Pisidum, the world's tiniest shell, can be found under Philippine waters. Pisidum
measures less than 1 millimeter long.

Smallest Painting in the Philippines

Miniaturist Norris Castillo created what is perhaps the smallest piece of painting in
the country. Known as "the Harvest", the oil-on-canvas painting measures 1/4 inches
in width and 3/8 inches in length. It is now exhibited at the National Museum.

patis
Here is an account of how an enterprising lady discovered the fermentation of Patis.
Immediately after the war, the family of Ruperta David or Aling Tentay started a dried
fish business. One day, Aling Tentay stored in jars some salted fish that turned into
fragments even before they dried. While in jars, the fish fragments turned into a
liquid substance that tasted like our Patis today. Thus the beginning of the thriving
Patis business of Aling Tentay, which was officially registered in 1949 and is known
today as Tentay Food and Sauces Inc. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

**questionable facts
2. The Philippines has the largest Christian population in Asia. China actually has over
80 million Christians and is therefore the country with largest Christian population in
Asia.

5. Filipinos are the happiest people in the world. The World Values Survey conducted
by University of Michigan in 1998 ranked Iceland 1st and the Philippines 12th among
54 countries in happiness index. The Philippines was ranked first among Asian
countries though. The truth is happiness cannot be measured.