Albania Fun Facts
- Albania had 3 million people but only 3000 cars at the end of the communist era in 1991 because private cars were illegal. Today, Albania has many cars and perhaps 1/3 are Mercedes of varying legal statuses. Albanians do not wear seat-belts.
- Albania has the second highest rate of sex selective abortion in the world, between India and China.
- Albania had a Stalinist government for almost 50 years (1944-1991) and 1 out of 100 Albanians was imprisoned at some point by this regime. There still remains much nostalgia for this system which brought electricity, modern medicine, and literacy to much of the population for the first time in history.
- The republic of Albania wouldn’t exist without the intervention of Woodrow Wilson at the end of WW1. Even with his help, much of the Albanian people were still divided by the borders of Macedonia, Kosovo/Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece.
- Albania descended into anarchy/civil war in 1997 after pyramid schemes left much of the already very poor country even poorer. Arms depots were raided by the general population, putting 100,000’s of AK47’s into their hands. This is the only occasion that Albania’s 700,000 concrete bunkers were actually used for military purposes.
- Albania’s “hero” Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu or known better by her nom de guerr “Mother Teresa” is widely lauded internationally perhaps because few actually know her views. On accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, she claimed Abortion was basically the worst thing ever. When Ireland voted to legalize divorce, she campaigned against it. She was also against birth control.
- Albania is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It is tied at 113 out of 176 with Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Niger on the corruption index.
- 33% of Albanian voters voted to re-establish the monarchy in 1997.
- For about 10 years (1968-1978) , Albania’s only ally in the world was China. After China, Albania had no allies and was basically a more isolated European North Korea until 1991
Italy Fun Facts
- In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It sold at auction for $333,000 (USD), a world record for a truffle.
- When McDonald's opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.
- The highest peak in Europe is in Italy. Monte Bianco (White Mountain) is 15,771 feet high and is part of the Alps.
- In northern Italy, last names tend to end in “i”, while those from the south often end in “o.” The most common Italian surname is Russo.
- Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy. Tourism is vital to Italy’s economy and provides nearly 63% of Italy’s national income.
- Soccer is Italy’s most popular sport, and the famous San Siro Stadium in Milan holds 85,000 people. Italy has won the World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006), making the country’s team second only to Brazil's in number of wins
- In 1454, a real human chess game took place in Marostica, Italy. Rather than fight a bloody duel, the winner of the chess game would win the hand of a beautiful girl. To commemorate the event, each September in even-numbered years, the town’s mainpiazza becomes a life-sized chess board.
- Italians claim to have taught the rest of Europe how to cook. Italy is responsible for introducing the world to ice cream (via the Chinese), coffee, and fruit pies. In addition to Belgium and France, Italy also claims to have made the first French fries. The first Italian cookbook was written in 1474 by Bartolomeo Sicci.
- Italy is among the world’s leaders of the fashion industry. In the 1950s, Italian designers such as Nino Cerruti and Valentino led the world in creating stylish fashions. Additionally, Armani, Versace, Gucci, and Prada have become internationally recognized. Italy is also known for fine sports cars, such as the Ferrari and Lamborghini