Philippines Factoid

Here are some interesting facts about the Philippino culture and nation...

INVENTORS OF THE YO-YO

The yo-yo is considered the second oldest toy in history, the oldest being the doll. Pedro Flores, a Filipino, originated and introduced the U.S. manufactured yo-yo. The word yo-yo is a Tagalog word, a nativePhilippine language, meaning 'come back.'

FIRST NATION AWARDED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

On February 25, 2001, the Philippines received a very unusual global award. It is the first of its kind in the world, as well as the first award given to an entire nation. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Foundation (Nobel Peace Foundation) awarded the Philippines for their “wonderful gift of the spirit . . . to the world” in the form of People Power II.

PHILIPPINO NATIONAL TIDBITS

• Maria Teresa Calderon - World champion speed reader as listed in the Guiness Book of World Records
• Coconuts - the Philippines is considered to be the largest producer of coconuts
• Dan Inosanto - from Mike Robandido - Pinoy who taught Bruce Lee how to use arnis de mano.
• Gloria Maris - world's most expensive sea shell (I believe it's a golden cowrie type of shell - Ken.)
• Olivia Maristela - First Pinoy student who successfuly lobbied for the creation of a Filipino class at Brown University in Rhode Island.
• Manuel Conde - First filipino film director to be entered in an International Film Festival - the movie Genghis Khan which was accepted for screening at the Venice Film Festival in 1950 - Ken.
• Q: The colorful passion play during Holy Week is among the most revered Christian practices of the Filipino. What is this passion play called? A: Senakulo from the Spanish "cenaculo."
• Q: Saints proliferate in the Filipino's Catholic upbringing, so much so that reverence sometimes borders on mysticism. Do you know the various saints to whom the following pleas are offered?
• In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans.
• The Philippines is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking nation, next to the USA and the UK.
• Los Angeles, California was co-founded in 1781 by a Filipino named Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, along with 43 Latinos from Mexico sent by he Spanish government.
• What antibiotic did Filipino doctor Abelardo Aguilar co-discover? Hint: Brand is Ilosone, named after Iloilo. Erythromycin.
• The one-chip video camera was first made by Marc Loinaz, a Filipino inventor from New Jersey.
• The first ever international Grandmaster from Asia was Eugenio Torre who won at the Chess Olympiad in Nice, France in 1974.
• This son of two Filipino physicians scored over 700 on the verbal portion of the Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) before age 13 - Kiwi Danao Camara of Punahou School, Hawaii... Edward Sanchez, a Mensa member, bagged the grand prize in the first Philippine Search for Product Excellence in Information Technology.
• The first Filipino-American in US Congress was Virginia Rep. Robert Cortez-Scott, a Harvard alumnus.
• Distinguished British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor, thrilled upon seeing a Bicol landmark in 1903, wrote: "Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison." Mayon has the world's most perfect cone.