Global Perspectives: 40 Insightful Facts About People from Different Countries

Between 1966 and 1970, citizens of Oman were forbidden by the Sultan (Said bin Taimur) to smoke in public, play football, wear sunglasses, or speak to anyone for more than 15 minutes.

27. After Albanian citizens lost approximately $1.2 billion (~$400 per capita) to Ponzi schemes in 1997, some of the losers started protesting against the government. The protests ultimately turned into a more than the 6-month civil war that toppled the government and killed 2000 to 3800 people.

28. Residents of Shitterton, a hamlet in England, clubbed together in 2010 to replace the town sign with one carved in 1.5 tons of stone to stop people from stealing it.

29. 69% of Luxembourgers and 53% of Belgians speak "at least" four languages.

30. Poor Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian alcoholics drink cologne because it is cheaper than vodka.

Australians use nearly twice as much coal per person than Americans and five times as much as the rest of the world.

32. In 2004, 1/6th of the Chadian Army did not actually exist. Officers had invented some 6000 soldiers so as to embezzle money meant to be used to pay and equip these imaginary troops.

33. Most people in Cuba still drive old American cars from the 1950s. There are about 60,000 classic American cars in Cuba today and if the embargo were to be lifted, the Cuban people could make a fortune off of these "Yank Tanks."

34. In 1960, debris from a failed American launch (Thor AbleStar) fell on Cuba, killing one cow. Many Cubans demonstrated, with banners on cows reading “The Yankees are killing us without mercy” and “Eisenhower, you murdered one of my sisters.” Cuba received $2 million compensation, and the cow had a state funeral.

35. Cuban ballet dancers are arguably the country’s most esteemed export. They often earn more money than doctors, and they perform locally to the type of cheering crowd that in the USA would be reserved for pop stars.

An indigenous Brazilian tribe named the Pirahã lost interest in converting to Christianity when they found out that missionary Daniel Everett had never seen Jesus himself.

37. Nigerian scammers once convinced a Brazilian bank to send them $242 million over the course of three years to “invest” in the profits of a new airport. The airport in question never actually existed.

38. Inflation has affected Venezuelans so much that in 2017, people sold video game currency in exchange for real currency. In many cases, these gamers made more money than salaried workers in Venezuela even though they were earning just a few dollars per day.

39. An $80 worth of coca leaves, from a Colombian peasant, can sell for $800 as coca paste, $2,147 as pure cocaine in Colombian ports, $34,000 just over the US border, and $120,000 on the streets of New York.

40. When University of Vienna students were asked their reasons behind choosing to learn Finnish, 97% of respondents said the main factor behind their decision was heavy metal music.