In case you get a little bored while having a coffee today, here are 50 curious facts about Spain that maybe you didn't know!
1. The Spanish language has a word that exists grammatically and can be pronounced, but it can not be written. That's why I can not tell you what it is.
2. Spain has had three monarchs under 10 years of age: Carlos II, Isabel II and Alfonso XIII.
3. Spain is the first country in the world in terms of acceptance of homosexuality, only 6% of the population believes that it is "morally unacceptable".
4. Despite what most people think, 58.6% of Spaniards affirm that they never sleep a ‘Siesta’.
5. Spain is the second most visited in the world, surpassed only by France.
6. The most expensive restaurant in the world is located in Ibiza, it is called Sublimotion and the dinner costs 1,700 euros per person.
7. Spain has a bar for every 165 inhabitants.
8. Cádiz is the oldest city in Europe, it is traditionally said to have been founded 80 years after the Trojan War.
9. The symbol of the dollar ($) is a Spanish invention, an evolution of the abbreviation Ps (pesos - eighth's 1/8).
10. The Spanish alphabet lost 2 letters in 2010 - ‘ch’ and ‘ll ‘
11. Spain has almost as many airports as provinces, in total, 48.
12. On December 7, 1969, Ángela Ruíz Robles, a Galician lady, invented the 'Mechanical Encyclopedia', considered today the first prototype of an ebook.
13. The most consumed fruit in Spain is orange.
14. The ‘menu of the day’ - menu del dia - was an invention of Franco, promoted by the Ministry of Information and Tourism in the 60s, to promote Spanish cuisine.
15. 30,000 years ago, it was as cold as it is in Denmark.
16. The Royal Family was assigned the numbers from 10 to 99 for their DNI, although Nº 13 was annulled by superstition.
17. The shortest reigning King of Spain wore his crown for only six months and twelve days, Luis I de Borbón.
18. Querétaro, the name of a Mexican city that means 'island of blue salamanders', was chosen in 2011 as the most beautiful word in Spanish.
19. To travel the kilometres of Spanish coastline (7,905) would be almost the equivalent of making a trip from Madrid to Moscow and back.
20. Spain is at the forefront of Europe in the consumption of cocaine.
21. The Spanish drink 11.2 litres of pure alcohol per person per year, which is almost double the world average (6.2).
22. Spain is the leader in organ donations.
23. Spanish inventions are the mop, the Chupa Chups lollipop, the submarine, the stapler, the table football (although disputed) and the digital calculator.
24. According to the Guinness Book, in Spain, we have the largest mortar in the world (3.29 meters high and 3.07 in diameter) and the largest cup (4.73 meters long and 0.85 in diameter), they were built in the City Council of Macael (Almería).
25. There are 44 sites in Spain that are a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which places Spain as the third country in the world with more wonders to visit.
26. The Alhambra in Granada is the most visited place in Spain.
27. Spain has a good number of rare museums, for example, the Museum of Museo de Microminiaturas (Micro-miniatures) in Guadalest (Alicante) or the Parque de la Vida (Park of Life) in Luarca (Asturias) that has a total of nine giant squid.
28. The most popular names in Spain are Antonio, José, Manuel, Francisco and Juan as a boy and María Carmen, María, Carmen, Josefa and Isabel among women, according to the INE.
29. The largest earthquake in Spain took place in Torrevieja (Alicante), on March 21, 1829. A 6.6 on the Richter scale.
30. Spain’s National Library contains around twenty million pieces of work.
31. With 14 holidays a year, we are one of the countries in Europe with the most non-working days.
32. The Inquisión burned a total of 59 witches in Spain.
33. The first medal that Spain achieved in an Olympic Games was for the ‘Pelota’ pair formed by José de Amézola and Francisco Villota at the 1900 Paris Olympics.
34. Spain is one of the European countries with the lowest rates of suicides.
35. There is evidence that 800,000 years ago, in Atapuerca, our ancestors practised cannibalism.
36. The caves of Altamira and El Castillo harbour the oldest Palaeolithic art in Europe.
37. Spain is world leader in downloads of content protected by copyright.
38. Women were able to vote for the first time in Spain in 1933.
39. According to research published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, people in northern Spain, as well as Salamanca and Madrid live longer than people in the south.
40. In Spain, you can be fined up to 100 euros for driving with your hand or arm out of the window.
41. The tradition of the twelve grapes on New Year's Eve has its origin in 1887 when the Mayor of Madrid imposed a new tax for the night of the Epiphany celebration and the poor protested in the town square by eating grapes on the 31st of December.
42. Before Instagram, scallops were the irrefutable proof that pilgrims brought back to show that they had completed the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). In the Middle Ages people trafficked with scallops so much that the Church had to prohibit it.
43. The first draw of the National Lottery was held in Cadiz in 1812, the intention was to increase the revenues of the Public Treasury without having to resort to raising taxes to citizens.
44. Mayonnaise was invented in Mahón (Menorca), the legend says that when Armand Jean du Plessi, cardinal and Duke of Richelieu (1585-1642) arrived on the coasts, he demanded to eat something and, as there was nothing prepared, a chef mixed several ingredients to give them consistency ... and that's where the magic comes from.
45. Dying is much cheaper in Gran Canaria (around 2,600 euros) than in Barcelona (about 6,400). Think about it.
46. In Spain, there are 8 Nobel prize-winners, 7.5 if we count the double nationality of Mario Vargas Llosa.
47. According to a survey conducted by the World Values Survey worldwide, Spain would be among the most tolerant countries: only 10% of respondents would object to having a neighbor of another race.
48. Fidel Pagés, Spanish military doctor, was the discoverer of epidural anesthesia.
49. Spain holds the record for most editions of Big Brother broadcast in one country - 18!
50. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Spain was in Montoro, Cordoba during the summer of 2017 where it reached 47,3ªC. a record previously held by Murcia.