Monday, May 12, 2008
Escudero: Wit or without
By Edcer Escudero
Facts are fun
LET'S go trivial for a change and entertain ourselves with some useful facts and information which help increase our stock knowledge of people, things and the world in general.
Hereunder are lists of what publisher and data collator Russel Ash simply calls the Top Ten of Everything, which he says is a "way of simplifying our awareness of the world around us in a form that we can easily absorb... Facts are fun."
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
So, let the fun begin!
I -- Top 10 Richest Countries (GDP per capita in $):
1) Liechtenstein, 42,416
2) Switzerland , 42,416
3) Japan, 41,718
4) Luxembourg, 35,109
5) Norway, 33,738
6) Denmark, 33,191
7) Germany, 29,632
8) Austria, 29,606
9) Belgium, 26,582
10)Monaco, 26,470
USA, 26,037.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of all goods and services produces annually within a country. Dividing GDP by the country's population produces GDP per capita, which is used in measuring how rich a country is.
II -- Top 9 Poorest Countries (GDP per capita in hundreds of dollars):
1) Sudan, 36
2) Sao Tome and Prinsipe, 49
3) Mozambique, 77
4) Eritrea, 96
5) Ethiopia, 96
6) Somalia, 119
7) Tajikistan, 122
8) Cambodia, 130
9) Guinea-Bissau, 131.
III -- Top 10 Countries with the biggest external debt (in billions of dollars):
1) Mexico, 165
2) Brazil, 159
3) Russia, 120
4) China, 118
5) Indonesia, 107
6) India, 93
7) Argentina, 89
8) Turkey, 73
9) Thailand, 56
10)Poland, 42.
IV -- Top 10 Religious Beliefs (in billions, millions):
1) Christianity, 2 billion
2) Islam, 1 billion
3) Hinduism, 800 million
4) Non-religious, 700 million
5) Buddhism, 350 million
6) Tribal religions, 244 million
7) Atheism, 145 million
8) New Religions, 100 million
9) Sikhism, 22 million
10)Judaism, 15 million.
V -- Top 10 Rice-Producing Countries:
1) China
2) India
3) Indonesia
4) Bangladesh
5) Vietnam
6) Thailand
7) Myanmar
8) Japan
9) Philippines
10) USA
VI -- Top 10 Pig Countries:
1) China
2) USA
3) Brazil
4) Germany
5) Poland
6) Spain
7) Vietnam
8) Japan
9) India
10) Mexico.
VII -- Top 10 Best-Selling Cars of All Time (Date in parenthesis indicate when car first appeared in the market):
1) Toyota Corolla (1966)
2) VW Beetle (1937)
3) Lada Riva (1972)
4) VW Golf (1974)
5) Ford Model T (1908)
6) Nissan Sunny/Pulsar (1966)
7) Ford Escort/Orion (1967)
8) Honda Civic (1972)
9) Mazda 323 (1977)
10) Renault 4 (1961).
VIII -- Top 10 Most Intelligent Dog Breeds:
1) Border Collie
2) Poodle
3) German Shepherd
4) Golden Retriever
5) Doberman Pinscher
6) Shetland Sheepdog
7) Labrador Retriever
8) Papillion
9) Rottweiler
10) Australian Cattle Dog.
IX -- Top 10 Most Widely Spoken Languages:
1) Chinese (Mandarin), 1 billion
2) English, 500 million
3) Hindustani, 500 million
4) Spanish, 400 million
5) Russian, 300 million
6) Arabic, 250 million
7) Bengali, 220 million
8) Portuguese, 200 million
9) Malay-Indonesia, 200 million
10) French, 150 million.
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (May 12, 2008 issue)
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