This page is for the student, the grecophile, the traveller--for anyone who wants a few quick facts about Greece or Greek. Some facts are funny; some are serious; most are interesting.
Submissions are welcome, please
send me an
email with your suggestions.
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In the mean time here are some fun facts that I copied from Google's Inside Adsense when they celebrated the introduction of ads in Greek.
- The length of Greece's coastline is estimated at 9,300 miles; America's coastline is estimated at 11,800 miles. The land area of Greece is slightly smaller than the US state of Alabama.
- The yo-yo is the second oldest known toy in the world (only the doll is older), and was born over 3,000 years ago in the days of ancient Greece.
- Greek people love to dance, so there are 63 different folk dances in Greece.
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Electricity & Electronics: The main think to keep in mind about electricity here is that it is 220 amps while the US is 110. So everything will burn up unless you use a converter. That is different than an adaptor. An adaptor is just to change the size and/or shape of the plug. A converter changes 220 to 110 or vice versa. They are usually expensive and heavy but some of our guests had some light ones. Things like iPods and computers that run on very low voltage usually have a built-in converter. You have to read the fine print on the black box that is part of the cord; some say 110 only, some take both 220 and 110. If it is USB powered you can plug it into any computer.
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"Greece is the only nation to have lost its marbles and wants everyone around the world to know about it." Author unknown
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Read more about the Acropolis Marbles or search antiquities on our blog.
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For topless and nude beach etiquette please see this page.
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A few years back I read a European Commission sponsored study that listed the average number of times that people had sex per month by nationality. Greek men were at the top of the list. This did not quite match my understanding compared to the French and Italians, say. So I looked into the study further. Turns out it was just a survey; they asked the men. I had to laugh; who would believe what a Greek man told them about that subject!
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More about Greek machismo at this blog post
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Traditionally Greeks celebrate their name days instead of their birth dates. Since a few names such as Yannis, Giorgios, Nikos are quite popular this leads to semi-major holidays on those dates. The widget below lists today's names. Click on it for other dates or to find your name.
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Read one of our Name Day experiences and learn how the Greeks play the great game of gift giving!
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Any readers wearing Nike shoes or clothing and wondered where the name came from? This fun fact from the Lufthansa newsletter:
The name "marathon" and the distance used today of 42.195 kilometres go back to the legend of Pheidippides. He was said to have collapsed dead after running the approx. 40 kilometre stretch from Marathon to Athens to proclaim his message "Nike, Nike!" (victory, victory).
Plan to hire a car? We have found Argus through the CarTrawler network have consistently good service and a lowest price guarantee. Please click on the logo for a no obligation quote:
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"Happiness is the journey not the destination." Author Unknown
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Question: "Who was the great Greek comedian?"
My answer:
The Shakespeare of ancient Greece was Aristophanes.
His play that all colleges like to produce because of the sexual theme and phallic costuming is Lysistrata.
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An interesting bit of news from autumn of 2007: Greece and Turkey on Thursday agreed to exchange electricity power. The two countries aim to complete all interconnection projects of their electricity grids by January 2008 (using the Philippi-Babaeski 400 KV line).
The Turkish Minister said: "The line expands in 268 km carrying electricity power of 137 KV to Greece by the end of July or early August. Our relations with Greece are very good with new projects constantly emerging. We will be able to receive electricity power from Greece as well".
To me this indicates more of what goes on in everyday life between countries than the attention seeking politicians and the sensation seeking news media. There is no room for animosity in buying and selling.
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Keeping the Christ in Christmas? Xmas is not really that far off in Greek. Kala Christougena is sometimes written Kala Xristogena or Christ as Xristo, easily shortened to Xmas, especially if you think of X as a cross being carried? Remember all English words can be traced to a Greek origin according to the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
- "Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience." Francis Bacon
We have more Fun Facts in the Paros Paradise Blog. Please browse this full service Paros website or use this Google Search Bar if you are looking for something specific. Cheers!
