KINABUKASAN SOCIETY

Towards Unity and Service

Filipino Trivia

  In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to
  the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans.
What is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking
  nation, next to the USA and the UK?  The Philippines.
The USA bought the Philippines, Puerto Rico and   Guam from Spain in1898.
  The Filipino-American Independence War from 1898
  to 1902 ensued, killing  4,234 Americans and how many Filipinos?  16,000
  were killed in action and 200,000 died from famine and pestilence.  (The
  Philippines lost and was colonized until 1946.)
Los Angeles, California was co-founded in 1781 by
  a Filipino named Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, along with 43 Latinos
  from Mexico sent by the 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.

  Who was the Filipino-American dancer who scored a
  perfect 1600 on the   SAT?  Joyce Monteverde of California.

  Who invented the fluorescent lamp?  Thomas Edison
  discovered the   electric light and the fluorescent lighting was
  thought of by Nikola Tesla.
  But the fluorescent lamp we use today was invented
  by Agapito Flores (a Cebu man named Benigno Flores of Bantayan
Island,  according to the Philippine
  Daily Inquirer), a Filipino scientist.  Americans
  helped then-Philippine  leader Ramon Magsaysay to develop it for worldwide
  commerce.
                      (Yes!  Many  foreigners have noted that the Filipino population
  has Asia's highest  rates of inventors and international beauty  queens.)

  Two Filipina beauties, Gloria Diaz and Margie  Moran,
  chosen as Miss Universe in 1969 and 1973.

  Pure- or part-Filipino celebrities in American
  showbiz include Von  Flores, Tia Carrere, Paolo Montalban, Lea Salonga,
  Ernie Reyes Jr., Nia  Peeples, Julio Iglesias Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips,
  Phoebe Cates and Rob  Schneider.

  The first Filipino act to land a top hit on the US
  Billboard Hot 100   chart in the 1960s was the group Rocky Fellers of
  Manila.  Sugar Pie   deSanto (father was from the Philippines), The
  Artist Formerly Known as  Prince(according to the October 1984 article
  "Prince in Exile" by Scott  Isler
  in the magazine Musician), Jaya, Foxy Brown and
  Enrique Iglesias followed.

  Pure Filipinos who made success in minor charts  were Jocelyn Enriquez
  aka Oriental Madonna, Buffy, Pinay and (Ella May)  Saison.

  Latina-American pop star Christina Aguilera lost
  to Filipina vocalist  Josephine Roberto aka Banig during the
  International Star Search years  ago.  In a mid-1999 MTV chat, she said that
  competing against someone of  Banig's age was "not fair."

  Besides gracing fashion magazine covers, this  international supermodel
  from Manila had walked the runways since the 1970s  for all the major
  designers, like Calvin Klein, Chanel, Christian  Dior, Christian Lacroix,
  Donna Karan, Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent
  - Anna Bayle.

  Who is the personal physician of United States  Pres. William Clinton?
  Eleanor "Connie" Concepcion Mariano, a Filipina
  doctor who was the  youngest captain in the US Navy.

  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.

  Filipinos had their first taste of Mexican chili  and corn during the
  Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1564-1815).  In
  return, Mexico's people  had their initial taste of tamarind, Manila mango
  and a Filipino banana  called racatan or lakatan.

  Founded in 1595 by Spaniards, the University of  San Carlos in Cebu
  City, Philippines is older than Harvard and is the
  oldest university in  Asia.
  University of Santo Tomas in Manila, established
  in 1611, is Asia's  second oldest.

  Who's the Filipina senator popular for her
  colorful jargon, delivered in
  a mile-a-minute speed and in a weird
  Harvard-meets-Ilonggo accent?
  Atty. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

  The first female president of the Philippines
  sworn into office in1986
  was Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.  Her maiden name is  Chinese...  In a
  March 31, 1997 article, The New York Times
  reported that the CIA  manipulated
  Philippine elections: "(CIA operative Col. Edward  Lansdale) essentially
  ran the successful presidential campaign of
  Defense Minister Ramon  Magsaysay
  in the Philippines in 1953."

  Who was the first Asian and/or Filipino to snatch
  America's Pulitzer  Prize?  Philippines Herald war journalist Carlos
  P. Romulo in 1941.  (He  was also the first Asian to become UN President.)
  The first two  Filipino-Americans to garner the same award 56
  years later were Seattle  Times'Alex Tizon and Byron Acohido, who is
  part-Korean.

  Filipino writer Jose Rizal could read and write at
age 2, and grew up  to speak more than 20 languages, including Latin,
  Greek, German, French  and Chinese.  What were his last words?
  "Consummatum est!"  ("It is  done!")

  "What's still most impressive to me about the
  Philippines is the  friendliness of the people, their sense of
  humor...," wrote Honolulu  journalist John Griffin in a 1998 visit to Manila.

Contributed by: Perry Bien Jr.

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