Fun Facts

Everybody seems to love the Dutch these days, especially since they have become such a force in the world cup. Here are a few facts about the small country south of Germany.

It was a Spanish colony till 1579 but then they took their independence.

• Holland is separated in two provinces, South and North.
• The main cities are Rotterdam which is South Holland,  The Hague which is also in South Holland and The Capital Amsterdam, which is in North Holland.
• Holland is a country where people use a lot of different kinds of transportation vehicles . The bicycle being one of them, it is estimated that nearly every inhabitant has one.
• Holland being a country mostly below sea level is called “Pays Bas” in French, which translates into Low Country.
• The highest point in the country is called “mountain” it is above 300 meters.
• Holland has 1000 museums, it  has the highest density of museums in the world.
• The country side has a lot of windmills which has become somewhat of a symbol.
• The windmills are not there for scenery purposes but for drainage, if they were not be there The Netherlands would be consistently flooded because of it’s low sea levels.
• What is the difference between Holland and Netherland? Holland is just a big chunk of the country but not all of it… Netherland is the true name of the kingdom. Holland is about 13% of Netherland.
• Still lots of the residents wear clogs, an tradition passed down by their ancestors.
• Holland is well known for it’s gastronomy and variety but the different kinds Cheese are a real attraction too.
• Most meals of Hollander origin contain potato in some form rather the very popular Cheese.
• Rhine and Maas are the biggest rivers in Holland.
• The kingdom contains as many as 300 castles most which are open to public and tourists.

Fun Facts facts about Netherland, stats Netherland

Emma Watson is, of course, most well known for her portrayal of the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. Emma Watson started acting in the Harry Potter films from the age of nine and since then has rose prominently in the acting circle. Her roles in the Harry Potter films have brought her both awards and money, not to speak of the fame.

Born in Paris to lawyer parents, she moved to Oxfordshire in England at the age of five. From the age of six, when she first thought of becoming an actress to the age of nine, she acted in various school plays. Working in the Harry Potter series was her first professional assignment. Emma has acted in all the movies in the Harry Potter series – the Philosopher’s Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Goblet of Fire and the Order of the Phoenix.

She is also scheduled to act in the same role of Hermione in the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Apart from the Harry Potter movies, she has also acted in Ballet Shoes, a television film shown on BBC One and rendered her voice in The Tale of Despereaux.

Emma has won many awards during her film career. Notable among them include –

• 2002 – Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a Feature Film as Leading Young Actress for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
• 2003 – Otto Awards for Best Female Film Star in Silver category for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
• 2004 – Otto Awards for Best Female Film Star in Silver category for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
• 2004 – Total Film award for child performance of the year in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
• 2005 – Otto Awards for Best Female Film Star in Gold category for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
• 2006 – Otto Awards for Best Female Film Star in Bronze category for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Apart from these awards, Emma has also won other awards and nominated for many more.

Apart from acting, Emma is also serious about fashion modeling that she feels is very similar to art. 2009 saw her partnering Burberry as the new face of their latest campaign. She also appeared as a face of their 2010 spring summer collection. In 2009, Emma also got involved with People Tree, a fair trade fashion brand. Emma didn’t charge for being part of People Tree.

On the personal front, Emma loves field hockey, tennis, art, dancing and singing. She is a firm supporter of Wild Trout Trust. She thinks she is a feminist and admires fellow acting professionals Julia Roberts and Johnny Depp.

In 2010, Emma Watson was named as the highest paid female star in Hollywood. Forbes also listed her sixth in their 2009 rank of most valuable young stars.

Having achieved so much at such a young age, Emma’s career graph and popularity index is only going to head one way – northwards.

Fun Facts

The nation that has many things, especially soy beans. So if you’re eating soy beans they probably come from Paraguay as they are the biggest exporter of that. Here are some other interesting facts about Paraguay…

• Paraguay got it’s independence in 1811, may the 14th.
• Before it was colonized by the Spanish, the land was ruled by an old tribe, which called it self, the Guarani.
• The name of the country comes from that of a river, a river that splits the country into two, the west and east.
• The majority of the population live in the East, over 90%, 2% or 3% live in the west.
• Asuncion, is the capital of the country, it’s name is the word assumption in Spanish, it is also the biggest city of the country. Not often is the capital the biggest city but in this case yes.
• The capital was founded by Spanish Adventurer and explorer Juan de Salazar y Espinoza.
• Guarani and Spanish are the official languages.
• The name of their currency is Guarani.
• The literacy rate in Paraguay is 94 which is considered excellent.
• Most of the population is Catholic.
• Paraguay is also one of the world’s most homogeneous countries, this means that most of the people are from one same ethnic. In Paraguay that ethnic is Mestizo, which is a mix of native and Spanish, it consists 95% of the population.
• Paraguay’s law system is a mix of Roman Law, Argentine and French codes.
• The Pantanal is the largest freshwater wetland   in the world, it has parts in many countries, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
• Paraguay is also the largest exporter of Hydroelectricity in the world.

Fun Facts facts about Paraguay, stats about Paraguay