5 interesting facts about the Philippines

There are so many things one can write about when you are provided a writing space, perhaps, here in Blogger. And as a co-author of Spotlight Philippines, I felt that I need to share to people what I learned and heard from other bloggers, in this case, from the Diliman Diary.

It is indeed a calling for me to let my readers, majorly composed of the youth block, know and learn from what I write as well. Truth be told, there are a lot of things that we do not know about our country. So, here are five interesting facts about the Philippines's rich historical past.

Did you know that during the late 1400s, the Sultanate of Brunei attacked the Dynasty of Tondo for monopolizing trade with China?

Photo Courtesy: Philippines Islands Lemuria 

This one I know. Did you know that the Philippines became a British colony from 1862  to 1864? However, the Britons sailed away from Manila and left behind Indian soldiers, who eventually settled in Cainta, Rizal, which explains why most of the residents in the area have distinguishable Indian features.

Aside from this, did you know that some of us are descendants of the Aztecs and Mayans of Mexico? In 1565, conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi brought Aztec and Mayan warriors to the country through the Galleon Trade. These warriors eventually lived in the north where most decided to live in a town in Pampanga called Mexico. Their influence is still evident today with the chico (fruit native to Mexico) plantations in Mexico, Pampanga, and in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

Photo Courtesy:  Ningrogge

Did you know that the first ever bank in the Philippines is the Bank of the Philippine Islands? Check out the architecture and design in some BPI branches.

Did you know that there is a street in California named after the Philippine hero Lapu-lapu? Apparently, the street's sign was located perpendicular to the Bonifacio street to confirm it was named after him, and not the fish. I wonder how many streets and buildings in the US and other OFW communities are named after influential Filipino people.

Women hate being called babe - study

A British study supported by an Internet services-offering company (Siteopia.com) reveals that women most likely hate being called "babe" by their lovers.  

The survey also suggests women do not like being called "sweet cheeks", "baby doll", "muffin", "baby gurl", and "snookums" aside  from "babe". However, they enjoy hearing terms such as "lovely", "beautiful", "love", "honey", and "darling".

An entertaining result here is that of the men who were part of the study, they admitted calling their partners names which they would never tell in front of them such as "the Mrs" and "the wife". One out of six men called their partners "the Boss". Moreover, one out of 14 called them "the ball and chain".

Other hated and liked name-calling terms can be found in Yahoo's  article.