April 22nd: Discovery Day, Brazil

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. Some things you might not know about Brazil:

1. In terms of area (3,287,597 square miles) and population (201 million), Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. In terms of length, north to south, it is the longest (2800 miles). It is the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world and the largest country in South America, taking up 47.3% of the continent. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
2. The word "Brazil" comes from brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. The name of the tree means "red like an ember" because the wood produces a deep red dye which was highly valued by European clothmakers. The official Portuguese name was originally the "Land of the Holy Cross" (Terra da Santa Cruz), but European sailors called it simply the "Land of Brazil" (Terra do Brasil) on account of the brazilwood trade, and the popular name displaced the official one. It could have ended up being called "Land of Parrots" (Terra di Papaga), as that was another name given to it by sailors.
3. Brazil has more airports (4,000) than any country other than the US.
4. It also has more species of monkey than any other country. Not to mention over 1,000 different species of bird and 3,000 different types of fish and many mammals and reptiles.
5. There are thought to be at least 70 tribes living in the Amazon which have never been contacted by the rest of the world.
6. Brazil has won the football World Cup more times than any other nation.
7. The capital city, Brasilia, took 41 months to build and was completed in 1960, when it supplanted Rio de Janeiro as capital.
8. Rio de Janeiro is famous for its annual carnival which attracts 2 million visitors a day, and is also home to the 38m high statue of Christ the Redeemer. The statue weighs 635 tonnes and was named one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” in 2007. The mountain it stands on is the Corcovado.
9. Brazil’s highest mountain is the Pico da Neblina (Mist Peak), on the border with Venezuela, at 2,994 metres (9,823 feet) above sea level. It is almost permanently shrouded in cloud, so it was not discovered until the 1950s, and wasn't climbed until 1965, 12 years after Everest.
10. The stars in the blue circle on the Brazilian flag represent the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15 1889, when Brazil declared itself a republic.