May 2: Poland Flag Day

Flag day in Poland: the anniversary of the raising of the Polish flag in the aftermath of the battle of Berlin, 1945.

1. The name “Poland” originates from the tribe “Polanie”. This tribe used to live in the western part of what is now Poland an the word meant “people living in open fields”.
2. The oldest restaurant in Europe is in Poland. It is the “Piwnica Swidnicka” in Wrocław, and it has been open since 1275.
3. The Polish alphabet has 32 letters.
4. Polish people have brains and brawn. People of Polish descent have won 17 noble prizes, including 4 for Peace and 5 for literature. Marie Curie, who discovered radium, is one of them. There have been more “World’s Strongest Man” winners from Poland than from any other country, including Mariusz Pudzianowski who has won the title five times.
5. Other famous people to hail from Poland include Nicolaus Copernicus, the first person to propose that the earth was not the centre of the universe; Helena Rubenstein, who invented waterproof mascara; Casimir Funk, who first coined the term "vitamin" and discovered vitamin B3; the composer Frédéric Chopin; Ludwig Zamenhof, who created the artificial language of Esperanto; and Pope John Paul II.
6. Poland’s national symbol is the white-tailed Eagle.
7. Poland was once home to the world's tallest structure. The Warsaw Radio Mast in Konstantynów was 2,121feet (646m) high, and was the world's tallest until it was taken down in August 1991.
8. Rysy in the Tatra Mountains is the highest point in Poland, at a height of 2,499m. The lowest is near Raczki Elbląskie at 6.56 feet (2 m) below sea level.
9. Poland’s national anthem is Dąbrowski’s Mazurka, commonly known as Jeszcze Polska nie zginęla (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797 by Jozef Wybicki. It was composed in Italy, where Polish troops were fighting with Napoleon.
10. Gniezno, Poznan, Krakow, Lublin and Warsaw have all been the capital of Poland at some point. At the time of writing, it's Warsaw. Lublin was the capital twice – after both World Wars.