12 June: Philippines Independence Day

In the Philippines today is Independence Day, from Spain in 1898. Here are 10 things you might not know about the Philippines.

1. The Philippines consists of 7,107 islands, and the total area of the country is 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), about the size of Italy. Its 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) of coastline gives it the 5th longest coastline in the world.
2. There are a lot of volcanoes there. The second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century took place there in June 1991 when Mount Pinatubo erupted. Taal Volcano in Talisay, Batangas, is situated in a lake it has a lake inside it, which itself has a small island. The province of Camiguin has more volcanos (seven) than towns (five). The greatest number of volcanoes per square kilometer in the world. There hasn’t been an eruption since the mid 1950s. The volcanic activity can be a good thing. It has given the country the second-largest gold deposits after South Africa and one of the largest copper deposits in the world. In recent years, geothermal energy has produced 18% of the country's electricity needs. The Philippines is the world's second-biggest geothermal producer. The United States is first.
3. The Philippines is home to the world’s smallest hoofed animal, the Philippine mouse-deer. The Pilandok (Tragulus nigricans), is about 15.8 inches (40 cm) tall. It is also home to the world's largest eagle, the Philippine, or monkey-eating, eagle. It is up to 3.3 feet (1 m) in height and has a wingspan of almost 7 feet (2 m), and is the national bird of the Philippines. It is critically endangered; so killing one is punishable by Philippine law by 12 years in jail and a heavy fine. There are also some pretty large crocodiles. The largest crocodile in captivity, known locally as Lolong, was captured in the southern island of Mindanao. While on the subject of wildlife, the Philippines has one of the highest rates of discovery in the world with sixteen new species of mammals discovered in the last ten years.
4. The Philippines was named after King Philip II of Spain. The country was named by Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos. The capital, Manila, takes its name from a white flower that grew on mangrove trees, locally known as nilad. ‘May nilad’ can be translated to mean ‘there are nilad there.’
5. The Philippine flag is the only flag in the world which is flown upside down to indicate that the country is at war. If the blue stripe is on top, everything is fine, but if the red stripe is on top, there is a war on.
6. Imelda Marcos, wife of the first elected president, Ferdinand, was known for her lavish lifestyle and in particular her shoe collection. When the couple fled from the Malacañang Palace, 1,060 pairs of shoes were left behind. She took quite a lot with her, too - she was thought to have around 3,000 pairs. One pair that didn't belong to her was the world’s biggest pair of shoes, made in Marikina City in 2002. The wingtips were about 5.3 meters in length, 2.4 meters in width, and almost 2 meters in height. They cost two million Philippine pesos.
7. The population of the Philippines hit 100 million at the time of midnight on July 27, 2014, making it the 12th country to reach this number. Manila is the world’s most densely populated city with a population of 1,660,714 living in an area of just 24 square miles (38.55 square km), it has a population density of 55,446 people per square mile (43,079 people per square km). It is not the largest city in the country though - that is Quezon City.
8. Although the Japanese invested karaoke, the first karaoke machine in the world was produced in the Philippines. Roberto del Rosario patented the first working karaoke machine in 1975, calling it the “Sing Along System.”
9. The Philippines is the world’s leading producer of coconuts, having produced 19.5 million tons in 2010.
10. The world’s largest Pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in the Palawan Sea in 1934. Known as the “Pearl of Lao Tzu,” or “Pearl of Allah,” it weighs 14 pounds (6.35 kg) and measures 9.5 inches (24 cm) long and 5.5 inches (.4 cm) in diameter. It is worth over US$40 million and is believed to be 600 years old.