20th November: Mexico Revolution Day

Today is Mexico Revolution Day, marking the beginning of the 1910 revolution. 10 things you might not know about Mexico.

1. Mexico is home to the world's smallest breed of Dog (the chihuahua), the world's second smallest breed of Rabbit (the volcano rabbit - a very rare rabbit which lives near Mexican volcanoes) and the largest wildcat in North America (the jaguar, which lives in the southern jungles of Mexico).
2. It introduced the world to several popular foods - Chocolate, corn, chilli and the Caesar salad, after Caesar Cardini, an Italian-American restaurateur and chef who allegedly dreamt up the dish at his Tijuana restaurant. However, one of his employees, Livio Santini, made the claim that it was actually his mother's recipe - so arguably we should be calling it Livio Salad.
3. Mexico is also home to the world's smallest volcano, the Cuexcomate volcano outside the city of Puebla, which is 43 feet tall. This is less than half the height of the Statue of Liberty. Although to be accurate, it's actually an inactive geyser that happens to look a bit like a volcano. It's perfectly safe to go inside - there is a staircase inside for tourists to descend.
4. The capital and largest city is Mexico City, which is the largest city in North America - it is larger than New York. It was built on a lake, so now it is sinking 15-20cm a year, which is threatening the infrastructure and historic architecture.
5. The oldest university in North America is also in Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), was founded in 1551 by Charles V, a holy Roman Emperor.
6. In Mexico, it is illegal to play the National Anthem incorrectly. Get it wrong and you could face a fine and/or have to issue an apology to the country.
7. On February 19, 1913, Mexico had three different presidents in the space of one hour. The middle one of the three, Pedro Lascurain, held the post for an estimated 26 minutes, the shortest presidential term on record.
8. The Mexican Flag is made up of three vertical stripes - the Green stripe stands for hope, the white stripe represents purity and unity, and the red stripe represents the Blood of the nation’s heroes. There is a picture of an eagle eating a snake in the middle of the flag - in the fourteenth century, a group of Chichmecas (warrior nomads) called the Aztecs (or Mexicas) settled in Mexico when they saw an eagle (representing the Sun) standing on a cactus (a symbol of the heart) holding a Snake (a symbol of the Earth or Quetzalcoatl).
9. The border between Mexico and the USA is the second largest border in the world (only the U.S.-Canadian border is longer). The US state of Texas was once part of Mexico, but declared independence from it.
10. Although Football is the most popular sport (Mexico's only gold medal at the 2012 Olympics was for football) its national sport is bullfighting. Mexico is home to the biggest bullfighting ring in the world, the Plaza de Toros, which seats about 50,000 people.