anectode about Europe

[Jehan]

A thread for the anectodes about Europe (culture, society, geography, history....)



* 4.1% of the European population has already consumed cocaine. Seems a high number for me.


*The euro is the second reserve currency in the world behind the dollar. On the other hand, since October 2006, it is the first currency in the world in terms of the number of banknotes in circulation.


* The Grin report finds that by establishing a common language for everyone, such as Esperanto, 17% of the European budget could be saved.


*9 on 10 French people are descendant of Charlemagne.



*The Saar, now one of the Länder of Germany, enjoyed a period of almost independence from 1947 to 1956. With a constitution on December 15, 1947, the territory of the Saar was then recognized as independent within the international institutions.

[Bell Beaker]

Only 4,1%?

[Jehan]

Only 4,1%?

4.1% who have try cocaine didn't seems high to you?





* If we classify by continent, Europe is by far the continent who won the most medals in olympics games.
Continent
Gold Silver Bronze Total
1. Europe 3658 3805 4069 11532

2. America 1435 1279 1260 3974

3. Asia 661 614 712 1987

4. Oceania 202 200 240 642

5. Africa 113 132 149 394


http://www.games-encyclo.org/index.php?id=21633&L=1




*From 987 to 1316, the first child of the french king have always been a boy. It means 13 kings without interuption and that's statitically very rare.



*Originally, the Eiffel Tower was to be built in Barcelona for the Universal Exhibition in 1888. Gustave Eiffel had presented the project to the mayor of the Spanish city, but the latter refused, considering it unrealistic and far too expensive. It was therefore for the next universal exhibition, in 1889, that it was built in Paris.



*King Richard the Lionheart is often depicted as one of the greatest English kings and has been the subject of many performances in the cinema. But the real Richard lived only one month in England and never learned to speak English: he spoke only French.



*The Battle of Kursk, from July 5 to August 24, 1943, is considered to be the largest armored battle in history and one of the turning points of the Second World War. More than 7,500 armored vehicles in total were aligned by the two sides on a battlefield of 23,000 square kilometers.

[Damião de Góis]

*9 on 10 French people are descendant of Charlemagne.

How is that even possible?

[Jehan]

How is that even possible?

Officially he had 10 wifes and 18 childrens.
He more than probably had many mistress and bastards.
All of them having many kids. The aristocratie had more childrens than the low class and they have more chance "to survive" as they get better conditions of life.
Due to the low population at this time and the fact he died a long time ago (814). Historians and other beleive that 9/10 french (by french it's etnic french) are descendant of charlemagne.
If you understand french you will find a thousands of results in google.

It's strange but it the same logics with Gengis khan. I might remember that 1/4 of asians are his descendants.