Did You Know? - At One Time Alaska Was Part Of Mexico?
In the second half of the 18th century both the Russians and the British began to penetrate into the Alaskan peninsula, an area considered a Spanish possession as Spain was credited with "discovering" ...
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Did You Know? - Vanilla
Did you know that the vanilla bean is from an aromatic orchid that originally came from Mexico?
The Academy of Sciences and Gastronomic Arts in Paris were so taken with the fruit of this orchid, that ...
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Did You Know? - Mexican Jumping Beans "Frijoles Saltarines"
Much of the world has heard about the legendary "Mexican Jumping Bean", the small seed that resembles the common "frijole" or bean, that, when warmed by the heat of the sun or when held in the pal...
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Did You Know? - Castille Soap
From the late 17th century and throughout the 18th, Castille soap was the reigning soap of Europe. It surpassed even the French soaps that, at their peak, were considered supremely prized elements of t...
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Did You Know? - Peanuts
Did you know that the first people known to have used the peanut were the Mayans of Mexico?
International explorers first recorded the peanut in Haiti, but were told it had originally been taken from ...
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Did You Know? - Henequen - Sisal
One of the greatest gifts the Indigenous peoples of Mexico shared with the world was their discovery and cultivation of natural fibers. One of these, henequén, continues to be used throughout the...
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Did You Know? - Nochebuena / Poinsettia
Nochebuena, the Mexican name of the flower English-speakers call poinsettia, was discovered in Taxco and the valleys surrounding Cuernavaca. Known by the Aztecs in their native Nahuatl language as cuet...
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Did you know? A sacred game
The ancient game of amalla was not mere sport. The ballcourt was a "middleworld" between gods and humans, a battleground for the cosmic tension between life and death, good and evil, sacrifice and...
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Did You Know? - Pineapples & Papaya
Did you know that peanuts, vanilla, guavas, tomatoes, some forty different chiles, avocados, and papayas originally came from Mexico?
Pineapple also grew wild in Mexico, as well as Peru and along the ...
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Did You Know? - Chewing Gum
Did you know that among the many things Mexico has given to the world, chewing gum is one of them?
El Tzictlil, a Nahuatl word for resin from the Zapote Blanco tree, caught the attention of three Amer...
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Did you know? Mexico was once the world's major source of pearls.
This month's Did You Know column highlights the pearl, the beautiful birthstone associated with the month of June.
The history of pearl collecting in Mexico goes back a very long way. When Spanish exp...
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Did you know? Mexico has 36 Magic Towns.
One of the Mexican Tourism Secretariat's flagship programs in recent years has been its Magic Towns designation. This is a program after my own heart, and one that was long overdue when it was finally ...
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Did you know? Steamboats on Lake Chapala.
In the nineteenth century, prior to the advent of the railroads, overland travel was decidedly slow and arduous. To get to Lake Chapala, for example, from Guadalajara usually entailed either an overnig...
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Did you know? Sinaloa has the most beautiful women in Mexico.
A chance remark recently by Mexico Connect publisher David McLaughlin has prompted me to examine the statistics on Mexican beauty.
As a single footloose and fancy-free 20-something-year-old in Mexico ...
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Did you know? Mexico has the deepest water-filled sinkhole in the world, in Tamaulipas.
As vertical shafts go, this is a seriously deep one! Long considered to be "bottomless" since no-one had ever managed to find the floor, we now know it is precisely 335 meters (1099 feet) deep, making ...
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Did you know? An early Jules Verne story was set in Mexico.
An early Juules Verne story by Jules Verne, the science fiction and travel author, was set in Mexico.
What's more, he wrote it without ever setting foot in Mexico!
Most people know Jules Verne (1828-...
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Did you know? Mexico has more World Heritage sites than any other country in the Americas.
The status of World Heritage site is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) denomination. The status is conferred on selected sites under the terms of "The Conventi...
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Did you know? Many common garden flowers originated in Mexico.
Many common garden flowers were developed from samples collected in Mexico by a German botanist financed by Britain's Horticultural Society.
Karl Theodor Hartweg (1812-1871) came from a long line of g...
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Did you know? 19th century Mexico map maker first sailor through the Georgia Strait, Canada
José María Narváez (1768-1840) is one of Mexico's forgotten heroes.
Captain George Vancouver is usually given the credit for exploring the Georgia Strait and discovering the site of the city that n...
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Did you know? The Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey originated in Mexico.
Strange but true; the bird now so closely associated with many festive meals is a direct descendant of the wild turkeys still found in many parts of Mexico. How is it possible that a Mexican bird acqui...
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Did you know? Cuautla, Mexico, has the world's oldest railway station building.
In the golden age of steam, railway lines were built all over Mexico. Rail quickly became THE way to travel. Depending on your status and wealth, you could travel third class, second class or first cla...
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Did you know? Los Mochis and Topolobampo are both examples of "new towns".
The city of Los Mochis ("Mochees", as locals call it) in the northern state of Sinaloa, is one of Mexico's newest cities. It dates back only as far as 1872, when a U.S. engineer, Albert Kimsey Owen (18...
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Did you know? Diamonds from tequila.
..."there's gold in them there hills, and diamonds in that there tequila"...
I know! You think I'm several sheets to the wind from too many shots of tequila already, even before you read this month's ...
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Did you know? Sheep and environmental damage in Mexico
Belive it or not, the introduction of sheep to Mexico had serious environmental consequences.
After the Conquest, Spanish settlers introduced numerous Old World species into the New World. The mos...
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Did you know? Mexico's vultures have very different eating habits.
Vultures (zopilotes in Spanish) are among the most conspicuous birds in many parts of Mexico. Commonly misidentified as eagles, these blackish scavengers can be seen almost anywhere, often in large flo...
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