Do You Know ?- Ep 1

 1. Brazil is World's Largest Coffee Producer

     Brazil is the world largest producer of coffee, a position the country has held for the last 150 years. Coffee plantations are mainly located in the southeastern states: Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Parana where the environment and climate provide ideal growing conditions.

     The crop first arrived in Brazil in the 18th century and the country had become the dominant producer by the 1840s.

     The first coffee bush in Brazil was planted by Franciso de Melo Pelheta in the state Para in 1727. According to the legend, the then king of the country wanted to become a part of the coffee market. So he sent Franciso to French Guiana (overseas region  of France) to obtain coffee seeds. Franciso initially had difficulty obtaining these seeds due to the governor's unwillingness to export the seeds. However, he managed to smuggle the seeds into Brazil by seducing the governor's wife who secretly gave him a bouquet spiked with seeds.

(Note: The earliest evidence of knowledge of the coffee tree is from the early 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen.)

                                                                                                                         

2. Peregrine Falcon is the Fastest Moving Creatures on Earth

     Peregrine Falcon is fast, aggressive and fearless predator which is renowned for its speed reaching over 320 km/hr, making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as fastest member of the animal kingdom.

     The Peregrine Falcon reaches faster speeds than any other animal on the planet when performing the stoop, which involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds of over 320 km/hr. The air pressure from such a dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles on a falcon's nostrils are theorized to guide the powerful airflow away from the nostrils, enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure. To protect their eyes, the falcons use their nictitating membranes to spread tears and clear debris from their eyes while maintaining vision.

                                                                                                                       

3. Orpheus

     Orpheus is a legendary musician, poet and prophet in ancient Greek religion. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music, his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and his deaths at the hands of the maenands of Dionysus who tired of his mourning for his late wife Eurydice.

     

     The most famous story in which Orpheus figures is that of his wife. While walking among her people in tall grass at her wedding, Eurydice was set upon by a satyr ( man having horse-like legs ). In her efforts to escape the satyr, Eurydice fell into a nest of vipers ( types of snakes ) and suffered a fatal bite on her heel. Her body was discovered by Orpheus who overcome with grief, played such sad and mournful songs that all the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld. His music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone ( gods of death ) who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upperworld. He set off with Eurydice following, and in his doubt, as soon as he reached the upperworld, he turned to look at her, forgetting that both needed to be in the upperworld and she vanished for the second time, but now forever.

                                                                                                                     

4. The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue

     The Statue of Unity is a statue of Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhabi Patel, who was the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India and adherent to Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian Independence movement. Patel was highly respected for his leadership in uniting 562 princely states of India to form the single Union of India. The statue is located in the state of Gujarat, India.

     

     It is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 meters ( 597 feet ). The project was first announced in 2010 and the construction of the statue started in October 2013 by Larsen & Toubro, with a total construction cost of 2,989 crore Indian rupees ( equivalent to US $437 million ). It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018.

              

                                                                                                                           

5. COVID-19 has been less deadly in Africa than elsewhere

     

     Many African countries have been praised for waging an effective campaign to combat the spread of coronavirus despite their reputation for having poor state health systems. The content, which has a population of more than one billion, has had about 1.5 million cases, according to data compiled by the John Hopkins University.

     These figures are far lower than those in Europe, Asia or the Americas- Africa has recorded about 37,000 deaths, compared with roughly 580,000 in the Americas, 230,000 in Europe and 205,000 in Asia.

     Here are some reasons for Africa's relatively low death rate:

1. Quick Action

     The first case on the continent was confirmed in Egypt on 14 February. There were fears that the new virus could quickly overwhelm largely weak health systems on the continent. So, right from the beginning, most African government took drastic measures to try and slow the spread of the virus.

     Public health measures -including avoiding hand-shakes, frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing of face-masks were swiftly introduced. Some countries -like Lesotho acted even before a single case was reported. Many Africa states declared an emergency and closed schools on March, and went into lockdown.

2. Public Support

     In a survey conducted in 18 countries in August, public support for safety measures was high -85% of respondents said they wore masks.

     The implementation of the restrictions came at a huge cost. Livelihoods were lost on large scale. South Africa- which had one of the most strictest lockdown in the world- lost 2.2 million jobs during the first half of the year. However, seven in 10 said that thinking about resuming normal activities made them feel anxious.

3. Young population- and few old -ages homes

     Globally, most of those who have died have been aged over 80, while Africa is home to the world's youngest population with a median age of 19 years, according to UN data. "The pandemic has largely been in younger age groups... about 91% of COVID-19 infection in sub- Saharan Africa are among people below 60 years and over 80 % are asymptomatic", said the World Health Organization (WHO).

     In comparison, Europe, North America and wealthier Asian countries have the oldest inhabitants. "One of the big drivers in Western countries is that the elderly people were living in specialized homes and these became places where the transmission was very intense", Dr. Moeti, the WHO Africa head said. These homes are rare in most Africa countries, where older people are more likely to be living in rural areas.

     Furthermore, an underdeveloped transport system within and between countries appears to have been a blessing in disguise. It means that Africans do not travel as much as people do in more developed economies minimizing contact.

4. Favourable Climate

     A study conducted by researchers in the University of Maryland in the US found a correlation between temperature, humidity and latitude, and the spread of COVID-19. "We looked at the early spread of the virus in 50 cities around the world. The virus had an easier time spreading in lower temperatures and humidity ", said Mohammad Sajadi, the lead researcher. "Not that it doesn't spread in other conditions it just spreads better when temperature and humidity drop."

     The spread of the virus accelerated in South Africa as the southern hemisphere went into winter. But as it became winter, the number of cases dropped significantly, impacting the continential outlook, as South Africa accounts for almost half the total number of cases and deaths on the continent.

5. Good community health systems

     The COVID-19 pandemic came to a time when the Democratic Republic of Congo was dealing with its biggest outbreak of Ebola yet. Several West African states- which battled the world's worst ever outbreak of Ebola from 2013-16 had also mastered the public health measures that have been used to prevent COVID-19, including isolating the infected, tracing their contacts and then getting them quarantined while they get tested.

     Furthermore, in Africa's most populous state, Nigeria teams that had been going to villages to vaccinate children against polio were quickly re-purposed to educate communities about the new pandemic. "Once I heard the news, I instantly thought: duty is calling. My expertise is needed to serve my community", said Dr. Rosemary Onyibe, who had been working on the polio eradication programme in April.