You are familiar with Jamaica , I can probably bet you (and win) you never knew half of these interesting facts on Jamaica . I myself was even surprised at some of these findings. Here you go!
Jamaica:
- Had electricity before the United States
- Had running water before the United States
- Had phone cards before the United States
- Their phone system was so sophisticated it was copied by AT&T
- Jamaica has the most "churches" per square mile of any country in the world. Source-Guinness Book of World Records. Over 1,600 "churches" all over Jamaica . That number is growing.
- Jamaica was the first country in the Western world to construct a railway, even before the United States ! This was only 18 years after Britain !
- Jamaica is the first Caribbean Country to gain Independence .
- Jamaica is the first team from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for the Football (Soccer) World Cup. This was the 1998 championship.
- Jamaica stands strong in 3rd place on the list of countries to win the Miss World titles the most! [Hmmm!] The only countries to have won it more than Jamaica is India , Venezuela and the UK , but considering the size of Jamaica , you have to say that this achievement is monumental!
- On his second voyage to the New World in 1494, the tip of the Blue Mountains in Jamaica was the first land sighted by Christopher Columbus.
- Jamaica was the first commercial producer of bananas in the Western Hemisphere ..
- Jamaica also was the first island in the Caribbean to produce rum on a commercial basis.
- The Manchester Golf Club in Jamaica , established in 1868, is the oldest in the western hemisphere!.
- Apart from the United States , Jamaica has won the most world and Olympic medals.
- 2006-2007: World Fastest man and woman- you bet, are Jamaicans [Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson].
- Jamaica has more multiple (two or more) live births than anywhere else in the world....all naturally
- Jamaica was the first country to impose economic sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa .
- Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean .
- Jamaica was the first Caribbean island to enact legislation, "The Motion Picture Industry (Encouragement) Act" to promote the making of films.
- Jamaica is the first country to sign a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria grant agreement.
- Jamaica was the first tropical country to enter the IOC Winter Olympics. The bob sleigh team's efforts inspired the film ‘Cool Runnings’.
- Jamaica was the first colony England acquired by conquest. This was in the year 1655 when the Spanish were driven from the island.
- We have the second largest butterfly in the world? (The Giant Swallowtail).
- Another of the interesting facts on Jamaica is that it was the first British colonial territory to establish a postal service (in 1688).
- Jamaica was the first Caricom country to liberalize the telecommunications sector. Since then, other Caricom countries have opened up to competition.
- Another one I found to be one of the most interesting facts on Jamaica is that Jamaica was the first country in the Caribbean region to launch a web site, jamaicatravel.com. This was in 1994!
- And if you know none of the above, (which is fine) I expect you at least know that Jamaica is the birth place of Robert ("Bob") Marley [smile]
- that the Jamaican Flag is the ONLY flag in the world, that doesn't share any of the colors of the American flag?
- The current fastest man in the world is Jamaica's Usain ("To the world") Bolt.
