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| The country’s official name was changed in 1989 from Burma to Myanmar |
TODAY is Independence Day in Myanmar (Burma), marking its
independence from Britain 70 years ago today on January 4, 1948.
1. The country’s official name was changed in 1989 from
Burma to Myanmar. Traditionally Myanma was the literary and Bamar the
colloquial name.
2. The national sport of Myanmar is chinlone, a sort of
six-a-side football in which the object is to keep a woven rattan ball in the
air.
3. Burmese language has 33 letters and is written traditionally
with no spaces between words.
4. One of Myanmar’s traditional dishes is lahpet thoke,
a salad of fermented tea leaves.
5. Most cars in Myanmar have right-hand steering but are
driven on the right hand side of the road.
6. The time in Myanmar is six-and-a-half hours ahead of
GMT.
7. Women and children in Myanmar can often be seen with
faces daubed with “thanaka” a white protective cosmetic paste made from tree
bark.
8. Myanmar has competed at every Summer Olympics since
1948 but has not yet won a medal.
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| Myanmar has won more Nobel Prizes than Olympic medals |
9. Myanmar, Bangladesh, East Timor, Guatemala, Israel, St
Lucia and Yemen have all won more Nobel Prizes than Olympic medals.
10. Most Burmese cats descend from Wong Mau, a female,
brought from Burma to America in 1930.