Useless knowledge about the Philippines

 1. Coconuts – the Philippines is the largest exporting country and the second-largest producer in the world.
The largest producers of coconuts are Indonesia, the Philippines, and India. The Philippines harvests approximately 15 million tons annually, making them an important economic factor in the Philippines. Coconut shells are also used as charcoal for barbecues.

 2. Jeepneys – without them, nothing works.
Jeepneys are a means of transportation unique to the Philippines. Originally, they were jeeps left behind by the Americans after their withdrawal from the Philippines. Jeepneys are still built in the Philippines. In Manila alone, there are approximately 25,000 registered jeepneys; along with buses, they are the most important means of transportation in the metropolis. In the provinces, they are the most frequently used means of transport for medium-distance journeys. Almost 200,000 jeepneys are in operation nationwide.

 3. Jollibee – bigger than McDonald's in the Philippines.
With Jollibee's market share of around 65 percent of the fast-food market, the Philippines is one of the few countries where a local provider has managed to compete with McDonald's, relegating its rival to second place. In addition to Jollibee, the company also owns Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, and Red Ribbon.

 4. Tagalog – Spanish origin of many words.
Tagalog is the most widely spoken language in the Philippines and is the basis of the national language, Filipino. Tagalog is spoken mainly in the metropolitan area of ​​Manila, Luzon, and Mindoro. However, the majority of people in the Philippines also speak and understand Tagalog. Since the Spanish occupied the country as a colony for over 300 years, many words are derived from Spanish. Surnames are also often of Spanish origin, e.g., Santos, Reyes, Cruz, Bautista, and many more.

 5. Christmas – celebrated for weeks.
The first time I was in the Philippines, I was somewhat surprised by the Christmas carols in the malls and the Christmas decorations – it starts as early as September. Colorfully decorated, oversized Christmas trees and Christmas bazaars abound in the malls.

 6. Shopping malls – an indispensable central meeting place and social hotspot
The largest shopping malls are SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, and SM North Edsa. SM Mall of Asia is said to be the largest in all of Asia. These malls have supermarkets, all the well-known fashion labels, hardware stores, countless restaurants, and movie theaters. Malls are a popular meeting place for strolling, shopping, or meeting friends.

 7. Karaoke – no party is complete without a sing-song.
No Filipino household is complete without a karaoke machine, and no party is complete without karaoke. Every barangay, no matter how small, has a karaoke bar. People sing their hearts out at any time of day or night. Filipinos generally have very good voices, as evidenced by the countless bands at home and abroad. Filipino bands play on many cruise ships and in bars and clubs throughout Asia.

 8. Texting / Social Media.
400 million text messages are sent every day (!), which is more than in the US and EU combined. As of June 2024, there were 102,317,900 Facebook users in the Philippines, representing 86.1% of the total population. The majority of these were women (53%). The largest user group was 18- to 24-year-olds (34,700,000).

 9. The yo-yo actually comes from the Philippines.
Originally, it was a hunting weapon. A stone was tied to a string so that the stone could be retrieved. Historically, yo-yo playing was popular in the Philippines from the 16th century onwards. Pedro Flores, a Filipino immigrant to the USA, founded a yo-yo factory in 1928 and thus popularized the yo-yo.

10. Manila – just one city among many.
Manila, the capital, what few people know: Manila, with its almost 2 million inhabitants, is just one part of the Manila metropolitan area. It includes the city of Manila proper, or better known as Metro Manila, 15 other cities (Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela), and the municipality of Pateros. In total, over 20 million people live here.

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