Fun facts about Poland

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Question English Answer English
Poland's constitution was the 2nd in the world
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Although it was in effect for 14 months only, Poland's constitution was the 2nd in the world, right after the American one. It was enacted on the 3rd of may, 1791.
Polish soldiers had a real bear
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Polish II Corps soldiers adopted a bear, who traveled with them. That's right, Polish soldiers had a bear as a pet!
The bear was named Wojtek
World's tallest structure used to be in Poland
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In 1974, The Warsaw Radio Mast was built, and until its collapse in 1991 it was the tallest structure in the world, having over 646 meters. The next structure that beat Poland's record was Burj Khalifa, built in 2010.
The biggest castle in the world
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The castle in Malbork is recognized as the biggest castle in the world. It was built in 13th century.
Only the movies for kids are dubbed in Poland
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Poland came up with a weird dubbing strategy. The original version is still on in the background, and each of the sentences said in the movie is read by the same person (called in Polish "lektor"), regardless gender/age/characteristic traits of the protagonists in the movie.
However, when a movie like "shrek" is dubbed, it wins numerous dubbing awards.
Polish language used to be lingua franca in Europe
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In 1500-1700, Polish used to be a lingua franca in Central and Eastern Europe due to Poland's political influence.
Oscar Wilde on Polish language: “I hear hissing, rustling and hushing and my ears are bleeding”
Poland is an extremely homogenous country
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Currently, 97% of Polish citizens are Polish and their mothertongue is Polish.
Before the II World War, Polish people constituted only 65% of Poland's population.
Latex condoms were invented by a Pole
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In 1912, Julius Fromm invented the first latex condom.
17 Poles were awarded Nobel prize
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4 Nobel prizes in physics, 5 prizes in literature, 3 prizes in peace, 2 prizes in Medicine, 2 prizes in Chemistry, 1 prize in Economics
Maria Curie was awarded Nobel prize twice.
Polish people tend to marry young
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Average age of a bride in Poland is 24 years.
It is nothing weird to have a Polish friend who marries at the age of 20.
Polish emmigration
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Over one third of Polish population does not live in Poland.
Chicago is second largest Polish city in terms of Polish population
Esperanto language was invented by a Pole
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The most popular artificial language was invented by Ludwik Zamenhof.
Nowadays Esperanto is spoken by about ten million people worldwide.
Chopin playing benches
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In Warsaw, precisely in the Old Town, there are benches which will play Chopin if you sit on them.
Wieliczka salt mine
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Wieliczka salt mine is a gallery of salt sculptures located 125 metres underground.
Polish scouts
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During the World War II, Polish boy scouts formed a paramilitary and liberated a concentration camp from Nazis.
Warsaw rising from the ashes like a phoenix
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Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during the World War II, but thanks to 18th Century paintings the city was reconstructed the way it was built before.
The Italian artist who painted Warsaw in 18th Century was Bernardo Bellotto.

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