Further to most of the very good answers here let me add some quirky facts which I am sure most people don’t know about Africa.
a) The First World war started and ended in Africa. Here read all about Alhaji Grunchi , the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in anger in the first world was Alhaji Grunshi.
The fighting in Africa between British and German forces ended AFTER the signing of the armistice because neither side had received word of the surrender. The final surrender of the war took place at Abercorn in modern day Zambia.
b) One night there was an earthquake in Armenia. This earthquake in Armenia caused this rock called the “Finger of God” in Namibia over 8 000 kilometres away and in a different hemisphere to fall over. Talk about butterfly effect!!
c) There are crocodiles in the Sahara desert.
d) In Namibia people go “fishing” with spades. They dig fish out of dry river beds !!
e) The worlds first ornithologist was a Berber queen . Kahina was her name.
f) Africa is home to the world’s only naturalnuclear reactor at Okla in Gabon.
g) Both the northern tip of Africa and the Southern tip have Mediterranean climates.
h) Africa is home to the world largest meteorite . The Hoba meteorite in Namibia.
i) The original inhabitants of Madagascar come from South East Asia. Malagasy is in the same language family as Tagalog and Samoan.
j) There are over 500 languages and dialects in Nigeria .
k) Villagers in Lesotho can become snowbound for days or weeks even. !!!
l) The King of Swaziland has 15 wives.
m) Africa is home to the worlds only quadripoint where Zambia , Botswana , Zimbabwe and Namibia meet at Kazangula.
n) There is a tribe in Africa who have Jewish roots. The Lemba they are called.
o) Geometry was invented in Africa when a means of reestablishing land ownership after the annual flooding of the Nile. was needed .
p) The first person to prove that the earth was round , Eratosthenes , tested and proved his theory in Africa.
q) In the days of Rhodesia , Rhodesian farmers were the second most productive farmers in the world after US farmers.
r) Xhosa people have more European ancestry than most other African tribes. This arose from the fact that the coast off the Transkei region is the most treacherous in Africa . In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s this led to many Europeans literally “washing up” on shore with nowhere to go. So they stayed there and became part of whichever Xhosa clan ‘inherited’ them. Winnie Mandela had a white grandfather.
s) Africa is home to Limnic Eruptions which happen from time to time in Lake Nyos in Cameroon and Lake Kivu. This happens when CO2 ( and methane ) erupts from the depths of the lakes.
t) The Kingdom of Dahomey ( roughly modern day Benin ) was supported by all female warrior regiments called the Mino.
u) Maize is not native to Africa.
v) The richest man who ever lived was an African. His name was Mansa Musa.
w) The deepest working mine on earth is in South Africa.
x) There are more people who speak French in Africa than in France. Same again for English and Portuguese.
y) The Sahara desert was once a wet swamp. The tree line is advancing back into the Sahara again.
a) The First World war started and ended in Africa. Here read all about Alhaji Grunchi , the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in anger in the first world was Alhaji Grunshi.
The fighting in Africa between British and German forces ended AFTER the signing of the armistice because neither side had received word of the surrender. The final surrender of the war took place at Abercorn in modern day Zambia.
b) One night there was an earthquake in Armenia. This earthquake in Armenia caused this rock called the “Finger of God” in Namibia over 8 000 kilometres away and in a different hemisphere to fall over. Talk about butterfly effect!!
c) There are crocodiles in the Sahara desert.
d) In Namibia people go “fishing” with spades. They dig fish out of dry river beds !!
e) The worlds first ornithologist was a Berber queen . Kahina was her name.
f) Africa is home to the world’s only naturalnuclear reactor at Okla in Gabon.
g) Both the northern tip of Africa and the Southern tip have Mediterranean climates.
h) Africa is home to the world largest meteorite . The Hoba meteorite in Namibia.
i) The original inhabitants of Madagascar come from South East Asia. Malagasy is in the same language family as Tagalog and Samoan.
j) There are over 500 languages and dialects in Nigeria .
k) Villagers in Lesotho can become snowbound for days or weeks even. !!!
l) The King of Swaziland has 15 wives.
m) Africa is home to the worlds only quadripoint where Zambia , Botswana , Zimbabwe and Namibia meet at Kazangula.
n) There is a tribe in Africa who have Jewish roots. The Lemba they are called.
o) Geometry was invented in Africa when a means of reestablishing land ownership after the annual flooding of the Nile. was needed .
p) The first person to prove that the earth was round , Eratosthenes , tested and proved his theory in Africa.
q) In the days of Rhodesia , Rhodesian farmers were the second most productive farmers in the world after US farmers.
r) Xhosa people have more European ancestry than most other African tribes. This arose from the fact that the coast off the Transkei region is the most treacherous in Africa . In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s this led to many Europeans literally “washing up” on shore with nowhere to go. So they stayed there and became part of whichever Xhosa clan ‘inherited’ them. Winnie Mandela had a white grandfather.
s) Africa is home to Limnic Eruptions which happen from time to time in Lake Nyos in Cameroon and Lake Kivu. This happens when CO2 ( and methane ) erupts from the depths of the lakes.
t) The Kingdom of Dahomey ( roughly modern day Benin ) was supported by all female warrior regiments called the Mino.
u) Maize is not native to Africa.
v) The richest man who ever lived was an African. His name was Mansa Musa.
w) The deepest working mine on earth is in South Africa.
x) There are more people who speak French in Africa than in France. Same again for English and Portuguese.
y) The Sahara desert was once a wet swamp. The tree line is advancing back into the Sahara again.
