Top 10 facts about Spain
1. Billboards with a bull silhouette are common along Spanish highways. Originally intended to advertise a well-known whiskey brand, the boards were purchased by the country's government after the firm went bankrupt. In this way, these boards have become a symbol of Spain.
2. The iconic Chupa Chups lollypops were invented in Spain, and their wrapper design was created by Salvador Dali, a famous artist who was also a Spaniard.
3. Spain is one of the few European countries where marijuana is partially legalized. It is legal to grow cannabis for personal use, but it is illegal to smoke in public. You can peacefully smoke marijuana at home without fear of any fines.
4. If you like to rhyme with nature and sunbathe in Adam and Eve's suit, Spain is your country, as nudism is legal here. There are about four hundred nudist beaches on the entire Spanish coast. And if you add up the length of all the beaches in the country, you get as much as 8 thousand kilometres.
5. Amancio Ortega, founder and ex-president of the Indetex Group (which includes the Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, and Zara Home brands), is the richest man in Spain and the second richest in the world after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Ortega makes around 2.5 million euros a day.
6. Spain has the highest density of bars and restaurants per capita, with one establishment for every 175 people.
7. Spain has the third-highest life expectancy in the world, after Japan and Switzerland. On average, women live 85 years and men 79 years.
8. Until 2013, the legal age for having sexual encounters and marrying was one of the lowest in the world: 13 years for sexual relations and 14 years for marriage. Spaniards will now have to wait up to 16 years for both. Following the lead of other European countries, the age restriction has been raised.
9. Spanish is the world's third most widely spoken language. Around 400 million people speak it. It is official in twenty-one countries. In addition, over a hundred million individuals are studying Spanish as a second language.
10. Valencia hosts the La Tomatina festival every year, during which participants throw tomatoes at each other. More than 150 tons of tomatoes are turned into juice, which spills all over the city streets and colours everyone who attends.
