Argentina Fun Facts

Argentina’s international reputation can be often be summed up as: tango dancing, Evita, the Pope, and several notable fútbol heroes. And it’s widely accepted that Buenos Aires is is one of the most important cultural centers of Latin America. But moving beyond these obvious, albeit authentic, cultural touchstones, you’ll find that Argentina is as fascinating as it is fabulous. Here are just a couple of fun facts you might not know about Argentina.

Fossils, fossils everywhere!

Argentina seems to have been in a dinosaur hotspot back in it’s day. Well, either that or somehow conditions are favorable for fossils not to have been destroyed over time. Regardless, some of the world’s oldest and largest fossils have been found right here. Discovered in Patagonia, the Argentinosaurus was until very recently considered to be the largest dinosaur, that is, the largest land animal ever to roam the planet – in all of Earth’s history! Then just a few weeks ago, another dinosaur snached up that title. And yes, he was also found, you guessed it, in Argentina!

Fingerprinting

Argentina has the unique distinction of being the first country that first used fingerprints to solve crimes. Back in 1892, a Croatian immigrant to Argentina, Ivan (Juan) Vucetich solved the crime of a woman, Francisca Rojas who murdered her two sons and blamed it on an unknown attacker in Necochea. The Argentine police then began to adopt his method of classifying and fingerprinting, which quickly gained popularity all over the world. Bonus fact: Argentina is responsible for several more popular inventions, such as the ballpoint pen.

End of the Earth

Though a city nicknamed the “End of the Earth”, might conjure up images of a fictional place at the end of the horizon, Ushuaia is definitely real. The “Southernmost city in the world” is the capital of Tierra del Fuego and sits on the Beagle Channel. While it has been home to gold speculators and a major prison, today it’s got a population of 60,000 people. It’s also a favorite with travelers that come to visit the penguins, seals, and orcas, ski and hike glaciers, ride the End of the World train, or take a boat trip to Antarctica.

El Día del Amigo

Argentines are nothing if not social beings. They love to talk, occasionally all at the same time, and stay up until late hours of the night discussing anything from politics to religion to philosophy to soccer. Needless to say, friendships in Argentina run deep. The fact that Argentina has created a specific holiday, “friends day” then should come as no surprise. The date, July 20th, was chosen because it was the anniversary of the first moon landing – a day of international friendship and goodwill. Friends Day is an excellent excuse to go out with friends, especially those you don’t see often. Just make sure to make a reservation in advance, though. Oh, and don’t attempt to send any text messages on July 20th, to friends or otherwise. The lines are so full with text messages of people wishing their friends a great day, the networks are down.

Larger than Life

While Argentina is ranked roughly 31st in terms of population, it’s the 8th largest country in the world by landmass behind Russia, Canada, USA, China, Brazil, Australia and India. And just to keep it in perspective, we’re talking about over 190 countries! Due to its size, Argentina is a very geographically diverse country, with coastlines full of beaches, the Andes mountain range, glaciers, jungles, deserts, salt flats, wine country and vast stretches of farmland. Whatever image you have in your mind of Argentina, you need to make room for several more.

And for more images of the different sides of Argentina, see our Argentina Bucket List.

What’s your favorite piece of Argentina related trivia?  Let us know in the comments section below!

photo credits: Ushuaia | Fin del Mundo | Ruta | Iguazú | Tilcara | Salinas