Some tasty “bites” about the Czech Republic / Pikantni zajimavosti o Ceske republice

Here is a fun way to educate yourself about the Czech Republic. I promise you, this history lesson will not bore you for sure…

CZ: Mate chut na pikantni zajimavosti o Ceske repulice? Nize uvedena lekce v historii vas urcite nudit nebude….

Satelite View

The Czech Republic is one of the few inland countries whose borders can be seen from satellite photographs. The location of the Czech Republic can be best recognized by its border mountains on satellite photos made from a height of 900 kilometers.

Bohemia
According to Roman reports, the Latin name of the Czech lands Boiohaemum (Bohemia) is derived from the name of the Celtic tribe that settled on the territory of today´s Czech Republic.

Medieval Tanks
The principle of an offensive vehicle was used almost 500 years before the first tanks appeared by the Hussite captain Jan Žižka of Trocnov at the Battle of Malešov in 1424.

First Fair in the World
The very first fair in the world took place in August 1754 in Veltrusy as Veltruský velký trh tovaru Království ceského (The Big Fair of Goods of the Czech Kingdom in Veltrusy). The fair was visited not only by many businessmen from abroad but also by Her Majesty Empress Maria Theresa herself.

Most effective AIDS drug
Czech scientist Antonín Holý (born 1936) and his team developed a medicine called Tenofovir. In cooperation with scientists from five other European countries and the United States, the drug was produced under the name Viread. It has been shown that after five days of treatment with Viread, the HIV virus completely disappears from the blood of mothers, meaning that children will not be infected. And, if an HIV-positive person continues to take the drug, he or she can live a normal life. Nevertheless, Viread hasn’t been able to completely eradicate the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

The first nanofibers
Professor Old?ich Jirsák of Liberec’s Technical University and his team were the first in the world to create a machine for the industrial production of nanofibers. Nanofibers are 1,000 times thinner than a human hair and will be used in filtration systems, for hygienic purposes and for sound absorption.

Ice
Czech freestyle skier Aleš Valenta stunned the world and took the gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah by completing no less than five twists and a triple back flip with a picture perfect finish. The maneuver had never been attempted before in competition.

Source:

http://www.czech.cz/vite_ze/