Trinidad & Tobago Fun Facts ...

Taken from  True Nomads ... http://truenomads.com/2013/10/facts-about-trinidad-and-tobago/ ...

Here are 19 interesting facts about Trinidad and Tobago. When I visited, I thought of it as a less touristy Bahamas or Cancun. Awesome beaches, great diving, pretty girls. Whats not to love!

1. Tobago only has 6% of the total area and 4% of the total population of this dual-island nation.
2. Trinidad was named by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage to the New World in 1498.
3. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most important leatherback nesting sites.
4. Tobago got its name because it resembles a tobacco pipe (tavaco) used by local natives.
5. The Pitch Lake in South Trinidad is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world.
6. Trinidad and Tobago Carnival has been consistently ranked as one of the top ten Carnival celebrations in the world
7. The Steelpan: The only new acoustic instrument to be invented and accepted worldwide in the 20th century originated in Trinidad and Tobago.
8. The people of Tobago are called Tobagonians and those from Trinidad are called Trinidadians or Trinis. Together the people of Trinidad and Tobago are referred to as “Trinbagonians.”
9. The dances “limbo” and “calypso” were created in T&T.
10. Trinidad and Tobago’s Dr Joseph Lennox Pawan achieved international acclaim for the discovery of the transmission of the rabies virus by vampire bats.
11. The Trinidad Moruga “Scorpion” Pepper has officially been ranked as the world’s hottest pepper by the Guinness Book of Records.
12. The oldest rainforest reserve in the Western Hemisphere is located in Tobago.
13. Education in T&T is entirely free, contributing to the over 98% literacy rate.
14. Children are expected to have basic reading and writing skills before starting school at age 5. Most start preschool at 2 ½ years of age.
15. The world’s largest brain coral is located in Tobago.
16. Cricket is the national sport.
17. The limbo dance originated as an event that took place at wakes in Trinidad and Tobago
18. The novels “Robinson Crusoe” and “Treasure Island” were based on these islands, and the movie “Swiss Family Robinson” was filmed here.
19. T&T is one of the world’s leading exporters of natural gas.