Ten things you never knew about... Brazil

With the Olympics well under way, it’s time to catch up on the host country with a few surprising facts. 1. 206 million people live in Brazil which is about half the entire population of South America. 2. “Brazil” was originally the name of an East Indian tree from which a red dye was obtained. 3. When similar trees were found in South America, the area was called “terra de Brasil” (land of the red dye wood) which gave Brazil its name. 4. In 1969, a gang of Brazilian bus drivers was charged with using beetles to climb into fare boxes and take out coins. The beetles were also arrested.

5. In 1996 a goat which had been registered to stand as a protest candidate in a mayoral election in Brazil was found dead, probably poisoned.

6. In Brazil, so many celebrities have insured their backsides that the practice has been given its own name: bumbum policies.

7. In 2001, Brazil’s Dutra Ladeira prison became the first jail to run a pizza delivery service.

8. The weight of coffee produced in Brazil is twice the weight of tea produced in India. 9. It is illegal to cut down a Brazil nut tree in Brazil. 10. Bolivia exports more Brazil nuts than Brazil and, technically, Brazil nuts are seeds not nuts.