Here Are 15 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba

 

After 56 years of harsh, hostile relations with Cuba, President Obama has finally lifted the trade embargo that kept us separate. It started out as a prisoner-for-prisoner trade, but now it seems that Cuba and the U.S. might finally try being friends again.

But most people have no idea what Cuba’s really like; after all, we haven’t been able to visit in a long time. Except for Cuban immigrants coming in on lifeboats and Cuban sandwiches, there’s a lot that the American people have to learn about Cuban life! It’s a perfect time to go over some fast facts about our southern neighbor.

 

1.) At age 12, Fidel Castro asked Franklin Roosevelt to send him a $10 bill, since he didn’t know what one looked like.

142003235147990 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

2.) There are two countries where Coca-Cola is forbidden: Cuba and North Korea.

1420032350587486 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

3.) President JFK stocked up before closing down trade with Cuba; he bought over 1,000 cigars.

1420032351558363 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
dailymail

4.) As part of an intelligence-gathering effort, in 2009, the U.S. government made up a fake social media site, similar to Twitter, for Cuba.

1420032353394752 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
motherboard

5.) Fidel Castro doesn’t shave for efficiency: apparently, keeping his bear long saved him 10 days of work every year.

1420032353329338 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
tuez

6.) Cuba is more literate than the U.S., with a literacy rate of 99.8% vs 99% in the U.S.

1420032352961035 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
bbc

7.) Cuba has so many doctors that they literally can’t keep them all; Cuban doctors travel to needy areas all over the world.

1420032354102613 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
flickr

8.) Hitchhiker’s paradise: if you’re thumbing through Cuba and a government vehicle goes by, they are required to stop and give you a lift.

1420032353707574 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

9.) The CIA had some wacky ideas: one included making Castro’s beard fall out, which they hoped would hurt his image.

1420032354244650 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

10.) No monopolies: one of Castro’s first acts was to ban the capitalist game.

142003235469240 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
worldofmonopoly

11.) Until 2008, cell phones were strictly forbidden in Cuba.

1420032354208537 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

12.) 95% of Cubans don’t have Internet access. If you other 5% are reading this, hi!

1420032354887001 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
drhurd

13.) During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the country was stocked with over 150 nuclear weapons.

1420032354957147 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
wikipedia

14.) Fidel Castro loved John Lennon so much that he commissioned a statue of him. He believed Lennon was a “true revolutionary.”

1420032355128369 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba

15.) Until Pope John Paul II visited in 1997, Christmas was not an officially recognized holiday.

1420032355567101 Here Are 15 Things You Probably Dont Know About Our Mysterious Neighbor, Cuba
cuba-junky