Factoids

Small communities of Mennonites have settled in the country in the last 50 years and  now produce 70% of all the food consumed.  Locals were too busy producing goods for export and growing sugar cane to make rum.

Many hardwoods grow in Belize, including one called the Bullet Tree, so named when the British discovered that their bullets bounced off of  it.  It is too hard to nail, even with a pneumatic nail-gun, so it is drilled and  screwed in place when used and is often employed in sizes as small as 2X4s to support roofs.

Another hardwood is the Log Tree.  It is used for fence posts as it is too hard for termites and lasts as long as 100 years.  The purple dye extracted from the core is used to detect cancer cells in Pap Smear tests.

Whatever method the Mayans used to make their flint Leaf-Point arrow and spear heads has been lost.  No where else in the world were such thin-edged, stone weapons ever made.

The Mayan calendar clock is so accurate that it is still within 2 seconds of the Atomic Clock at the US' Bureau of Standards.  Belizeans claim that scientists are now not so sure that it isn't the right one of the two.

The Mayans invented chocolate.  Sadly, they no longer produce it in Northern Belize where we are.

Very little beef is normally consumed in the Belezian diet: fish, white meats and fruits and veggies making up the majority of the food.  Consequently, many more girls than boys are born here.  This dates back to the Stone Ages.  If the hunting was good and lots of meat was eaten, more hunters were needed so boys are born.  If the hunting was poor and everyone was eating the fruit and nuts gathered by the women waiting back at the cave, more gatherers were needed, so girls are born.  Ain't Nature grand?