[New] Interesting Facts About Costa Rica

by Howler Staff Adapted from a facretriever.com post Links are to related Howler articles 1. From northwest to southwest, Costa Rica measures only 285 miles (460 km.) and at its narrowest, it is only 74 miles (120 km.) wide. It is smaller than Lake Michigan. 2. In 1539, officials in Panama used the name Costa Rica (Rich Coast) for the first time, to distinguish the territory between Panama and Nicaragua. 3. On September 8, 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European recorded to land in Costa Rica. He took refuge just off the coast between tiny Uvita Island and the current port of Limón. 4. Costa Ricans claim that Dr. Clodomiro “Clorito” Picado discovered the properties of penicillin before Dr. Alexander Fleming, based on a paper Dr. Picado had published in 1927 on how penicillin inhibited the growth of streptococcus in his patients. 5. Costa Rica has a 96% literacy rate. For rural areas where children can’t make it to school, lessons are taught over a national radio station. 6. Native Costa Ricans call themselves Ticos and Ticas. 7. Costa Rican women do not take their husband's last name when they get married. They keep their maiden name for life along with their mother’s maiden name. 8. In Costa Rica, nearly all Catholic churches face west.