Random Africa Facts

Ten things we learned about Africa while we were there, in no particular order:

1.  Zimbabwe has 350 (!) different breeds of mosquito, but only one carries malaria.

2.  The Cape of Good Hope was originally called "Cabos das Tormentas", or "Cape of Storms", by Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to sail around it (apparently he had a pretty rough voyage).  Dias returned to his native Portugal and recounted his tale to the King, who declared that it should be called the Cape of Good Hope, as it was seen as a good sign that a trade route could be opened to lands farther east.

3.  Game animals--kudu, impala, nyala, wildebeest, etc--only sleep for 10-15 minutes at a stretch.  Day and night mean nothing to them; their lives consist of eating, procreating, sleeping for very brief periods, and trying not to get eaten.

4.  Lions--because they are apex predators--sleep for 20-21 hours per day.

5.  Cape Town looks like a European city.

6.  If you collected the water that flows over Victoria Falls during the wet season--about 1.7 million gallons a minute--for three days, you could supply New York City with fresh water for a year.

7.  Elephants' stomachs can only process about 60% of what they eat, which is why they have to eat so much to stay healthy.

8.  Cheetahs don't have collar bones, which gives them a very long stride while running.

9.  The zebra's closest structural relative is the rhinoceros.  Go figure.

10.  Giraffes--for all their size--can be nearly invisible when standing next to a tree.