5 interesting facts about Argentina you should know
What's the story
Argentina on Sunday won its third FIFA World Cup title by defeating France.
Think about Argentina and you'd probably speak of football, but did you know football is not their national sport? Us neither!
Here is a list of five interesting facts about Argentina to make you realize there's much more to the country than just their love for football.
Messi's name banned
Parents are banned from naming their children Messi
Legendary football star Lionel Messi is an inspiration to millions of his fans across the world.
While it is common for fans to name their kids after famous personalities, government officials didn't want that to happen with Messi's name.
In 2014, they banned parents in Rosario from naming their kids after him, worrying about potential confusion if the name was to become too fashionable.
National sport
Not football but pato is the national sport of Argentina
Football springs to mind the moment you think of sports in Argentina.
It is the most popular sport, and Argentina has bagged three FIFA World Cup titles and produced two of the greatest football legends of all time Maradona and Messi.
However, the national sport of Argentina is not football, but a sport called pato, which is like a blends of polo and basketball.
First Antarctican
The first-ever child born in Antarctica is an Argentine
Emilio Marcos Palma became the first ever Antartica-born baby on January 7, 1978.
As crazy as it may sound, Argentinian officials actually airlifted Emilio's mother, Silvia Morella de Palma, to Antarctica when she was 7 months pregnant so that they could claim ownership of an area of the continent.
However, the claimed territory hasn't been recognized by the rest of the world yet.
Economic crisis
Argentina once had five Presidents in a fortnight!
During the Argentine economic crisis in 2001, the country had five different Presidents within a fortnight!
After President Fernando de la Rua resigned from office on December 20, 2001, after a prolonged economic crisis, he had four successors till January 2, 2002.
After which Eduardo Duhalde remained in office till May 2003 as the interim.
Eventually, Néstor Kirchner served as the President until 2007.
Tango
Tango originated in Argentina
The famous Latin American dance form Tango originated in the 1880s in Argentina.
In the beginning, Tango was considered lowly and unsavory as it used to take place in the brothels in the docklands of the capital Buenos Aires.
However, to the elite's dismay, it eventually outgrew that image and became popular among Argentines and other nations across Latin America.