Top 5 Brazil Facts

Ads are, for the most part, annoying, but are generally just something we tolerate. But Brazil’s most-populated city, Sao Paulo, does not. In September 2006, the city’s then-mayor, Gilberto Kassab, passed the “Clean City Law”, which outlawed all forms of outdoor advertising, including public-transit posters, and store banners. 15,000 billboards had to be removed when the ban went into effect. This posed many concerns regarding the city’s economy and identity, as critics estimated the ban would eliminate over twenty-thousand jobs and nearly a hundred-and-fifty million dollars in revenue. However, the ban was ultimately favored by the citizenry, when a survey conducted five years later found that over 70% of the populace agreed that the ban boosted the city’s productivity and aesthetic appeal.

Long before it was announced as the site of the first South American city to host the Olympics, Rio had quite the unusual identity crisis as a national and state capital. During the Napoleonic Wars, King John VI feared that the presence of Napoleon’s army in the Iberian Peninsula was an imminent threat to the Royal Family’s safety. Thus, he ordered the entire court’s overseas relocation to the then colony-state of Brazil in 1808, and Rio de Janeiro was subsequently established as Portugal’s new capital. This historical milestone made Rio the first, and to this day, the only European capital to ever exist outside of Europe.

Dolphin intelligence has fascinated Marine Biologists for decades, particularly when it comes to their interaction with us humans. Case in point: the bottlenose dolphins of Laguna, Santa Catarina, who have been helping local fisherman with their catches since 1847 without any formal instruction. The dolphins signal nearby fisherman with head and tail-slaps, indicating a sweet-spot for them to cast their nets. How this phenomenal relationship began remains a mystery, however, the most recent studies indicate that the continued connection is determined by factors such genetics and social learning. So what’s in it for the dolphins? Not much, save from chowing on the occasional fish that escape from the nets, though we’re fairly certain that they also have the deep gratitudes of Laguna’s fisherman.

As one of several solutions addressing their overcrowded prisons, Brazil has implemented programs like “Redemption Through Reading” which allows convicts to shave-off weeks from their sentencing through reading classic literary works and writing critical reports on them. Nearly half of all inmates there have completed fewer than nine years of education, so for many this is the first time they’ve experienced the enriching power of literature in their lives. Other means of reducing prison time include pedaling on stationary bikes that generate electricity power local street lamps. Part of the idea behind these activities is for them to have constructive impacts on inmates, making them better-prepared for their reintegration into the society. Unusual? Certainly. Cruel? Eh...only if you’re not a gymrat or a bookworm.

Yes, in 1959, a five year-old female rhino named Cacareco won a seat with nearly 100,000 votes. Was it just an elaborate hoax? Yes and no. A group of students printed up nearly a quarter million ballots with the rhino’s name of them, and they were then legitimately cast by voters. And, although many had dismissed the newly elected rhino city councilor as such, many critics and scholars interpreted the votes as a means of protesting political corruption and food shortages. One voter reportedly commented “better to elect a rhino than an ass.” However, despite Cacareco’s win, election officials ultimately nullified Cacareco’s ballots and held a new election the following week. So much for progress.




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