Measuring
4086mi^2, the largest salt pan Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is
so flat that rain can’t drain, creating the world’s
largest natural mirror. It’s also 5x better for satellite
calibration than the surface of the ocean, and an elevation
measurement accuracy of 0.8 inches.
One of Bolivia’s oldest silver mines has claimed the
lives of an estimated 8 million people in the past 500 years.
It is known as the ‘Mountain that eats men” and
is still mined with pick and shovel today.
There
is a giant limestone wall in Bolivia that has over 5000 dinosaur
footprints on it. The 462 tracks were made by 8 species over
68 million years ago.
The
tradition of women in Bolivia wearing bowler hats dates back
to the late 1800’s when a shipment meant for English
workers were too small so they were given to the locals.
There’s
a bar in Bolivia called Route 36 that exclusively serves cocaine
that’s renowned for its purity. Because neighbors constantly
complain of noise, and because cocaine is illegal in Bolivia,
the bar constantly changes its location which it spreads via
word of mouth.
Bolivia’s
largest prison, San Pedro, has a society within itself, with
no guards inside the walls. It has shops and restaurants run
by inmates. Inmates elect their own leaders, get jobs to pay
for their cell’s rent, and can even live with their
wives and children.
The rate of inflation in Bolivia went an estimated 25,000%
to a single digit within a period of fewer than 6 weeks because
of economic “shock therapy” designed by their
former president.
Since
it became an independent country in 1825, Bolivia has had
more than 190 revolutions and coups.
Bill
Gates tried to give Bolivia thousands of chickens and in doing
so greatly offended the Bolivian government.
There’s
a hotel in Bolivia made almost entirely of salt, complete
with salt beds and chairs.
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