Euro 2012: Ukraine Fun Facts

With the Euro 2012 frenzy happening, it might be interesting to learn a little bit more about the countries in which the matches are being held. At the very least, it'll give you something to ponder during the commercial break. Since Poland and Ukraine are sharing hosting duties, here are a list of interesting facts about Ukraine (Poland will follow later).

Emily Young's blog tells us that:
• Ukrainians wear their wedding ring on the ring finger of their right hand instead of their left hand.
• You have to pay to use the restroom in public places, and you have to pay for plastic bags at the grocery store.
• Bread and mayonnaise are eaten at nearly every meal.
• Commas are used as decimal points instead of periods.

Via EnglishRussia, we learned:
• George Gershwin wrote “Summertime” after being inspired by an old Ukrainian lullaby called “Sleep Is Tiptoeing About” performed by the Ukrainian National Chorus.
• The third most visited McDonald’s in the world is located near the train station in Kiev. In 2010, it served 2,283,399 visitors.
• The Arsenalnaya Metro Station, located close to the House of Parliment in Kiev, is the deepest in the world.
• One of the most famous Christmas songs is “Schedrik,” a folk song written by a Ukrainian composer named Mykola Leontovich. The rest of the world knows the song as “Carol of the Bells” or “Ring Christmas Bells”.
• The oldest map known to scientists, as well as the most ancient settlement of Homo Sapiens were found in the Ukrainian village of Mezhireche. They are approximately 15,000 years old. The map is cut out of the bones of a mammoth, which is also what the settlement is made of.
• Ukraine, on its own initiative, disarmed itself of nuclear weapons. Although Ukraine once had over 1,000 nuclear warheads and the third largest nuclear potential after Russia and the United States, the warheads and missiles were given to Russia, and the silos were destroyed. For giving up its nuclear weapons, Ukraine received money and security guarantees from the nuclear powers.

According to BestofUkraine.com:
• The heaviest silver coin in the world is a Ukrainian anniversary coin "10 years of hryvnia revival," which was issued in 2006. It weighs 1000 grams.
• The world's first constitution was created by a Ukrainian politician Pylyp Orlyk on April 5th, 1710. The United States adopted its constitution 77 years later, and France and Poland followed in 1791.
• The geographic center of Europe is considered to be in a small Western Ukrainian town called Rahiv.