Philippines Facts

In the Philippines there's a boy named "Lord Voldemort".

The flag of the Philippines is flown with the red stripe up in times of war and blue stripe up in times of peace.

Two surfboards left behind during the filming of “Apocalypse Now” are what gave birth to the Filipino surfing community.

Manny Pacquiao was boxing's reigning WBO welterweight champion. He was also a sitting congressman in the Philippines. Then he became head coach of a pro basketball team, Kia Sorento. He used the job to draft himself 11th overall, at age 35. His debut drew a record crowd of 52,612 fans. He played seven minutes and scored zero points.

A TV reporter in the Philippines brought her puppy to the studio because no one was home to watch him. During the live broadcast, she kept the sleeping puppy hidden at her feet — only her upper half visible on camera. Behind-the-scenes photos went viral, showing the little golden pup curled up on the studio floor.

When Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his country went all out. He received a $550,000 fully furnished condo, $350,000 in government cash, lifetime free buffets, a lifetime supply of ramen and chicken, two café franchises, a Land Cruiser, and free flights for life. Total haul: over $2.6 million.

A 4-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Smoky was the smallest soldier in the Pacific during WWII. At Lingayen Gulf, engineers needed telephone wire threaded through a 70-foot pipe buried under an active airfield - too narrow for any person to enter. Smoky crawled through in minutes, saving an estimated 250 ground crew from three days of digging in open enemy fire, with 40 planes parked nearby.