I hope that we’ve made quite an interesting picture of Serbia so far. You never know what to expect from Serbs, so here’s a little trivia for you:
The most common name in Europe is John Smith. But do you know who’s the runner-up?
Believe it or not – it’s Serb called Jovan Petrović. You can find this name throughout Ex-Yugoslavia, and usually it belongs to ethnical Serb.
During the Prohibition in the USA, US state Vermont legalised only two spirits. Do you know which?
Well, those were two greatest brands among spirits – French Cognac and Serbian Rakija. The explanation is quite simple – these are the purest and best quality drinks.
You must have heard for the tale that mirror breaking brings seven years of misery. Do you know where does this superstition come from?
Yup, it’s Serbia – from Kladovo area, to be precise. This city and surroundings is mostly inhabited with Vlahs – one of the oldest nations in Europe. It is thought that Vlahs are descendants of Celtic tribes and Romans. Besides very interesting origins, it is considered that their ancient rituals are actually belonging to the strongest magic on the planet – Vlah magic.
There is only one type of food product in Denmark which can be sold without rigorous sanitary control. Do you know what it is?
It’s Serbian Čvarak! Čvarak (sing.) or čvarci (plur.) are pig cracklings, made in a very specific manner. It is very hard to replicate them, and the taste is fantastic! There are two types of čvarci – regular čvarci are pieces usually from 1 cm up to 3 cm; while duvan-čvarci (or „tobacco cracklings“) resemble of chopped tobacco – hense the name.
Do you know who started the first scissors factory in the USA?
It was Mr. George Johnson – the first factory was in Pennsylvania. Mr. George Johson is actually Serbian immigrant, who transformed his name literally: Đorđe (George) Jovanović (Johnson).
Smoking bans in public objects is quite common today. But do you know where was the first cafe with seprate rooms for smokers and non-smokers?
You wouldn’t believe it – it was in Serbia… In the last Serbian medieval capital – city of Smederevo. One of the innkeepers decided to do this as he noticed that some of the customers complained of the smoke. It was way back in 1822!