Curated playlist
G15 nations
- AlgeriaIn 1827, Algiers's ruler struck the French consul with a fly whisk, and France later invaded.
- SenegalSenegal is named for a river, not the ocean it faces. Where the river's name came from is still debated.
- KenyaKenya took its name from a mountain, not from its people.
- JamaicaJamaica has sometimes been called the world's least populous cultural superpower. Reggae and Rastafari began there.
- ArgentinaArgentina's name was never Spanish, and it means made of silver in Italian. It first appeared on a Venetian map in 1536.
- MalaysiaMalaysia's king is elected by and from nine hereditary rulers, for a five-year term.
- IndonesiaMore than half of Indonesia's people live on one island, Java. It is the most heavily populated island in the world.
- ChileThe Inca Empire's conquest stopped at a river in what is now central Chile. The Mapuche held the line at the Maule.
- VenezuelaVenezuela has the largest known oil reserves on the planet, yet more than 7.9 million of its citizens have fled.
- BrazilBrazil is named after a tree that produced a deep red dye. European textile makers prized pau-brasil, or brazilwood.
- IranIranian students seized the US embassy in 1979 and held 52 hostages for 444 days.
- NigeriaNigeria's name was coined by a British journalist in 1897. Flora Shaw borrowed it from the Niger River.
- EgyptAbout 99% of Egyptians live on roughly 5.5% of the country's land. The rest is desert and scattered oases.
- MexicoMexico domesticated maize, the tomato and beans, three plants that feed much of the world.
- IndiaIndia is both the most populous country and the most populous democracy. More than 1.4 billion people live there.
- Sri LankaThe English word serendipity comes from an old Arab name for Sri Lanka. Travelers knew the island as Sarandīb.