Did You Know...

...that the SOFT CONTACT LENS was invented in Czechoslovakia by professor Otto Wichterle in 1961?
...that the word "ROBOT" comes from the Czech language? It has been in English since 1923 when the Czech writer Karel Capek's play R.U.R. was translated into English and presented in London and New York. R.U.R., published in 1921, is an abbreviation of Rossum's Universal Robots; robot itself comes from Czech "robota" = "work, hard work, servitude, forced labor; slave."
...that the SUGAR CUBE was invented in the Czech town Dacice in 1843?
...that the HETHITIC HIEROGLYPHS (2nd millennium B.C.) was first deciphered by Czech archaeologist Bedrich Hrozny in 1914?
...that the CZECH HOCKEY TEAM won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan?
...that Czech astronomers have named an asteroid "DOMINIK" after Dominik Hasek to thank the goalie for his contribution in the 1998 Winter Olympics?
...that the Czechs are the NO.1 BEER DRINKING NATION in the world, consuming the most beer per capita in the world, and that they have been drinking beer since at least 900 A.D.?

The world was astounded in 1913 when it was discovered that as many as 19 types of beer were brewed in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago. It is fitting that the archaeologist who first deciphered the Sumerian tablets containing this information was a Czech, Bedrich Hrozny. Beer was also brewed in the earliest Czech civilizations (there is evidence that hops were already being cultivated here in 859 and were being exported in 903 - the first written documentation referring to brewing dates from 1088), and even British beer authority Michael Jackson agrees that the Czechs are the number one beer-brewing nation in the world today.

The Czech Beer Firsts are many and varied:

- First in per capita beer consumption
- First Beer Museum in the world
- First beer brewing textbook
- First Pilsener
- First Budweiser
- First president to have written an absurdist play based on his experiences working in a Czech beer brewery in AD 1974
...that the Czech Republic (consisting of Bohemia and Moravia) has played an important role in the development of the type of beer that we commonly drink today. To this day Bohemian beer is revered the world over for its quality and character. By all accounts the Czechs drink more beer per capita, overwhelmingly Czech in origin, than any other nation in the world-Germans and Irish included. The Bohemians were pioneers in the development of the pale beers that we commonly refer to as Pilsners-a style that we now associate with pale, well-hopped lagers with crisp carbonation. The name comes from the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic where this style of beer was first produced early in the 19th century. The popularity of the beer earned it the name "pilsner beer" and the rest is history. PILSNER URQUELL, the leading beer in Pilsen, is still one of the most popular Czech beer exports, and a fine benchmark of the style.
...that in the latter part of the 19th century a certain American brewery owner named Adolphus Busch was traveling in Bohemia when he tasted and was impressed by the local style of beer in a town named Ceske Budejovice (Budweis). The beer, better known elsewhere in Europe by the German version of the name of the town, Budweis, was none other than BUDWEISER BUDVAR, the original Czech "Bud." It was known in Bohemia as the "Beer of Kings" because King Ferdinand of Bohemia had made it the beer of choice in his royal court in the 16th century. Mr. Busch liked the name and slogan so much that he used variations of both when he returned to his own brewing enterprise in St. Louis. "Budweiser: King of Beers" (the brand and slogan) now belongs, in the U.S. market, to the Missouri-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch. U.S. consumers, unfortunately, cannot sample the Czech version (so it is not reviewed here) without visiting one of a number of European countries where it is still very popular, and can be legally sold under its own name.
...that Czech/Czechoslovak films won or were nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Film: "OBCHOD NA KORZE" ("The Shop on Main Street", won in 1966), "LASKY JEDNE PLAVOVLASKY" ("The Loves of a Blonde", nominated in 1967), "OSTRE SLEDOVANE VLAKY" ("Closely Watched Trains", won in 1968), "HORI, MA PANENKO" ("The Firemen's Ball", nominated in 1969), "VESNICKO MA STREDISKOVA" ("My Sweet Little Village", nominated in 1985), "OBECNA SKOLA" ("The Elementary School", nominated in 1992), "MUSIME SI POMAHAT" ("Divided We Fall", nominated in 2001), "KOLJA" ("Kolya", won in 1996)?
...that the Czech Academy Award winning film "OSTRE SLEDOVANE VLAKY" ("Closely Watched Trains") was based on a novel of the same name written by the Czech writer BOHUMIL HRABAL whose other works that were made into films include "Postriziny" ("Cutting It Short"), "Slavnosti snezenek" ("The Snowdrop Festival"), "Nezny barbar" ("Tender Barbarian"), "Skrivanci na niti" ("Larks on a String"), "Obsluhoval jsem anglickeho krale" ("I Served the King of England")?
...that OSKAR SCHINDLER with whom you may be familiar from Spielberg's film Schindler's List was born in a Moravian town called Svitavy (now in Eastern Bohemia) in 1908?
...that the English playwright TOM STOPPARD, who received an Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" in 1999, was born Thomas Straussler in Zlín, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic)?
...that SIGMUND FREUD was born and spent the first years of his life in what is now the Czech Republic? He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, of infantile sexuality, of repression, and proposed a tri-partite account of the mind's structure, all as part of a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame of reference for the understanding of human psychological development and the treatment of abnormal mental conditions.
...that MADELEINE KORBEL ALBRIGHT, America's Czech-born secretary of state, was born on May 15, 1937. Albrights maiden name is Marie Anna Korbelova. She immigrated to the United States in 1948 at age 11. She was sworn in as the 64th United States Secretary of State in 1997. After unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, she became the first female Secretary of State and the highest ranking woman in the United States government. As Secretary of State and as U.S. representative to the United Nations before that, she has created policies and institutions to help guide the world into a new century of peace and prosperity. Concentrating on a bipartisan approach to U.S. foreign policy, she has attempted to create a consensus on the need for U.S. leadership and engagement in the world. Among her achievements are ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and progress toward stability in Eastern and Central Europe. As a refugee whose family fled Czechoslovakia, first from the Nazis and later from the Communists, Albright represents the highest ideals and aspirations of immigrants who come to America seeking to make major contributions to our society. As a leader in international relations, she has helped change the course of history and, in so doing, has also set a new standard for American women and for women around the world.
... that between Czechs belong former porn stars DOLLY BUSTER & PAULA WILD as well as the highly controversial businessman VIKTOR KOZENY, also known as the Pirate of Prague.
... that FERDINAND PORSCHE (an automotive engineer) (September 3, 1875 – January 30, 1951) was born in Vratislavice nad Nisou, Bohemia, which is now part of the city of Liberec in the Czech Republic, (Maffersdorf in German). Porsche is best known for designing the original Volkswagen Beetle and for his contributions to advanced German tank designs: Tiger I, Tiger II and the Elefant. Adolf Hitler honored Porsche in 1937 when he was awarded the German National Prize for Art and Science, one of the rarest decorations in the Third Reich. Ferdinand Porsche showed high aptitude for mechanical work at a very young age. He managed to attend classes at the Imperial Technical School (today a Czech Gymnasium) in Liberec at night while helping his father in his mechanical shop by day. Thanks to a referral, Porsche landed a job with the Béla Egger Electrical company in Vienna when he turned 18. In Vienna he would sneak into the local University after work whenever he could. Beyond auditing classes there, Porsche had never received any higher engineering education. During his five years with Béla Egger, Porsche first developed the electric hub motor.
Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, is the eponym for Porsche automobiles, initially based to a large extent on the Volkswagen (Beetle) design. The name Porsche is possibly related to Czech "Boreš" [boresh], originally an old Slavic name.