Trivia in Myanmar

National symbols

Flag: Horizontal tricolor of yellow, green, and red with a white five-pointed star in the center

Emblem: National emblem featuring a cog wheel and rice stalks surmounted by a star, flanked by two chinthe (mythical lions)

Myanmar is one of the world's top producers of jade and rubies, with Mogok rubies known as 'pigeon's blood'.
Traffic drives on the right, but about 90% of vehicles are right-hand drive secondhand Japanese cars.
Chinlone, a sport played with a rattan ball, is more popular on street corners than soccer.
The Burmese script has 33 consonants, and while standard tones are said to be three, actual pronunciation in standard dialect involves four to five tonal levels.
Thanaka, a cosmetic paste applied to the cheeks by women and children, serves as both sunscreen and decoration.
The Irrawaddy River, stretching about 2,170 km, is a major transportation artery running north to south.
Myanmar Standard Time is one of the world's rare UTC+6:30 time zones.
Lethwei, an old national sport, is a kickboxing-like martial art fought with rope-wrapped fists.
The top of Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda is embedded with over 7,000 diamonds.
Postal codes have been introduced, but usage is low; addresses often rely on landmarks and place names.