Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Some Interesting Asian Pacific American Facts... Do You Know That… The word "ketchup" originates from the Malay word "koetsiap" which means seafood sauce? The smallest adult fish, about one inch in length, called "lubo-lubo" is commonly found in the Visayan Islands in the Philippines? The games Chutes and Ladders and Parcheesi originated in India? The word "shampoo" originates from the Hindi word "capo" meaning to "press or massage"? The kiwi fruit is native to south central China? The Taj Mahal mausoleum was built by the Mugal emperor Shah Jahn as a tribute to his wife, who died giving childbirth. It took over 20,000 people daily and 22 years to complete the complex? There are over 60 million people in the world with the surname Chang (or in China spelled Zhang)? One of the deepest sites in the ocean is the "Philippine Deep" located in Mindanao which is in the Southern Philippines? Many of the first vineyards and wine cellars in California's Napa Valley were constructed by Chinese workers? Dalip. S. Saund, a Punjabi Sikh, was the first Asian American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives? Anti-miscegenation laws were not abolished in all 50 states until 1967? The Florida orange hardy enough to withstand winter freezes and summer rainstorms was developed by Chinese American horticulturalist, Lue Gim Gong? The yo-yo originated from the Philippines where it was first used as a weapon during battle? Around 2500 BC, the practice of yoga was developed by the Indian scholar Pantanjali as a pathway for fulfillment and personal development? Click here to go back to Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Index...