Today is our National Hero’s 152nd Birth Anniversary Today - Jose Rizal! THE MORNING BREATH 5 THINGS Amazing Facts About Jose Rizal 1. Jose Rizal was born with a big head. [must be the reason why he was so intelligent... he must've big brain as well... 2. Rizal was a penny-pincher. As chronicled in Ambeth Ocampo’s Rizal Without the Overcoat, Rizal was once invited to a New Year’s potluck party where he was assigned to bring champagne. He did not like the idea, and throughout the merrymaking, he lectured everybody and advised against drinking, gambling and womanizing—the key points of the night. Then, Rizal stood up, announced that "inabonohan niya lang" and requested everybody to pay their share of the champagne bill. Stunned, the partygoers thought it was a joke—until pre-national hero Rizal passed his hat around. 3. Rizal was a gym buff. Contrary to popular opinion, Andres Bonifacio, the leader of Katipunan was not at all brawny, says Ocampo. The paper fan vendor was, in fact, a bit scrawny. Ironically, scholarly Rizal, who wanted to compensate for his 5’3" stature (contested, others claim he was 4’11" based on his clothing), turned to weight-lifting to amp up his physique. His waist, measuring 25"-26" had a 12-inch difference from his chest, 37." 4. Rizal was a Hyperpolyglot. He mastered 22 languages: Filipino, Ilokano, Bisayan, Subanon, Latin, Spanish, Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malay, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Dutch, Catalan, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Portugese, Swedish and Russian. 5. Rizal was rumored to be the father of Adolf Hitler. Because of his famed reputation as a Casanova, it was believed that he was involved with a beautiful woman living somewhere in the border of Germany and Austria. Funny how Filipino imagination wanders. Sources:http://www.spot.ph/gallery/1290/10-things-you-didn-rsquo-t-know-about-jose-rizal/article/48543
