Peru has had a lot of important firsts in history… and at times has been more progressive and ahead of the times than the USA. Here a few examples of when Peru has beat USA and the rest of the world. You can also watch and share this video on Facebook and YouTube.

Video Transcript & Credits

PAUL: Americans think that we're so cool and that they do everything first.

First in flight 1903.¹

First man on the moon in 1969.²

First in Facebook in 2004.

PAUL: Well we are pretty cool. Most of us anyway.

USA! USA! USA!³

PAUL: But did you know that Peru has had plenty of its own firsts in history, and at times has been more progressive and ahead of the time than the USA. For example…

The nation of Peru officially abolished slavery 1854… a good 11 years before the United States ratified the 13th amendment in 1865.⁴

Peru was first to harvest the peanut over 7,600 years ago.. a good seven thousand three hundred years before Africans introduced peanuts to the United States in the 1700s.⁵

And what's a traditional American diet without the peanut butter and jelly sandwich? You've got Peru to thank for that.

And speaking of food.. tomato anyone? The wild tomato is indigenous to Peru and the Aztecs were the first civilization to cultivate them… a good 400 years before Europeans and Americans stopped believing that tomatoes were poisonous due to their red skin color and that eating one would turn your blood to acid and cause you to drop dead to the ground.⁶

PAUL: Yeah that's a true story. Turns out that early Americans judged everything by the color of its skin.

Peru was the first to build a city!⁷ That's right – about 100km north of Lima the city of Caral has pyramid remains that predate Inca civilization by 4000 years⁸ and predate the Pyramids in Egypt by several centuries.⁹ This means Caral is probably the oldest city on Earth.⁸

Suck on that St. Augustine Florida!¹⁰

Peru was first to build a national university in 1551 almost a century before USA chartered its first university.¹¹ How do you like them apples Harvard?¹²

So yeah, Peru is pretty progressive in comparison to USA and the rest of the world.

PAUL: Although Peru – as awesome as you are… Wasn't it technically an American that discovered your beloved Machu Picchu in 1911?

FACT CHECK: In 1911 American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham travelled the region looking for the old Inca capital and officially put Machu Picchu on the map.

So I guess sometimes America does beat Peru.¹³

What do you think? USA vs Peru¹⁴

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