Word: mil
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...sure way to get people riled up in Quince Mil, a sweltering outpost in Peru's southern jungle, is to ask about the origin of the town's uncommon name. There are at least four versions explaining the name, which means "Fifteen Thousand," each more colorful than the one before it. Mayor Mario Samanez claims to have the official version. He says its rains around 15,000 mm (590 inches) each year in the town, hence the name. "This is the spot with the world's second highest amount of rainfall annually. That is where the name comes from," Samanez...
Actually the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not list Quince Mil among the wettest places in the world. The title goes to Mawsynram, India, with 467 inches, followed by jungle spots in Colombia and Hawaii. (See pictures of Peru's sacred glacier melting...
Local residents in Quince Mil have their own theories about the name. Some say a group of explorers passing through lost 15,000 pesos where the town now stands. The place was called 15,000 because that's what the explorers would ask for every time they came back to search for the cash. The town's name has become a synonym for bad luck. But malevolence may be at the origin as well. Fernando Farro, a local farmer, says Quince Mil takes its name from the amount of money the Peruvian government gave Russian fortune-seekers at the turn...
EVERYWHERE Mil Besos Colombian-born photographer Ruven Afanador pays homage to the flamenco dancers of southern Spain's Andalusia region in his monograph of striking black-and-white images published by Rizzoli...
...firms engaged in fraud. This is all good for the 8,000 who had registered or direct accounts with Bernard Madoff Investment Securities, a broker/dealer. In fact, right now, most are busy filling out their just arrived SIPC claim-recovery forms in hopes of getting back half a mil. See a brief history of Ponzi schemes...