Ethiopia

Ethiopia follows a calendar that is 7-8 years behind the Gregorian calendar — they celebrated the year 2000 in 2007. The country also has 13 months, not 12.

Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia. According to legend, a 9th-century goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats were energetic after eating red berries — and the world's first cup of coffee eventually followed.

Ethiopia is the only African country that was never colonised by a European power (apart from a 5-year Italian occupation 1936–1941). The Battle of Adwa in 1896 — where Ethiopia defeated Italy — became a symbol of African resistance.