Mexico

Chocolate was first consumed as a bitter, spiced drink by the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilisations of Mesoamerica. It wasn't sweetened until Europeans added sugar in the 16th century.

Mexico City is sinking at up to 50 cm per year in some areas — the fastest-sinking major city on Earth. It was built on a drained lake bed and is subsiding as groundwater is extracted from the aquifer below.

Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, chilli, tomatoes, corn, avocados, and vanilla — foods that now form the backbone of cuisines on every continent.

Mexico City has the world's largest number of museums — over 150, more than London or Paris. The National Museum of Anthropology alone holds the largest collection of Mesoamerican artefacts in existence.

Mexico has the world's second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Americas after the US. It also has more Aztec archaeological sites than any other country — many still buried under modern Mexico City.