昨晚睇咗一套非常好的紀錄片Chris Tarrant Extreme Railway Journeys Series 2 Crossing the Andes 安地斯山脈.
在影片開頭, Chris 介紹了他要去睇 Nitrates Mine, 在19世紀Nitrates又叫white gold, 非常值錢是用來製造 gun powder 的 guano (海鳥屎含豐富的硝酸鹽).
guano: The word "guano" originates from the Andean indigenous language Quechua, which refers to any form of dung used as an agricultural fertilizer.
就是裡d 海鳥屎引起了War of Pacific,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Pacific
自1883年後, 玻利維亞失去出海口,成為內陸國.
我知道雀屎都有用的時候, 是我睇咗 Nauru: An Island Country Destroyed by Phosphate Mining:
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/06/nauru-island-country-destroyed-by.html
不過, 佢地叫雀屎為phosphate, 唔係guano.