Miss Universe Trivia

1992 Miss Paraguay-Universe, Pamela Zarza, in her Best in National Costume.

1. In 1992, Miss Paraguay Pamela Zarza, wore a national costume that measured twelve feet in height and seven feet in width. Needless to say, she was not seriously challenged for the award. She won the title of Best in National Costume. For more information, the costume had to be airlifted from her country to Thailand, the venue of the pageant, because of its gigantic size.

2. Guam is the country that won most of the Miss Congeniality awards. The small US territory won it four times - 1970, 1985,1986 and 1988.

3. Eleonora Carillo placed tenth in both the evening gown and swimsuit competitions at Miss Universe 1995 but her wit, charm and her ability to palm read she shown during the interview made her first in that category. She is now recognized as one of the most charming personalities to ever grace a Miss Universe stage.

4. Brook Lee of the United States of America won the Miss Univese title in 1997 in Hawaii because of her wit during the final question answer. She will be forever remembered with her seven-words direct-to-the-point answer "I-will-eat-everything-in-the-world". The final question was: "If there were no rules for one day, and you could be outrageous, what would do?"

5. In 1988, Thailand's Porntip Nakhirunkanok not only won Miss Universe but also won the Best National Costume award that year. Also in 1978, Janelle Commisiong not only won the Miss Universe but also won the Miss Photogenic award. Jannelle was also the first black to be crowned Miss Universe.

6. Shannon Marketic of USA is a semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1992 made headlines when she accused the Sultan of Brunei of demanding sexual favors from her for money and gifts.

7. In 1992, residents of Iceland became enraged when they found out that their delegate that year, Svava Haraldsdottir, although tied for tenth place at the preliminaries, did not advance to the semi-finals even though the delegate she tied with did. Svava tied with Miss Sweden Monica Brood. Monica was allowed to advance because her interview score was higher. Iceland has not send delegates to the pageant since 1998.

8. Bob Barker has hosted the Miss Universe pageant the most times. Interestingly, Barker, an avid animal-rights activist, quit after the Miss Universe Organization refused to cease awarding their winners a mink fur as part of their prize package.

9. Dominique Dufour represented Canada at Miss Universe 1981. Although she placed twelfth, and barely qualified for the semifinals, she eventually placed as first runner-up to Irene Saez of Venezuela.

10. Lia Victoria Borrero represented Panama at Miss Universe 1997 but did not win. After placing as a finalist in Miss Universe 1997, this delegate won another prestigious international pageant, Miss International.