10 Unknown Miss Universe Facts

The Miss Universe contest is the most prestigious beauty pageant in the world. The woman who is chosen as Miss Universe is officially the most beautiful woman on the planet for the year. We have become so used to the trivia about this beauty contest that we never stop to think, who or how this whole idea of having a Miss Universe title came about.

Miss USA has bagged the title of Miss Universe this year (2012). On this occasion lets find out more about the beauty contest itself. Here are some facts about the Miss Universe pageant that you may not have known.

1. This contest was actually started in 1926 and continued till 1935 when the Great Depression hit USA. After this, it was continued by different sponsors and groups in the 1950s.

2. The present Miss Universe contest is a collaboration between NBC and Donald Trump, both based in New York, USA.

3. The Miss Universe crown that was used till 2007 was shaped like a rising phoenix. It was designed by Mikimoto. This crown had 500 diamonds measuring about 30 carat each. It also had 120 pearls that were picked from the South Sea and Akoya.

4. The Miss Universe crown that is being used since then is studded with red rubies. The shape of the crown is like flower petals. This crown is designed and produced by the Diamond Nexus Labs and has 1,371 gemstones including some large rubies.

5. The rubies in the Miss Universe crown signifies the beauty queen's solidarity and understanding of HIV Aids. It also represents her commitment to the awareness of this cause.

6. The Miss Universe crown's cost was estimated at about 120 thousand dollars in 2008. It is bound to be much higher now.

7. The maximum number of Miss Universe titles have been won by USA. There are a total of 9 Miss USA who won the title. This includes the most recent one, Olivia Culpo who won in the year 2012. Trailing by just 3 wins is Venezuela who has 6 titles to its name.

8. United Kingdom or Britain has never won the Miss Universe title till date. Other countries who haven't got lucky so far are Croatia, Egypt, Bulgaria, French Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, West Indies and several other smaller nations.

9. Apart from the main tittle and the 2 runners up, there are several other special awards given at this beauty contest. There are more or less 10 special awards given out every year but the number keeps varying. Miss Congeniality, Best In National Costume and Miss Photogenic are some of the popular titles.

10. Miss Best in Online Votes was added just last year. It is like a Miss Universe chosen by popular demand.

These are some of facts that you may not have known about the Miss Universe pageant. Do you know any other interesting facts that are not mentioned here?