Being a local, you will have undoubtedly encountered foreigners who will have a giggle bringing up Maltesers chocolates, believing you truly have never heard that joke before (ahem). Search 'Maltese' on Google, and you'll need to sift through thousands of fluffy white dogs before you get to anything you're looking for. However, there are also several lesser known Maltese items out there that are not quite Maltese as we understand it. Oh, and there are a few Maltas too! 

1. Maltese cat

We've all heard of the Maltese dog, but did you know that there is also a Maltese cat? Rather than being a breed, a Maltese is any cat whose fur is primarily or completely grey in colour, regardless of its bloodline. 

2. Malta beer

Sure Malta is famous for its beloved Cisk beer, but here's a non-alcoholic beer with the name Malta. 

And another one ...

3. Maltesers

Anything made using malt as its main ingredient ends up being named Malta or Maltese... like these popular bite-sized chocolates. 

More Malta drinks

So here are a couple more malt products that adopt the Malta name, yet this list is not exhaustive... there are many more that claim Malta out there!

4. Malta (New York)

Among the impostors, even actual places have the cheek to steal the name. Do they grow malt here? The name 'Malta' derives from a malt brewery in the area that is called Maltaville. Here's a drive-in in Malta (NY), USA.

5. Malta (Montana)

Also in the USA, in Montana, we find another Malta. There are 38 brewing establishments in Montana, so we can take an educated guess at why these impostors have also adopted the name.

6. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film noir written and directed by John Huston based on Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel. The film stars Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. The plot is based in, no, not Malta, but San Francisco. However, the main characters are all competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted statuette of a falcon. The Maltese Falcon, subspecies of the Peregrin Falcon, is famous for being the annual tribute paid to Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and his mother Queen Joanna of Castile by the Knights of Malta.

7. Corto Maltese

Closer to home, Corto Maltese is an adventurous sailor and the character of a series of adventure comics. The Italian comic was created by Hugo Pratt in 1967 and has been translated into several languages and adapted into several animated films. The comics are highly acclaimed as some of the most artistic and literary graphic novels ever written. 

There you go - we bet you didn't know there were so many more Maltesers out there! Have you come across any that aren't in this list? Let us know in the comments below!