For Mediterraean peoples olive oil is almost the only oil we use to cook (also in Portugal, Galicia and other Atlantic parts of the Iberian Peninsula).
In Southern Spain the traditional breakfast consisted of toast with olive oil and salt (and perhaps a glass of milk or a coffee), and even now it’s very common to see that in snack bars and cafés.
But it’s used for a some other things. I remember that when I was a child and had earache my mother put some lukewarm drops of olive oil into my ear and that soothed the pain.
You can also use it as an aftershave lotion and as a moisturizer, gently massaging your face and removing the excess of oil with a piece of cotton wool.
Even in the past both men and women applied olive oil to their hair to keep it healthy (nobody does it now…!).
I have read that some people make a facial scrub simply mixing olive oil and sugar.
It’s an ingredient of gazpacho, mayonnaise (from Mahó, in Minorca, the Balearic Islands) or the catalan sauce all i oli (literally ‘garlic and oil’).
It’s also a nice aftersun lotion. A massage with olive oil (perhaps with some drops of lemon or essential oils) cleanses the skin and makes it smooth and elastic. Well, and a tablespoonful of olive oil helps in case of constipation…