Did You Know?

Sub Sections Of This Page:
Interesting Facts About Language
Common Misconceptions

Great Britain was the first country to issue postage stamps, on the 1st of May 1840. Hence, UK stamps are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin.

The first written account of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, was made in 565AD.

Charles Macintosh invented the waterproof coat, the Mackintosh, in 1823.

The British royal family changed their surname (last name) from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor, the name of their castle, in 1917.

Winston Churchill was a stutterer. As a child, one of his teachers warned, "Because of his stuttering he should be discouraged from following in his father's political footsteps."

It is said that if a statue of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, like the Zizkov Monument, the person died of natural causes.

The words "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" were penned in the 17th century by English philospher  John Locke.

The largest web bookshop, Amazon.com, stores almost 3 million books.
To save costs, the body of Shakespeare's friend and fellow dramatist, Ben Jonson, was buried standing up in Westminister Abbey, London in 1637.

Two billion people still cannot read.

A green diamond is the rarest diamond.

There are 1040 islands around Britain, one of which is one of the smallest island in the world: Bishop's Rock.

All the planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Earth is the densest planet in the solar system and the only one not named after a god.

A square piece of dry paper cannot be folded in half more than 7 times.

In the 6th century BC Greek mathematician Pythagoras said that earth is round - but few agreed with him. Greek astronomer Aristarchos said in the 3rd century BC that earth revolves around the sun - but the idea was not accepted.In the 2nd century BC Greek astronomer Erastosthenes accurately measured the distance around the earth at about 40,000 km (24,860 miles) - but nobody believed him.In the 2nd century AD Greek astronomer Ptolemy stated that earth was the centre of the universe - most people believed him for the next 1,400 years.

Wine is sold in tinted bottles because wine spoils when exposed to light.

Before the year 1000, the word "she" did not exist in the English language. The singular female reference was the word "heo", which also was the plural of all genders. The word "she" appeared only in the 12th century, about 400 years after English began to take form. "She" probably derived from the Old English feminine "seo", the Viking word for feminine reference.

The word malaria comes from the words mal and aria, which means bad air. This derives from the old days when it was thought that all diseases are caused by bad, or dirty air.

The first city in the world to have a population of more than one million was London.

The first product to have a bar code scanned was Wrigley's gum.   

The Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan God.  

The national orchestra of Monaco has more individuals than its army.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. It was the fashion in Renaissance Florence to shave them off. 

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.
 
If you can see a rainbow you must have your back to the sun.

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica . This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.

The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple. 

The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.

The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.

The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.

According to tradition, the first engineer to build a bridge across the Tiber in Ancient Rome was given the name Pontifex, meaning "bridge builder." The Pontifex was seen as someone who "connects" people, and that symbolism was so powerful that Roman high priests--including Julius Caesar--later adopted the title Pontifex Maximus. During the Roman Imperial age, the emperor was always the Pontifex Maximus. The title eventually passed from Roman emperors to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Pope still carries the title Pontifex Maximus.

More than 100 years ago, the felt hat makers of England used mercury to stabilize wool. Most of them eventually became poisoned by the fumes, as demonstrated by the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Breathing mercury's fumes over a long period of time will cause erethism, a disorder characterized by nervousness, irritability, and strange personality changes.
The Vatican's Swiss Guard still wears a uniform designed by Michelangelo in the early 16th century.

All gondolas in Venice, Italy must be painted black, unless they belong to a high official.

The world’s deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1557 in central China. It struck a region where most people lived in caves carved from soft rock. The dwellings collapsed, killing an estimated 830,000 people.

The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is blue.

In ancient Egypt, the entire family would shave their eyebrows off as a sign of mourning when the family cat died.

Almonds are members of the peach family.

Jeremy Bentham, a British philosopher who died in 1832,left his entire estate to the London Hospital provided that his body be allowed to preside over its board meetings. His skeleton was clothed and fitted with a wax mask of his face. It was present at the meeting for 92 years.
 
A young lady named Ellen Church convinced Boeing Air Transport that her nursing skills and love of flying would qualify her to assist with the passengers and emergencies. She became the first known stewardess.

The planet Venus’s day is longer than its year. It takes 225 ‘Earth’ days to rotate around the Sun (a Venusian year) and 243 ‘Earth’ days to rotate on its axis (a Venusian day). 

The word "Christmas" means "Mass of Christ," later shortened to "Christ-Mass." The even shorter form "Xmas" - first used in Europe in the 1500s - is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter of Christ's name: Xristos, therefore "X-Mass."Today we know that Christ was not born on the 25th of December. The date was chosen to coincide with the pagan Roman celebrations honouring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship. These celebrations came on or just after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, to announce that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.

The Official Olympic Flag was created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions. The rings, from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.

The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. The flame itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.

Lincoln & Kennedy

Here's a little part of US history which makes you go hmmm...

Have a history teacher explain this if they can?
 
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. 
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. 
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. 
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. 
The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. 
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. 
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House. 
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. 
Both Presidents were shot in the head. 
Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. 
Both were assassinated by Southerners. 
Both were succeeded by Southerners. 
Both successors were named Johnson. 
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. 
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. 
Both assassins were known by their three names. 
Both names are composed of fifteen letters. 
Kennedy was shot in a car called 'Lincoln.' 
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials. 
And here's the kicker... 
A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland. 
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe. 

What's in the Clolour of a Rose?

When you give someone roses, the color can have a meaning. The meaning of rose colors:

Red = Love and respect
Deep pink = Gratitude, appreciation
Light pink = Admiration, sympathy
White = Reverence, humility
Yellow = Joy, gladness
Orange = Enthusiasm, desire
Red & yellow blend = Gaiety, joviality
Pale blended tones = Sociability, friendship

Is there anything easy about Japanese?

• No verb conjugation!
• No gender of nouns!
• No articles (a, the)
• Number (singular and plural) not important and barely exists!
• Not hard to learn to pronounce as there are only 48 sounds consisting of 5 vowels and 11 consonants!
• Syntax or the word order of a sentence, excepting the final verb, is totally free!

• Considered a "fuzzy" language. The Japanese people don't like to be blunt or rude. Consequently, they hesitate to express opinions in a strong and clear manner. Politicians like to use this to their advantage!
• Very few words of affection or endearment as in all European languages! Most Japanese either cannot or will not say "I love you" to their loved ones. These words do exist in Japanese, but are not part of daily vocabulary.
• No such thing as rhyming poetry!
• It takes about twice as long to say something as compared to English. English song lyrics have to be cut in half when translated into Japanese in order to keep the same rhythm.