1. The database of the European Patent Office includes more than 10,000 inventions with “umbrella” in the title. None have poison tips… 2. …they do however include at least seven patents for umbrellas for dogs and one patent for a combination umbrella and dog repellent. 3. The word umbrella comes […]
10 Facts
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1. The King of Swaziland, Mswati III, has ruled the country since 1986. 2. He was the son of one of the younger wives of his predecessor, Sobhuza II, and from 1983-86 attended Sherborne School in Dorset. 3. When a king of Swaziland dies, his successor is chosen by a […]
1. The declaration was proposed by Hungary which suggested September 5 as the date of the death of Mother Teresa in 1997. 2. In 2006, the auction of one of William Shatner’s kidney stones raised $25,000 for charity. 3. In 2015, a 68-year-old slice of wedding cake from the marriage […]
1. The Chateaubriand steak was created for him by his chef Montmireil around 1822. 2. It is unclear whether the original Chateaubriand was a thick cut of sirloin or tenderloin or was one high-quality steak cooked between two lesser steaks to enhance its juiciness and tenderness. 3. Chateaubriand was French […]
1. The date of August 30 was proclaimed at the Second International Whale Shark Conference in Mexico in 2012. It is now celebrated by aquariums and wildlife organisations worldwide. 2. Whale sharks are sharks, not whales. They are the largest fish on this planet and are listed as an endangered […]
1. Bank holidays were introduced in 1871 by the Bank Holidays Act of that year. 2. The original bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland were Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day. Christmas Day and Good Friday were already traditional holidays so were not […]
1. About 69 per cent of the fresh water on Earth is frozen in glaciers. 2. Another 30 per cent of the fresh water is underground, leaving only one per cent easily available as drinking water. 3. An inch of rainwater falling over one acre of ground contains more than […]
1. The eruption buried Pompeii and Herculaneum beneath mud, lava and ash until they were rediscovered and excavated in the 18th century. 2. Author Pliny the Younger wrote a graphic account of the eruption, which killed his uncle. 3. Such explosive eruptions, sending molten rock 15 to 20 miles high […]
1. The word angel comes from the Latin angelus. The angels were said to be the messengers of God. 2. A belief in or study of angels is called angelology. 3. In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas discussed the question of whether several angels could occupy the same place. 4. […]
1. Annual inflation has been estimated at a million per cent. This would cut the value of £1 to 0.01p. 2. When Christopher Columbus saw Venezuela in 1497 he said he had found Heaven on Earth. 3. Venezuelans have won the Miss World contest six times, a number equalled only […]
1. Liechtenstein, Monaco and Andorra are the world’s only independent countries that are ruled by princes. Andorra has two joint princes. 2. Liechtenstein has been a principality for 300 years, since becoming independent in 1718. 3. Sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland, Liechtenstein is the world’s sixth smallest country by area […]
1. London Zoo, which has the world’s oldest reptile house, is celebrating Lizard Day with a new puzzle box for their skilful lizards to solve. 2. All lizards are reptiles but not all reptiles are lizards. Lizards usually have four legs, external ear openings, scaly skin and movable eyelids. 3. […]
1. Estimates of the number of lions living in the wild range from 20,000 to 39,000. A century ago there were at least 10 times as many. 2. About 15,000 lions live in Tanzania which is far more than any other country. 3. London Zoo has been celebrating World Lion […]
1. The name of Singapore comes from the Sanskrit “Simhapura” meaning “Lion city”. It is based on the legendary sighting of a lion there in 1299. 2. There have never been any wild lions in Singapore but it may have been a tiger. 3. The national emblem is the mythical […]
1. A group of cats is a “clowder” but “a glaring of cats” and “a pounce of cats” are also used. For wild cats, it is “a destruction”. 2. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII condemned cats as evil and sentenced them to death. 3. Cats usually have five toes on […]
1. The name of Ivory Coast was given to the region by French and Portuguese merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries reflecting its major ivory trade. 2. Ivory Coast is now the world’s largest producer of cocoa beans which are 40 per cent of its exports. 3. Last year, […]
1. Beer is the third most popular drink worldwide. Only water and tea beat it for quantity drunk. 2. In October 1814, a huge vat of beer at a brewery in Tottenham Court Road exploded. The resulting London Beer Flood killed at least eight people. 3. The “beer mile” is […]
1. Skiing in Switzerland was made popular by Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. 2. Switzerland was occupied by the French from 1798-1815 but has not had a war since 1505. 3. The average Swiss person eats 10.5kg (23lb) of chocolate a year. 4. Switzerland has the two-letter code CH […]
1. There are about 1.2 billion sheep on this planet. China, with spherical 200 million, has higher than twice as many as another nation. 2. There are roughly seven sheep per explicit particular person in New Zealand and three sheep per explicit particular person in Wales. 3. Mongolia has 35 […]
1. The word “wizard” (spelt “wisard” in the 15th century) originally simply meant a wise man. 2. In Arthurian legend, the wizard Merlin was said to be the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess. 3. The full name of the Wizard of Oz in Frank Baum’s book was Oscar Zoroaster […]