Historic Fun Facts about England (by Ignacio Pons)

You can reach back into the history of the British Isles and pull out fun facts about England from any year. The following are the most interesting fun facts that you may not have known or realized. Some may even surprise you.

• The first public zoo in England opened in London in 1829. It was also a world's first.
• Though you won’t see it in any modern royal courts, animals were tried and convicted based on the bad deeds they got into in Medieval England. Their owners were fined damages occurred!
• Windsor Castle is the largest royal home in the world. It is also the oldest still in use as a royal residence.
• The first hot chocolate store opened in London around 1600. Ironically it was started and run by a Frenchman who made it very popular to drink hot chocolate. In a hundred years you could find almost as many hot chocolate stores as you could coffee and tea houses.
• The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest constructing edifice until 1280, when the Lincoln Cathedral took that moniker. Some of the cathedral was demolished in 1549, but it still retained its tall stature until 1884.
• In 1752, England (and the rest of the United Kingdom) adopted the Gregorian calendar eleven days after it was deemed impractical by the rest of the world.
• If you ate breakfast in Medieval England, you were also often served beer.
• The first telephone directory for England was published in 1880 and contained 25 names.
• Queen Victoria loved Valentine's Day cards. In fact, during her reign, she sent nearly 2500 cards.
• In the early days of England, numerous Kings presided over many of England's Realms. It's possible that you had to follow different laws in different sections of England, depending on where you traveled.

Modern Fun Facts

• In the year 2003, England suffered a record-breaking heat wave with temperatures hitting 100 degrees for the first time in recorded history.
• The English gulp down more tea than anyone else on Earth. Even though Americans enjoy their tea also, the English use about 20 times more.
• The flag of England is called the Union Flag when it is seen on land and Union Jack when it is being used on a ship. "Jack" because it must be flown on the jack mast of a vessel.

Did You Know?

Newtown is the most popular name for a British town. Over 150 towns are named Newtown.
• England boasts the company that is the third largest employer on Earth. The National Health Service is preceded only by China's Red Army and India's main railway.
• England is known for cities and town with long names. It may shock you to know that Ely is the city in England with the shortest amount of letters it the name.
• It is common knowledge that Athelhampton house is haunted by three ghosts. What isn't common knowledge is that one of them is an ape.
• Over 12,000 accidents happen per year when English people put on socks, pantyhose or other type stockings.
• Big Ben is not the name of the entire building that contains the clock. The name is actually what the bell inside the tower is called. The structure is actually called St. Stephen's Tower.
• The tallest Ferris wheel in Europe is housed in London. It was called Millennium Wheel, but has since been redubbed The London Eye.
• There are over 300 languages spoken by people in the country of England.