Random Facts: Snow
The study of snow and ice is known as “cryology”. The Oxford English Dictionary includes 337 words with “snow” in their definition, so you could say English has 337 words for snow from… Continue reading
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Random Facts: Bananas
The word “banana” came to us from Spanish or Portuguese and was first seen in English in 1597. The scientific name for a banana is “musa sapientum” which means “fruit of the wise… Continue reading
Random Facts: Austria
The feast day of St Leopold III, Margrave of Austria from 1095-1136, who was canonised in 1485 and became a patron saint of Austria, is 15 November. Margrave was the title given in… Continue reading
Random Facts: Diabetes
“Diabetes” is the Greek word for “siphon”. It refers to the copious urine flow when the disease is uncontrolled. Sir Frederick Banting (1891-1941) in 1923, was one of the discoverers of insulin for… Continue reading
Random Facts: Whales
Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick‘ was based on an albino whale known as Mocha Dick which was seen off the coast of Chile in the early 19th century. The call of a blue whale… Continue reading
Random Facts: Eyes
By far the most common eye colour in the world is brown but in the UK blue is now most common. When awake, you blink about 12 times a minute on average which… Continue reading
Random Facts: Sloths
All sloths have three toes on each of their hind legs. Two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths differ in the number of fingers on their front limbs. Three-toed sloths are called Bradypus (slowfooted), two-toed… Continue reading
Random Facts: Eggs
The average hen lays 300-325 eggs a year. The world’s largest omelette weighed 14,225lb 6oz. It was made by a team of 55 people in Portugal in 2012 and used 145,000 eggs. In… Continue reading
Random Facts: Coffee
According to legend, coffee was discovered in Ethiopia around 800AD through its effect on goats. In terms of financial value, the two most traded commodities in the world are oil and coffee. The… Continue reading
Random Facts: Snakes
The decapitated head of a dead snake can still bite, even hours after death. These types of bites usually contain huge amounts of venom. Snakes live on everywhere on Earth except Ireland, Iceland,… Continue reading
Random Facts: Hobbits
Eighty years ago, on September 21, 1937, JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit was first published. In the mid-19th century, ‘hobbit’ (or ‘hobbet’) meant a seed basket or a measure of 2.5 bushels. When… Continue reading
Random Facts: Volcanoes
In Ancient Rome, August 23 was the date of Vulcanalia, the Feast Day celebrating Vulcan, god of fire in general and volcanic fire in particular. Appropriately enough, August 23 was the day the… Continue reading
Random Facts: Greenland
With an area of 836,330 square miles and a population of just under 56,500, Greenland is the world’s most sparsely populated country. Greenland used to be part of Denmark but was given home… Continue reading
Random Facts: Foxes
A group of foxes is called a skulk or leash. Grey foxes can retract their claws like cats do. In fact, foxes have more in common with cats than with wolves and dogs,… Continue reading
Random Facts: Sleep
The feast day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, a group of youths said to have hidden in a cave to escape religious persecution around 250 AD, fallen asleep and woken up 300… Continue reading
Random Facts: Lions
Although lions are often referred to as King of the Jungle, they generally live in grassland or plains, not jungles. In the last 30 years, the number of lions in Africa has halved.… Continue reading
Random Facts: Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Fringe started on Friday 4th August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe began in 1947, though John Geddie wrote a book called The Fringes Of Edinburgh as long ago as 1926. During the… Continue reading
Random Facts: Bees
Research in 2008 showed that Asian bees and European bees can understand each other, and research in 2012 showed that bees can recognise human faces. A honey bee’s wings beat about 200 beats… Continue reading
Random Facts: Simon Bolivar
SOUTH American revolutionary and liberator Simon Bolivar was born in Venezuela on 24th July 1783. It’s Simon Bolivar Day in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, which is named after him. He overthrew Spanish… Continue reading
Random Facts: Wimbledon
This year is the 1,050th anniversary of a charter by King Edgar the Peaceful which referred to the area as Wimbedounyng. The Anglo-Saxons had called it Wynnman’s Hill after a local landowner. The… Continue reading
Random Facts: Chocolate
7th July is World Chocolate Day, supposedly celebrating the day in 1550 when chocolate was introduced into Europe. However, although frequently repeated, the date of 7th July 1550 seems to be nonsense. Columbus… Continue reading
Random Facts: Asteroids
There are thought to be a million asteroids in the solar system which could hit Earth and destroy a city, yet we have discovered fewer than 10,000. The 30th June 1908 Siberian Tunguska… Continue reading
Random Facts: Midsummer
June 24 is the traditional date for Midsummer’s Day (in the Northern Hemisphere), which is also the feast day of John the Baptist. Astronomically, midsummer is the day of the summer solstice, or… Continue reading
Random Facts: Beer
National Beer Day is on 15th June and this year goes on until Father’s Day on June 18th. The date of June 15 was chosen for National Beer Day as it was the… Continue reading
Random Facts: Polar Bears
The scientific name for the polar bear is Thalarctos maritimus from the Greek arktos, “bear”, and thalassa, “sea”. The word to mean “of or pertaining to the polar bear” is “thalassarctine”. The earliest… Continue reading
Random Fact: Fish and Chips
Battered and fried fish arrived in the UK in the 17th century. Chips joined it only in 1860. There are around 10,500 fish and chips shops in the UK. Ninety years ago there… Continue reading
Random Facts: Guyana
Guyana marked their independence from Britain on 26th May 1966. Guyana, formerly British Guiana, is the only country in South America in which English is the official language, but most Guyanese speak Guyanese… Continue reading
Random Facts: Endangered Species
The third Friday in May each year is Endangered Species Day, raising awareness of animals in threat of extinction if action is not taken to protect them. The IUCN (International Union for the… Continue reading
Random Facts: Walking
Research suggests that taking 10,000 steps a day is ideal for good health. The average American manages only 5,117. The difference between walking and running is that at least one foot is always… Continue reading
