Here in this thread, I’ll have loads of little fun facts about England! That you wouldn’t necessarily know. Even I don’t know most of these. They’re like the little facts that not a lot of people know, but if you do know it, they can be slipped into a conversation to impress people.






-          England is 74 times smaller than the USA, 59 times smaller than Australia and 3 times smaller than Japan. England is however 2.5 times more populous than Australia, and 1.5 times more populous than California. With 2.5 times less inhabitants than Japan, its density of population is slightly higher than the country of the rising sun.
 
-          The highest temperature ever recorded in England was 38.5°C (101.3°F ) in Brogdale, Kent, on 10 August 2003.
 
-          English people consume more tea per capita than anybody else in the world (2.5 times more than the Japanese and 22 times more than the Americans or the French).
 
-          Among the three ghosts said to haunt Athelhampton House, one of them is an ape.
 
-          The Slimbridge Wildlife & Wetlands Trust is the world's largest and most diversified wildfowl centre. It has the largest collection of swans, geese, and ducks on Earth, and is the only place where all six species of Flamingo can still be observed.
 
-          Mother Shipton's Cave near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, is England's oldest recorded tourist attraction. Its owner, Charles Slingsby, fenced off the site in 1630 and started charging visitors to gape at this so-called petrifying well. The mineral-rich water from this uncanny spring has the ability to give objects a stone-like appearance after a prolonged exposure.
 
-          English people have the highest obesity rate in the European Union (22.3% of men and 23% of women). They also have the highest percentage of overweight women (33.6%) and the 6th highest for men (43.9%).
 
 
-       French was the official language of England for about 300 years, from 1066 till 1362.
 
-       Public schools in England are in fact very exclusive and expensive (£13,500/year in average) private schools. Ordinary schools (which are free), are called state schools.
 
-       The English class system is not determined by money, but by one's background (family, education, manners, way of speaking...). Many nouveau-riches, like pop-stars or football players, insist on their still belonging to the lower or middle class.
 
-       Oxford University once had rules that specifically forbade students from bringing bows and arrows to class.
 
-       An official report of the European Union surveying universities in all member states ranked the University of London as the top performer in terms of publications and in terms of citations, and the University of Cambridge as top performers in terms of impact.
 
-        Fish 'n chips is not much traditional an English dish than Chicken Tikka Massala. The first fish & chips restaurant was only opened in 1860 by a Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin.
 
-        British police do not carry guns except in emergencies.
 
-        The world's largest second-hand book market can be found at Hay-on-Wye, a small village at the border of England and Wales. The village is also famous for proclaiming itself independent from the UK in 1977.
 
-         One of England's quaintest traditional event is the cheese rolling competition in Brockworth, Gloucestershire. Every year in May people chase Double Gloucester cheese down the steep Cooper's Hill. The tradition is said to have originated with fertility rites in Roman times. Other cheese rolling events exist in England, for example at the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire.
 
-        Coveting the title of England's oldest surviving festival alongside the cheese rolling of Gloucestershire, are the Horn Dances of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire. Based on ancient Anglo-Saxon traditions, the present festival go back at least to the 11th century, but might be much older.
 
-          The Rothschild art collection at Waddesdon Manor is one of the world's most important, rivalling with that of the Louvres Museum and New York Metropolitan Museum.
 
 


-         Silburry Hill, in the English county of Wiltshire, is the largest man-made earthen mound in Europe. It was built about 4750 years ago.
 
-         The stone circle at Avebury is the largest in the world. It was built between 5300 and 4600 years ago and covers 11 ha (28 acres). The outer circle is surrounded by a bank and ditch long of 1.5 km (1 mile).
 
 
-         The mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560–1621) invented the symbols for "is less than" [<] and "is greater than" [>].
 
-         Champagne was invented in England, not in France. In 1662 scientist Christopher Merret presented a paper to the Royal Society in London describing how the addition of sugar and molasses to wine make it brisk and sparkling. This method, now known as méthode champenoise, was adopted by Dom Pérignon over 30 years later to produce the first sparkling wine in Champagne.
 
-          The first building in the world to overtake the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was Lincoln Cathedral, completed in 1280. Had its spired not been destroyed by a storm in 1549, it would have remained the highest construction ever built in the world until 1884, when the Washington Monument was erected.
 
-           Winchester was the first capital of England, from 827 to 1066. Winchester Cathedral, completed in 1070, has the longest nave of any medieval cathedral in Europe.
 
 


-         Harry Ramsden's holds the Guinness World Record for the largest fish and chip shop in the world, seating 250 people, serving nearly a million customers a year. It is Britain's longest established restaurant chain. Its first shop opened 1928 at Guiseley, West Yorkshire.
 
-         Britain has the highest per capita consumption of cider, as well as the largest cider-producing companies in the world. Over half of England's cider is produced in Herefordshire. The world's largest producer of cider is H. P. Bulmer, based in Hereford. Cider making was introduced by Viscount Scudamore in 1639, who brought the recipe from France. In 1674 he built the county's largest house with cider money at Holme Lacy, near Hereford.
 
 
Thanks to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ! Want to know more about England and its weird little facts? Then visit here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] !
 
 
Why not visit the other England threads?
 
-          Guess the Image: Doctor Who Edition
-          Design a Crest Contest
-          Recipes [COMING SOON]
-          Landmarks [COMING SOON]
-          Notable/Famous People [COMING SOON]
-      England Introductory Thread

Quote :

Among the three ghosts said to haunt Athelhampton House, one of them is an ape.

*Spits out tea* Oh, no! What happened to the ape? *Drama!*

Sailor Venus wrote:

Quote :

Among the three ghosts said to haunt Athelhampton House, one of them is an ape.

*Spits out tea* Oh, no! What happened to the ape? *Drama!*

I know! I mean, what was an ape even doing in the house? And very well done with that sentence, very British!! xDDD

Fish n chips isn't from England? my life is a lie.

Speaking of chips, you should have a list of British words that do not mean what Americans think they mean. I once had a debate with an English friend about how chips can't really get cold... until I realized I was thinking of crisps.

This is very interesting! =D

Ooo yes do do English vocab words

I may try and get those words done. I can only think of like 5 at the moment. >.> Since 2 people are wanting them, I'll try and rack my brains and ask about the family and everyone!! xD

Sailor Mercury wrote:

Fish n chips isn't from England? my life is a lie.

Speaking of chips, you should have a list of British words that do not mean what Americans think they mean. I once had a debate with an English friend about how chips can't really get cold... until I realized I was thinking of crisps.

I never go that as a kid. XD

wow those are very interesting facts xD I didn't know most of them!!!