Great Britain: interesting facts about the country for children - TOP-28
Here are the most interesting facts about Great Britain for children. We tell amazing things about the country from its history.
1. The British spoke French . For over 300 years, French was the official language in Great Britain. Even on the coat of arms the inscription is in French, meaning “God and my right.” And this despite the fact that England and France were constantly at war in those days.
2. 30,000 people in this country are called John Smiths . The most common surname in England is Smith, and the most common given name is John. There are more than 30 thousand men with this name and surname in the UK.
3. Great Britain was the first in the world to use stamps on envelopes . On any postage stamp you will definitely see the name of the country where the stamp was issued, but this does not apply to English stamps. So if a stamp does not have a country name on it, it is issued in England by default.
Windsor Castle, home to the royal family, is the largest royal residence in the world.
4. Great Britain is 4 countries . It consists of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The official language today is English. It is spoken by 70% of the population. But each region uses different dialects. For example, in Wales they speak Welsh, in Scotland you can hear Gaelic, Anglo-Scottish and Scots. Ulster-Scots and Irish are used in Ireland.
5. Pride of origin . The Welsh, Scots and Irish are proud of their roots and ancient origins. If you call them British or English, they may be offended.
6. In the 18th century, there was a position at court as an uncorker of ocean bottles . In those days, messages were often sent in bottles by sea. But since the messages could be of national importance or spy letters, they could only be read by one person - the ocean bottle opener. If someone dared to open a message without the legal right to do so, he could be sentenced to death.
7. Elizabeth II owns all the swans that live on the Thames . Since the 12th century, all swans on the Thames were considered the property of kings. Then they were served to the table as a meal. And although today even kings no longer eat swans, the law remains the same.
Charles Mackintosh, originally from Glasgow, created the raincoat in 1824.
8. Stonehenge . This incredible attraction is located in Wiltshire, on Salisbury Plain. The age of the stones is more than 3,000 BC. It still remains a mystery who built Stonehenge and how.
9. Big Ben . The first thing he is associated with is a watch. But in fact, Big Ben is a bell that is located in the famous Palace of Westminster.
10. The shortest war in history . Britain fought in the shortest war in history. This happened in 1008. Zanzibar declared war on Britain, but was defeated by the English fleet within 36 minutes.
11. The first name of London is Londinium . Historical references to London begin in 43. It was then called Londinium. The city was founded by the ancient Romans, who captured the territory of what is now Great Britain and settled here.
The first hot chocolate shop appeared in the UK.
12. Just some numbers . The population of Great Britain is over 63 million people. At the same time, 53 million live in England and only 10 million live in other regions. Great Britain is a multilingual country. Here you can hear speech in 300 languages of the world. In the 18th century, the British Empire covered 20% of the world's surface, and 25% of the planet's total population lived in the empire itself.
13. About character . Residents of Great Britain are not inclined to show their emotions in public. They value personal space and it is not customary here to discuss their life and financial situation even with close people.
25% of London's population were not born in the UK.
14. Longest reign . Currently, the throne of Great Britain is occupied by Elizabeth II. This is the longest reign in the country's history - 63 years. The Queen is allowed to drive a car without a driver's license. By the way, this right does not apply to other members of the royal family. Elizabeth II can also travel without a passport. The British Queen is the only person in the country whose actions cannot be challenged in court.
15. Until 1832 there were only 2 universities here . Until the mid-19th century, higher education in Britain was available only at two universities: Cambridge and Oxford. Until 1877, Oxford lecturers were not allowed to marry. And for women, studying at universities was not available until 1920.
16. York is full of ghosts . This British city is considered one of the most mystical in the world. More than 500 cases of ghosts have been recorded here.
17. About sports . Golf supposedly appeared in 1457 and is considered the national Scottish game. It was also in England that rugby and polo appeared.
18. JK Rowling - the first billionaire writer . More than 400 million Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide. The series has been translated into 55 languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek.
Cheshire is one of the oldest English cheeses. It was served at the table of the ancient Romans.
19. Buckingham Palace stands in a piquant place . Not everyone knows that Buckingham Palace was built on the site where the house of harlots was previously located. Today the palace is huge - it has 700 rooms. 19 premises have been allocated for conducting government affairs. There are 52 bedrooms for the owners and guests of the palace. 188 bedrooms are allocated for the staff. Bathrooms - 78 rooms. The offices occupy 92 rooms.
20. Halloween is a pagan tradition from Scotland . It is celebrated on October 31st. This date was special in the Celtic calendar. Pagans believed that on this day the souls of the dead haunt the living.
In medieval Britain, courts decided the fate of not only people, but also animals.
21. 30 million Americans have Scottish roots . It is probably difficult to verify the figure, but it is certain that they include such celebrities as Marilyn Monroe, Theodore Roosevelt and the Bushes.
22. Elizabeth II is a relative of Dracula . It turns out that there is a family connection between representatives of the royal dynasty and Vlad III the Impaler, better known as Count Dracula. It is believed that Maria Tekskaya, who was Elizabeth II’s grandmother, was related to the son of Vlad III Tepes.
23. The Queen owns a sixth of the world's inhabited lands . The role of the Queen of England in the life of the state is nominal, but at the same time she owns 1/6 of the planet’s mainland. This includes, in addition to Britain, Canada, Australia and Jamaica. The royal family's possessions extend to more than 30 countries. However, owning land does not imply governing states.
24. Forgot to update the law . Slavery was abolished throughout England and its colonies in the 19th century, but according to British law, slavery was not a crime until April 6, 2010.
Previously, in Scotland, a man could be fined if he refused to marry the woman who proposed to him.
25. The first subway appeared in London . The first metro was built in this country, in its capital in 1863. The length was only 6 km. Initially, the metro was conceived as water transport. To do this, the dug underground tunnels had to be filled with water to a certain level, but in the end they settled on the idea of transporting passengers by rail.
26. The smallest sculpture . On a small street in London, Philpot Lane, one of the buildings is decorated with a tiny sculpture. It is represented in the form of two little mice who are winning cheese from each other. The prerequisite for the creation of the sculpture was a real story. Two workers died during the construction of the building. They got into a fight over a missing sandwich. The scaffolding on which the workers stood collapsed under their pressure. However, the cause of the conflict turned out to be a mouse that stole the sandwich.
The first programmer in world history was the Englishwoman Ada Lovelace.
27. An unusual performance and breakfast in bed . In 2011, the Barbican Theater surprised its audience with the production of “The Cradle”. The highlight of the performance was that instead of chairs, the audience was offered beds. They spent the whole night in them, and in the morning they served breakfast, already included in the ticket price.
28. More about Scotland . Scotland consists of 790 islands. Only a small part of them is inhabited by people. There are 130 islands suitable for habitation. The first fire service appeared in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. The shortest flight across the country can also be made in Scotland: if you want to fly to the island of Papa Vastra from the island of Vastra, it will only take you a minute.
These were interesting facts about Great Britain for children. Add a selection about the country from history to your bookmarks so as not to lose anything.
