Portal:Scotland/Did you know/Archives

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Did you know...

• ...that Beinn a' Ghlò is a large mountain in Scotland that has three Munro summits, and is an SSSI?

• ...that, according to the Lanercost Chronicle, Richard de Inverkeithing, Bishop of Dunkeld, was poisoned by King Alexander III of Scotland so that the king could take the bishop's movable possessions?

• ...that pioneering Scottish Victorian photographer, John Thomson, was honoured by having one of the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro named "Point Thomson" on his death in 1921?

• ...that Saint Gilbert of Dornoch was the last Scot to appear in the Calendar of Saints?

• ...that Lord Neaves, a judge on the supreme court of Scotland, was quoted by Darwin on evolution, but attributed the concept of evolution to Lord Monboddo, not Darwin?

• ...that Charles St. Clair was both a Scottish Peer and a York Herald of Arms, and was consequently able to attend the State Opening of Parliament in either capacity?

• ...that tradition traces Clan Drummond, a Scottish clan from Stirlingshire, to Hungarian origins?

• ...that Miss Cranston pioneered the social phenomenon of tea rooms, introducing "fairyland"-like interiors designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh?

• ...that in the 1848 Moray Firth fishing disaster on the east coast of Scotland, 124 boats sank and 100 fishermen perished, leading to a major redesign of fishing boats in the following years?

• ...that the Reverend John Thomson, distinguished landscape painter and former minister of Duddingston Kirk, is often credited with originating the famous Scots adage "We’re a' Jock Tamson’s bairns"?

• ...that bowls player Willie Wood was the first athlete to compete in 7 Commonwealth Games, despite being barred from the 1986 games in his home country of Scotland for refusing to reclassify as an amateur?

• ...that Reaper, a 105 year old historic Fifie herring drifter, nearly sank off the north east coast of England after being restored and put back into service as a museum ship?

• ...that Greyfriars Kirkyard, famed for its association with Greyfriars Bobby, is haunted by the spirit of "Bluidy Mackenzie" and featured in the early photography of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson?

• ...that the Willow Tearooms, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, is the most famous of many new Glasgow tearooms opened in the early 20th century due to the emergence of the Temperance movement?

• ...that Bud Neill was a Scottish newspaper cartoonist whose best loved strip was set in "Calton Creek", a fictional Arizona outpost of the wild west populated with Glaswegians, including Sheriff "Lobey Dosser" who rode a two-legged horse?

• ...that Robin Philipson, former President of the Royal Scottish Academy, was particularly renowned for his cockfight paintings?

• ...that the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther contains 66,000 exhibits including Reaper, a 104 year old restored fifie herring drifter?

• ...that the village of Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland, is the site of the first confirmed case of H5N1 avian flu in the United Kingdom, and was once home to a 200-strong fishing fleet?

• ...that North Berwick Harbour was built in the 12th century as a ferry port for St. Andrews bound pilgrims, while legend has it that "Satan himself" once worshipped on the Harbour's "Auld Kirk Green"?

• ...that a cuttie-stool is the Lowland Scots name for a three legged stool that was thrown by Jenny Geddes at the Dean of St Giles High Kirk, in protest at the introduction of Anglican style prayer books in 1637?

• ...that the Royal Navy operated a secret training and anti-submarine warfare base at Seacliff in East Lothian during World War I?

• ...that Bonnybridge, forming part of the "Falkirk Triangle" in Scotland, is considered by many UFO enthusiasts to be world's number one UFO hotspot, with around 300 sightings every year?

• ...that Rough Castle Fort is the best preserved of 19 Roman forts along the Antonine Wall?

• ...that the Atholl Highlanders is Europe's only legal private army?

• ...that Scotsport is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running sports television programme?

• ...that the Madelvic Motor Carriage Company of Granton produced electric cars between 1898 and 1900 at their factory in north Edinburgh, and that the factory still exists, making it the oldest car factory in Britain?

• ...that Kellie Castle in Scotland dates back to 1150 and it is rumoured that the 5th Earl of Kellie hid there in a burnt-out tree stump for the entire summer following the Battle of Culloden in 1746?

• ...that the 14th-century Lennoxlove House in East Lothian, Scotland contains many important artworks and artefacts, including the death mask of Mary, Queen of Scots?

• ...that the Dunmore Pineapple was a folly where pineapples were grown in Scotland from 1761 and that it was built by the 4th Earl of Dunmore, John Murray, who later became governor of Virginia Colony in the U.S.?

• ...that Craigellachie Bridge, a revolutionary cast iron bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1814, inspired a popular Strathspey reel?

• ...that in Scots law the civil action known as lawburrows—in use since 1429 and intended to prevent violence—is a simple, bond-based alternative to interdicts or court orders?

• ...that Glasgow's Wellington Church was founded in 1792 as an Anti-Burgher congregation?

• ...that the Reverend Dr. James Blair of Scotland was a clergyman and missionary to the Virginia Colony, and is best known as the founder in 1693 of the College of William and Mary, where he served as President for 50 years?