Portal:United Kingdom/Did you know

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[edit] Archive

This is an archive of the items that have appeared in the Did you know section on the United Kingdom Wikiportal.

[edit] 9 February 2005

that Mary Seacole has been been described as the black Florence Nightingale?
that AEJ Collins scored the highest-ever recorded score in cricket, 628 not out, over four afternoons in June 1899 as a 13-year-old schoolboy?
that Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha became the first Indian member of the House of Lords in 1919?
that The Duke of Wellington's Regiment is the only regiment in the British Army to carry four colours on parade?
that the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, Kent, is one of the two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that has a tree within the boundary?

[edit] 14 February 2005

...that Hamilton Palace in Scotland was lent for use as a naval hospital during World War I, by Alfred, the 13th Duke of Hamilton?
... that the Saladin tithe was levied in England in 1188 to help finance the Third Crusade?
... that Reginald Hill's novel A Clubbable Woman was his first story about Dalziel and Pascoe?

[edit] 29 March 2005

...that King George V was a member of the Society for the Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car Porters George?
... that Double Gloucester cheese is made from a mixture of milk taken in the morning and evening?
...that although Admiral Robert Calder arguably saved Britain from invasion in the battle of Cape Finisterre, he was court-martialled for his failure to win a more decisive victory?
...that the BBC coat of arms was adopted in 1927 and uses heraldic symbols to depict the various qualities of broadcasting?

[edit] 15 June 2005

...that the FTSE 100-listed company Hays plc dates back to the 1600s, when they owned warehouses and wharves on the River Thames?
...that the History of Swansea includes an epidemic of yellow fever in 1865, the only outbreak of that disease on the British mainland?
...that Elsie Tanner was a core character on the British soap opera Coronation Street for over twenty years?
...that although England centre forward Geoff Hurst had scored a hat-trick and was therefore entitled to keep the match ball, it was German striker Helmut Haller who took it home after the 1966 World Cup final?
...that Arthur Owens, codenamed SNOW, was a vital double agent who supplied information to German intelligence under the direction of British MI5 during the early years of World War II?

[edit] October 2005

...that Simeon Solomon was a British painter who regularly had works displayed at the Royal Academy in the 1860s?
...that Jack Broughton was the first person to develop a set of rules for boxing?
...that "Flood," the sixth episode of The Young Ones, was the only one of the twelve episodes made which did not feature a live band during the show, instead using a lion tamer?
...that a Northern Ireland naming dispute has existed since 1922, after the secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom?
...that, before Wayne Rooney made his debut in February 2003, England's youngest ever football player was James F. M. Prinsep, who had held the record for more than 123 years?

[edit] November 2005

...that in 1712 Jane Wenham is commonly but erroneously regarded as the last subject of a witch trial in England?
...that the first James Bond gun barrel sequence, in the film Dr. No, was filmed through the barrel of an actual gun?
...that Torchwood will be the first spin-off from Doctor Who since an unsuccessful pilot for K-9 and Company in 1981?
...that the Adolph Beck case was the most notorious case of mistaken identity in British legal history, resulting in a conviction of an innocent man not once but twice?

[edit] December 2005

...that Dennis Berry was a musician, composer, arranger and producer who not only produced the music to the first Monty Python film, but has also had his music featured on the BBC's Little Britain, MTV's The Osbournes and the Nickelodeon cartoon Spongebob Squarepants?
...that the Baldock Beer Disaster occurred on March 14, 1904 when an unstable storage room floor collapsed in a brewery in the North Hertfordshire town of Baldock?
...that A Different Corner by George Michael became the first #1 in the UK singles chart to be written, sung, played, arranged and produced by the same person?

[edit] January 2006

...that the parish church of James Parkinson, after whom Parkinson's disease is named, was St Leonard's, Shoreditch, a church just outside the City of London and most famous for being one of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons"?
...that a Grand Illumination is an outdoor ceremony involving the simultaneous activation of electric Christmas lights and is derived from an English tradition of placing lighted candles in the windows of homes and public buildings to celebrate a special event?
...that Bangor Cathedral in North Wales was completed without a tower or spire because of a cracking foundation?

[edit] February 2006

...that the Battle of Gingindlovu showed for the first time that the British Army could defeat the Zulu tactics that had wiped them out at the famous Battle of Isandlwana?
...that footballer Alan Taylor scored two goals in the quarter final, two goals in the semi final and two goals in the final of the 1975 FA Cup as his club West Ham United won the competition?
...that the Havengore is a ceremonial vessel that was used to carry the body of Winston Churchill during his state funeral on 30 January 1965?

[edit] March 2006

...that Bill Ashdown is the only person to have played first-class cricket both before the First World War and after the Second World War?
...that Television House on Kingsway in London served as the headquarters of Associated-Rediffusion, Independent Television News, the TV Times magazine, Associated TeleVision and Thames Television between 1955 and the early 1970s?
...that Round the Bend was a children's television programme that was televised for three years on Children's ITV, but was supposedly cancelled as a result of Mary Whitehouse calling it politically incorrect?

[edit] April 2006

...that most knights of the Middle Ages wore chausses as leg protection?
...that Sir Henry Segrave's accomplishments inspired the Segrave Trophy, which is awarded to the British subject who accomplishes the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, sea, air or water?
...that when the British Army first attacked the Agra Fort in 1803 under Lord Warren Hastings, a cannon ball fired by the artillery struck the Takht-i-Jahangir (throne of Jahangir), but did not manage to destroy it and only caused a superficial crack on one side?

[edit] May 2006

...that the Willow Tearooms in Glasgow, designed by the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903, is the most famous of the many new tearooms opened in the city in the late 19th and early 20th century due to the growing popularity of the Temperance movement?
...that the first television chef was Marcel Boulestin, who appeared on the BBC's experimental television broadcasts in 1937?
...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?

[edit] June 2006

...that the Transport typeface was created for use on British road signs (pictured) following the introduction of the motorway network?
...that the Dogs Trust, a British animal welfare charity, provided AA wardens with pistols to painlessly euthanise animals injured in road accidents?
...that Harry Pursey started his career as a boy seaman in the Royal Navy, retired with the rank of Commander, and served as a Member of Parliament for twenty-five years?

[edit] July 2006

...that legends say when Saint Nectan was murdered, foxgloves grew where his blood was spilled?
...that English choreographer Gillian Lynne took up dance as a child to recover from the violent death of her mother?
...that British Labour Party MP Roland Boyes continued in office after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1995, but his condition had deteriorated so much that, upon his retirement in 1997, he was unaware that his party had gained control after 18 years in opposition?
...that the A8(M) motorway is the shortest motorway in Northern Ireland at only one mile long, and has no junctions with any other roads along its entire length?
....that the fossilised remains of Lions have been found at Crook Peak in Somerset, England?

[edit] August 2006

...that the expressions "take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves" and "ways and means" are both attributed to William Lowndes?
...that the planned M4 Toll motorway in Wales has received criticism from both pro- and anti-road pressure groups?
...that Edinburgh University did not teach Scottish history until 1901, when a new professor, Peter Hume Brown, insisted that it was not revolutionary to study its national history?
...that Archibald Hall was the oldest prisoner on the original list of British murderers who were issued with whole life tariffs by the Government?
... that the expression ’pay on the nail’ comes from the practice of closing deals by payment on brass tables called nails, which can still be seen at The Exchange, Bristol?
...that the Council House, Bristol features a blue and gold wall clock, encircled by the signs of the zodiac and equipped with its own wind indicator?
...that the Royal West of England Academy housed the Bristol Aeroplane Company and the U.S. Army during World War II?

[edit] September 2006

...that inventor Thomas Highs was never credited for his invention of both the spinning jenny and the water frame, mostly due to his lack of funding to patent the devices?
...that "bin bugs" are being attached to wheelie bins in England to monitor the amount of domestic waste produced by each household?
...that the British music journalist Everett True introduced Kurt Cobain to Courtney Love?
...that five months before his death, William Edington was offered the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, but turned it down?
...that Dundas Aqueduct was named after the British politician Charles Dundas, 1st Baron Amesbury?
...that Garston Lock is the last remianing turf sided lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal and one of only two remaining in Britain?
...that the Bruce Tunnel is the only tunnel on the Kennet and Avon Canal and the second longest navigable tunnel on Britains canals at 502 yards (459 m)?

[edit] October 2006

...that Banks' Florilegium is a series of 743 engravings of plants collected by Joseph Banks (pictured) and Daniel Solander on Cook's Pacific voyage between 1768 and 1771?
...that the Royal West of England Academy housed the Bristol Aeroplane Company and the U.S. Army during World War II?
...that the 2003 British Grand Prix was disrupted when defrocked Catholic priest Neil Horan ran into the path of the oncoming cars?
...that Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog that played a role in stopping the Roman advance in Scotland and whose traversal was used in the Bishops' Wars?

[edit] November 2006

... that Fowlsheugh cliffs (pictured) attract 170,000 breeding seabirds annually, and may be one of the few nature reserves with more vertical than horizontal land area?
...that a fielder in cricket may only alter the ball condition by removing mud, drying or polishing it without use of an artificial substance, else he is guilty of ball tampering?
...that Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, A. D. 1803 (1874) by Dorothy Wordsworth—her "masterpiece"—was never published in her lifetime?
...that Gibbon's Tennis Court, a Tudor-style real tennis court converted into a theatre in 1660, was home to one of the earliest appearances by a professional actress in England?

[edit] December 2006

... that the expression "pay on the nail" originated from the practice of closing deals by payment on brass tables called "nails" (pictured), which can still be seen at The Exchange, Bristol?
...that surgeon William Brydon was the only European of 16,500 British troops to survive the retreat to Jalalabad from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War?
...that the 1917 Silvertown explosion may have been the largest explosion to ever occur in London?

[edit] January 2007

...that there are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Scotland and four more sites currently undergoing a process of evaluation including the iconic Forth Bridge?
...that David Anderson QC claimed that the scandal which ended his career arose from the KGB framing him for having prevented a Soviet invasion of Norway in 1945?
...that the BBC journalist Barbara Plett's admission of having cried at the sight of the terminally ill Yasser Arafat led to a controversy and a widespread discussion about the network's coverage of the Israeli-Palestine conflict?
...that Robert Keyes was related to five of the other Gunpowder Plot conspirators?

[edit] February 2007

...that Old St. Paul's Cathedral (pictured) in the City of London had one of the tallest spires in the world at 149 metres (489 feet) and was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666?
... that in 1916 Charles Leach, the British Liberal Member of Parliament for Colne Valley, became the only MP ever to be disqualified under the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886?
...that the earliest ballads referencing Robin Hood's Merry Men give names to only three members of the group, Little John, Much the Miller's Son, and Will Scarlet?
...that The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain was found at Aveline's Hole one of the Caves of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England?
...that a road in Charlcombe, Somerset, England is closed for two months every spring to allow frogs and toads to cross safely?

[edit] See also

[edit] Archive and upcoming

2005: To October (see above) · October · November · December
2006: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December
2007: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December

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