100 Interesting Facts About England

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1Ronald Maddison

Ronald Maddison

In 1953, a 20-year old Royal Air Force engineer named Ronald Madison died while acting as a guinea pig for sarin gas testing at Porton Down, England. Maddison was offered 15 shillings for the experiment, which he planned on using to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend.


2. A 10-year-old girl named Laura Buxton from Blurton, Staffordshire, England released a balloon with her name and address on it, which floated 140 miles and landed in the backyard of a house where there also lived a 10-year-old girl named Laura Buxton, which caused a huge chain of coincidences between the two.


3. In 1961, 3 residents of an old people’s home in England died of heart attacks when they saw the grim reaper at their window, who turned out to be another resident of the home in a disguise.


4. In 1983, a man from Cheshire, England confessed to his wife's murder when a body was discovered near his house. It turned out to be a preserved "bog body" from the Iron Age.


5. In the 1700s, a woman named Mary Toft in England tricked doctors into thinking she could give birth to rabbits. Sometimes later she was forced to admit that she shoved dead rabbits into her vagina before 'birthing' them.


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6Tetrachromatic cones vision

Tetrachromatic cones vision

A woman from Northern England has 4 functioning color cones (most of us have only 3) and that due to this she can see 99 million more colors than the average person.


7. Some of the Mayflower Pilgrims were not escaping from religious persecution in England, but rather the tolerant Dutch Republic that they feared was influencing their children.


8. After 9/11, the Queen of England authorized the Coldstream Guards to break protocol and play the US national anthem during the Changing of the Guard, giving some comfort to Americans stranded in London due to airport closures.


9. To open the vaults at the Bank of England, you need a key which is 3 feet long


10. In 2005, in order to pay for college, a student in England made a 1,000,000 pixel web page and put up space for sale at $1/pixel. He was successful, selling out in less than 6 months.


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113106 carat diamond

3106 carat diamond

When the world's largest diamond (3106 carat diamond) was transported from Africa to England, elaborate & secure journey by sea was publicized was a rouse. The real diamond was simply posted by mail.


12. Upon landing in England, William the Conqueror slipped and fell. To play it cool, he grasped two fistfuls of soil and proclaimed ‘England is ours!’


13. When Edward I of England was coming back from the ninth crusade in 1272, he learned that his father had died and that he had been made the king of England. Instead of returning home to be crowned, Edward went on a leisurely trip in Italy and France for almost two years and only came back in 1274.


14. 70% of the land in England is still owned by 1% of the population, largely descended from William the Conqueror’s army.


15. The Queen of England’s portrait has been on enough international money to make a progressive timeline of her aging.


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16Macaroni and cheese history

Macaroni and cheese history

The earliest known recipe for macaroni & cheese dates back to 14th century England.


17. Pineapples were such a status symbol and costly in the 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party.


18. The Scottish army tried to take advantage of the Black Plague in England through an invasion, but caught it themselves and brought it back to Scotland, killing half of the native population.


19. The word “soccer” was first used in England before the Americans adopted it.


20. The oldest unbroken alliance in the world is between England and Portugal dating back to 1373


21Rationing in England

Rationing in England

The intense rationing in England during WWII actually reduced infant mortality by guaranteeing nutrition to everyone.


22. “Gropecunt Lane” was once a common street name in England, indicating probable historical centers of prostitution.


23. In England and Wales, it’s legal to consume alcohol on private premises from the age of 5.


24. There’s an annual lying competition in England, and competitors from around the world have five minutes to tell the biggest and most convincing lie they can. Politicians and lawyers are banned from entering because they’re thought to be too good at it.


25. The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man-made structure on Earth for 3,871 years until the Lincoln Cathedral in England was finished in 1311.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Number 33. Its not all of Alnwick Gardens that is made up of deadly plants – just the dedicated, walled “Poison Garden,” within the grounds. Alnwick castle is also where a lot of scenes in Harry Potter were filmed.

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