Facts | Commonwealth Countries, Featured, United Kingdom | 46 Fun and Interesting Facts about The UK

1. You can find over 300 languages spoken in the UK.
2. For 300 years the British were all speaking French!
3. As the stereotype dictates the Brits drink more tea than anywhere else in the world (about 165 million cups a day).
4. The Queen owns every swan in the country.
5. There are more chickens in Great Britain than people.

The British consume roughly 2.2 million chickens a day!

6. Champagne was invented in England.
7. There are some very strange laws. For instance it’s illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day despite tradition.
8. Britain is considered to have the worst food in the world, however London is also home to many Michelin star chefs, including Gordon Ramsey, Heston Blumenthal and Marcus Wareing.
9. British cows have regional accents.

British cows have regional accents.

10. Britain holds the record for the world’s shortest war; just 38 minutes!
11. The most common name is John Smith.
12. Scotland is home to the world’s oldest golf course, Musselburgh.  Although, this has recently been reassigned to St. Andrews.
13. Wales has a railway station named “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”.
14. London was the first city in the world to trial an underground railway.

Flag of Great Britain – ‘The Union Jack’

15. The most remote pub in Britain is 107 miles from the nearest city.
16. Queen Victoria was once given a giant cheese wheel measuring 3 meters in diameter.
17. It is considered treason to paste a stamp upside down.
18. England is home to the largest Ferris wheel in Europe: The London Eye.

A London Eye ‘Pod’

19. The Queen may not enter the House of Commons.
20. Scotland produces over 250 million litres of whisky each year; Scotch whisky is world famous.
21. Kilts were temporarily illegal in Scotland.
22. Sausages used to be named “Bags of Mystery”.

Facts about British People

23. The British accent changes every 25 miles.
24. 6,000 people in Britain suffer serious harm every year because they tripped over their trousers. Some of them fall down the stairs while trying to put their trousers on. Quite a number actually die.
25. The Queen sends personalised birthday cards to people in Great Britain who turn 100. She also does this for those who turn 105 or older.

Mousehole Harbour, Cornwall, England

26. The world thinks that ‘Fish and Chips’ are the UK’s favourite meal. But UK residents once voted Chicken Tikka Masala as their favourite dish.
27. As well as tea, British people like coffee too – and drink 70 million cups every day.
28. 25% of adults in Britain are obese. The UK has the highest rate of obesity on the planet.

Facts about British Geography

29. The UK covers 93,000 square miles. However, no location in England is further than 75 miles from the sea.
30. It takes two minutes to fly from Westray to Papa Westray. The scheduled flights between the tiny islands are the shortest in the world.
31. Llanfairpwll, a Welsh town, has one of the longest names of any town in the world. The town’s full name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllllandysiliogogogoch. You can see why people prefer the abbreviated name.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Railway Station, Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom.

32. ‘UK’ and ‘Britain’ are often used interchangeably but they are not the same thing. The UK includes Northern Ireland.
33. There are 69 official cities in the UK.

Random British Facts!

34. The law prohibits any one from dying in the houses of parliament.
35. In England, you can hire mourners for a funeral.
36. When a Danish Warrior’s skull was discovered by Anglo-Saxon farmworkers, they started kicking it around, partly out of anger, partly out of amusement. This created a game called ‘Kick Dane’s Head’. This eventually became football.

Royal Crescent, Bath

37. In the 16th Century, husbands were prohibited from beating their wives after 9PM because the noise produced disturbed the sleep of those in the vicinity.
38. A British man was wrongfully accused of killing his wife and daughter. He was eventually executed in 1950―this compelled legislators to outlaw the death penalty.
39. Windsor Castle is the world’s oldest royal residence. It came into existence in 1080.

Windsor Castle

37. The UK produced the world’s first billionaire author in J.K. Rowling.
38. Stamps originated from the UK. The first stamp, the Penny Black was issued in 1840.
39. People think that ‘Big Ben’ is the name of the famous clock tower. But they are only partly right. It is specifically the name of the bell.
40. Britain doesn’t have a written constitution.

Stonehendge, Wiltshire.

44. Stonehenge, a popular tourist attraction in Wiltshire, is older than the Pyramids.
45. Prince Charles is the heir to the British throne. He has held this position for over six decades.
46. The law permits children over five years to drink alcohol as long as they’re on private property.

Do you know any strange, interesting or fun facts about the UK we’ve not mentioned?  Share them here in the comments section below!

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