Fun Facts about England and the United Kingdom

Fun Facts about England and the United Kingdom

Fact 1.

King AEthelstan (927-939)

The first king of England was called AEthelstan. He was king from 927 to 939 AD. He made a law that everyone should be in bed by 8 o'clock in the evening!

Multiple Choice

What time did people have to go to bed in Kind Aethelston's time?

• 7pm

• 8pm

• 9pm

• 10PM

We speak French here!

In 1066 the French Normans won a battle at Hastings in England and the French lord William the Conqueror became the King of England. For 300 years the official language of England was French!!

Multiple Choice

For how many years was French the official language of England?

• 1066

• 300 years

• 250 years

• 400 years

A stone's throw?

England is a small country surrounded by water. Do you know that the furthest you can be away from the sea is only 100 kilometres? We have a famous saying "It's just a stone's throw to hit a seagull" which means things are very close.

Multiple Choice

What is the saying in English that means things are close?

• It's a bird's throw

• To hit a seagull

• It's a stone's throw

• It's 100 kms to the sea.

Tea for two.

Until 1650 the English did not drink tea. In fact they did not drink water as it was so dangerous, full of disease. The English, even children, drank beer. Nowadays, 4.165 million cups of tea are drunk in England.

Multiple Choice

How many cups of tea are drunk daily in England?

• 2 million

• 100 million

• 4.164 million

• 9 and a half!

We like sports

In the 19th century, England became the first country where people had a lot of time for rest. So they invented sports. England invented football, rugby, tennis, boxing and cricket, sports which are today played by billions of people.

Poll

Which sports invented by England do you like most?

• Rugby

• Football

• Cricket

• Boxing

• Tennis

Windsor Castle

The Queen of England often lives here. It is to the west of London. In 1992 there was a big fire and the Queen had to pay to repair the castle as she had no insurance. The repairs cost 800,000,000 roubles. Windsor Castle is the largest castle in the world where people still live.

Multiple Choice

How much money did The Queen of England spend on reparing Windsor Castle after the fire?

• 800,000,000 roubles

• 800 thousand pounds

• 80 roubles

• 850 million roubles

Chicken and Chips

Many people think that the national dish of England is Fish and Chips. However, Chicken and Chips has now become even more popular. Did you know that there are more chickens in England than people?

Multiple Select

There are more people than chickens in England?

• True

• Maybe

• I don't know

• False

Going Underground

London was the first city in the world to have an undergound railway system. In the olden days it was very dirty and smelly. It now has 270 stations and had 400 kilometres of track. Moscow Metro now has 239 stations and 410 kilometers of track.

Multiple Choice

The Moscow Metro has more stations and less track than the London Underground?

• TRUE

• FALSE

An old home

The oldest home in the UK is about 6,000 years old. It has furniture made of stone, and it is still there today. About 250 years ago people paid taxes to the King on how many windows in their house. The more windows, the more you paid. So many people blocked up their windows and the houses became very dark. The sale of candles went up.

Multiple Choice

On what item in their house did people used to pay taxes?

• doors

• gardens

• babies

• windows

• dogs