10 Things I Didn't Know This Time Last Week
10 Things I Didn't Know This Time Last Week
1. Animal rights extremism isn't just a recent issue: the first riot took place in 1906 when medical students attempted to destroy a statue erected by anti-vivisectionists in honour of "Little Brown Dog", an animal who had been used in research.
2. Word of the week: grockle - a British tourist.
3. Having breaking news alerts delivered to your mobile phone may seem very cutting edge, but the Daily Express pioneered the service back in 1914, offering personal war updates via telegram for a shilling each.
4. The name Boudicca is said to mean "victory" in Old Welsh, supporting the idea that Boadicea was just a misspelling by a Roman historian.
5. Jesters, due to make a comeback after English Heritage advertised for one, had a hard life: their poverty forced them to sew old rags together to make their characteristic patchwork suit, and if they failed to make the court laugh they could expect to be beheaded.
6. One in 17 of the Royal Mail's staff is off work sick at any one time.
7. The Shining is the "perfect scary movie", according to researchers, who have come up with a scientific formula for such things. They identified the isolated setting, escalating music and chase scenes as some of the key elements in its success.
8. Pink Floyd's 1979 classic album and film The Wall was originally also planned as a stage musical. Twenty-five years later its Broadway debut has been announced.
9. The full name of the Statue of Liberty, which re-opened this week, is Liberty Enlightening the World.
10. Gibraltar, which celebrated 300 years under British rule this week, was named Jebel Tarik - Tarik's mountain - by Moorish settlers in honour of their leader Tarik ibn Zeyad. The last syllable was lost over time.
1. Animal rights extremism isn't just a recent issue: the first riot took place in 1906 when medical students attempted to destroy a statue erected by anti-vivisectionists in honour of "Little Brown Dog", an animal who had been used in research.
2. Word of the week: grockle - a British tourist.
3. Having breaking news alerts delivered to your mobile phone may seem very cutting edge, but the Daily Express pioneered the service back in 1914, offering personal war updates via telegram for a shilling each.
4. The name Boudicca is said to mean "victory" in Old Welsh, supporting the idea that Boadicea was just a misspelling by a Roman historian.
5. Jesters, due to make a comeback after English Heritage advertised for one, had a hard life: their poverty forced them to sew old rags together to make their characteristic patchwork suit, and if they failed to make the court laugh they could expect to be beheaded.
6. One in 17 of the Royal Mail's staff is off work sick at any one time.
7. The Shining is the "perfect scary movie", according to researchers, who have come up with a scientific formula for such things. They identified the isolated setting, escalating music and chase scenes as some of the key elements in its success.
8. Pink Floyd's 1979 classic album and film The Wall was originally also planned as a stage musical. Twenty-five years later its Broadway debut has been announced.
9. The full name of the Statue of Liberty, which re-opened this week, is Liberty Enlightening the World.
10. Gibraltar, which celebrated 300 years under British rule this week, was named Jebel Tarik - Tarik's mountain - by Moorish settlers in honour of their leader Tarik ibn Zeyad. The last syllable was lost over time.