Historical Fun

5 Fun Facts About The British Parliament - Part One. 1. The British Parliament is made up of two houses: The House of Commons is where elected members of parliament sit, and The House of Lords is where really old guys who wet themselves sit.   And they do have to sit, as they can't stand. They're really old. And smell of pee.   Nope, that actually isn't true anymore. It used to be true, though. The House of Lords really did stink of wee.   The Lords used to be all landed gentry and, as such, all had tweed jackets. These were treated "fixed" with urine to make them more durable and strong.   Unfortunately, when it rained, it gave off an aroma of piddle.   Nowadays, there are chemicals that are used instead. Plus, the old gentry don't tend to sit in the Lords anymore. Most of the chamber is full of appointed Lords instead. 2. The two chambers hate each. In fact, they hate each other s...

1. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Yep, it's Memorial Day in America, and that means a three day holiday weekend. But, as well as a nice long break from work, picnics, parades, family barbeques, it's also a day of remembrance for those who have fallen in battle defending the country against those who meant it harm. The tradition of commemorating those who died in service can be traced back hundreds, if not thousands of years. The Greek and Romans had their own celebrations, as did the Egyptians. But it wasn't until the US Civil War that the practice became widespread in American. After the Civil War, General John A. Logan called for a holiday to commemorate fallen soldiers, and suggested May 30th. It wasn't until 1971 that Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday in May each year and became a proper holiday. 2. You're actually legally obligated to observer a minute silence at 3pm . (Imagine my best Michael Caine impression for the ...

Fun Facts About King Henry I Of England 1. Henry-Yes-There-Actually-Was-A-First was the fourth and youngest son of William the Conqueror. Or, as William the Conqueror used to be known, William the Bastard (see this post for details). However, it would seem William the Conqueror wasn't the only bastard in the family. Henry wasn't exactly a shining light of niceness. In fact, he was a right git. 2. Henry was born around the 1068/1069 mark.   No one is quite sure of the exact date. He was born as Henry Beauclerc. He had three older brothers, Robert Curthose, William Rufus, and the other one who died, so he doesn't count. 3. When Henry's father, William the Bastard Conqueror, died, Henry inherited diddly-squat. However, his remaining two older brothers did. Sheesh, sucks to be the youngest. Robert inherited Normandy, and England went to William, who became William-The-Second-My-Back-Is-Turned-You'll-Shoot-Me-Won't-You? 4. Henry had to purchase...

Fun Facts And Advice On Temper Tantrums Temper Tantrums Are normal.  All children Get Temper Tantrums. You're hot, you're bothered, you're being dragged around the supermarket when all you want to do is get to the pub for a few pints of the good stuff. What's a guy to do? You scream and cry and stamp your feet. Maybe even try falling on the floor and flailing your arms and legs about in the air like an epileptic octopus, all whilst crying and screaming, perhaps with the added bonus of bellowing, "I hate you. You're not my real Mom." Oh, wait, hang on a minute. We're talking about temper tantrums in toddlers. Oops. Ignore everything I said above. I don't do that. Not at all. Wow, this is so embarrassing. Anyways, the first thing to remember: Temper Tantrums are normal. Every child will suffer from a tantrum or ten in their childhood. Or even per day, sometimes. And pretty much all parents will have to suffer through them. Or, just let ...

1. The Queen is the legal owner of one-sixth of the planet's land surface. 2. Everybody expected the Spanish Inquisition. They were legally obligated to give 30 days notice. 3. In 2008, a man was arrested in Ohio for having sex with a picnic table. 4. William the Conqueror was called William the Bastard before he conquered England. Click here for 5 Fun Facts About William the Conqueror 5. American Airline saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad in first class. 6. There are 1.6 million ants on the planet per one human being. 7. Kangaroos have three vaginas. 8. When Julius Caesar was a young man, he was kidnapped by pirates. Click here for 5 Fun Facts About Julius Caesar 9.  Despite its size, a hippo can run faster than a human being. 10. You can't sneeze with your eyes open. It's impossible. 11. In Greek mythology, the god Zeus was raised by a goat to hide him from his father who wanted to eat him. Click for 5 F...

Some handy parenting advice and tips. 1. So, your little angel is misbehaving. It's perfectly normal, they are testing to see how far they can push you, and how much they can get away with. However, it's friggin annoying. And, apparently, you can't duct tape your four-year-old to the wall. Which means you have to come up with some imaginary ways to play on their gullibility. Such as: Santa is watching to see if you make it onto the naughty or nice lists. If you have an alarm motion sensor in your room, then tell your kids that every time it flashes red, Santa is watching to see if they are being good. 2.  It's the evening, it's getting on, and your angel-with-the-devil's-tail isn't asleep yet. And, even worse, they want to carry on watching cartoons. All you want to do is relax with a glass of wine and watch a grown up program. So, what to do? Simples. "I want to watch cartoons, too, snookums-shookums. But we have to wa...

5 Animal Facts That Are Wrong 1. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. Well, they can't jump, which is why you never see them playing basketball. However, stick them on a bouncy castle and those things can launch themselves into space. Although it's true that elephants can't jump, they aren't the only animals. Hippos can't jump, neither can rhinos, giraffes, penguins, and white men. 2. Blind as a Bat. Yep, bats are blind. Nope, they actually aren't. It's so confusing. They don't have great eyesight, but all species of bats can see. They have adapted to use their sense of smell and hearing to get around, and use a sophisticated and very accurate echo-location to navigate the treacherous tunnels of Wayne Manor. In fact, their inbuilt sonar is better than the sonar arrays on a naval warship. It's probably why the Australian Navy haven't developed their own SONAR, and instead duct-tape thousands of bats to the bottom of the...

5 Fun Facts About Famous and Infamous Pirates 1. Captain William Kidd was a famous 17th century pirate. That's Captain William Kidd. Not to be confused with Billy The Kid, who was a cowboy, not a pirate. Although Captain William Kidd's level of piracy is very much disputed. Kidd was employed by the Governor of the Island of Nevis to sail his ship, Blessed William, with a small fleet of likeminded Captains, to protect the English settlement against the French. They were given permission and the authority to pillage the French ships of whatever plunder they wanted. He was later tasked with hunting enemy pirates and capturing or destroying their ships. So, far from being a pirate himself, he was actually hunting them down. He did this for a number of years and had a reputation for being a cruel Captain who didn't think twice about killing his crew or captives. He came unstuck when he captured an American flagged ship, carrying French papers. Normally, it would have bee...