WEIRD FACTS ABOUT AUGUST | The weird facts database

August was named in 8BC after the Roman Emperor Augustus because it was the month in which many significant events in his rise to power occurred.

In the US, the first Saturday in August is National Mustard Day.

The gemstones for August are sardonyx and peridot, and the flowers are the gladiolus and poppy.

The Anglo-Saxons called August by the name Weod-monath (weed month) because it is the month when weeds and other plants grow most rapidly.

In Sweden, the third Thursday in August is known as Surströmmingpremiär - the first day for selling surströmming, which is fermented Baltic herring.

Henry VI Part 1 and The Tempest are the only Shakespeare plays that mention the month of August.

"In August, choler and melancholy much increase from whence proceeds long-lasting fevers and agues not easily cured." - Richard Saunders, 1679.

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