WEIRD FACTS ABOUT
PIG
On 17 July 1408, a sow was hanged in the French town of Pont de l'Arche having been convicted 'for the crime of having murdered and killed a young child'.
In 2001, a pig race in Arklow, Co Wicklow, had to be cancelled because of foot-and-mouth disease, so local councillors took the place of the pigs instead
Piggy banks get their name from a clay called pygg. Money was saved in pygg jars, which were then made in the shape of pigs and called piggy banks.
Fluorescent green pigs were first bred by Chinese scientists in 2006 by injecting fluorescent green protein into pig embryos. "The mouth, trotters and tongue of the pigs are green under ultraviolet light," a researcher explained.
A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
Pigs may oink in English, but in French they go "groin, groin", in Polish they go "chrum, chrum", and in Mandarin Chinese, they go "Hu-lu, hu-lu".
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AARDVARK
At the beginning of 2006, there were four aardvarks in the UK.
Aardvark means 'earth-pig'. For... MORE
ANIMAL NOISES
In Denmark pigs go 'knor'; in Germany horses go 'prrrh'; in ancient Greece, dogs went... MORE
CLOONEY
Actor George Clooney had a pet pot-bellied pig called Max, which he acquired some time... MORE
CROSS BREEDING
The mayor of a town in Kenya in 2004 ordered more than 500 pigs to... MORE
DICKENS
Charles Dickens's first job was labelling bottles at a warehouse of Warren's Blacking, a boot... MORE
DURIAN
The durian fruit, loved by many but generally considered the smelliest food on earth, has... MORE
EURO
The launch of the Euro in 2002 provoked varied reactions in different countries:
In Poland, two... MORE
GROUNDHOG
A groundhog is a type of marmot also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig or land... MORE
HAM
The world's most expensive ham went on sale in Selfridges in London in January 2010.
It... MORE
KARLOFF
The real name of horror film star Boris Karloff was William Henry Pratt. According to... MORE
LAVATORIES
'Toilet' is currently the most popular word for the little boys' (or girls') room, being... MORE
MARQUESAS ISLANDS
The only word for a domestic animal in the language of the Marquesas Islanders in... MORE
MONEY
The word 'money' comes from Moneta, one of the names of the goddess Juno.
The Roman... MORE
PIGGY BANKS
A company in Switzerland withdrew one of its products in 2010 and apologised after receiving... MORE
RICE
'Dakigokochi' is the Japanese name for a rice-filled bag shaped like a bundled baby and... MORE
TALIBAN
When the Taliban were in control in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, a list of... MORE
VALENTINO
Valentino's first job when he came to the United States in 1913 was as a... MORE
WINNIE THE POOH
Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925 in the London Evening News. The... MORE
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