You may also be interested in:

TRAFFIC LIGHTS
The world's first traffic lights were a gas-powered contraption erected just off Parliament Square in... MORE

GLADSTONE
William Gladstone is one of only two people to have had his coffin transported on... MORE

COPYRIGHT
The word 'uncopyrightable' is one of the two longest English words that consists entirely of... MORE

PICNIC
The word 'picnic' came from the French pique-nique, which is thought to have been formed... MORE

CEMETERIES
In 2001, the Israeli airline El Al rejected a request to allow certain passengers to... MORE

FLEMING
The author of the James Bond books, Ian Fleming, was the son of Valentine Fleming,... MORE

FALLOPPIO
The Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio, also known as Fallopius, after whom the Fallopian tube is... MORE

TANZANIA
Following a recent re-survey, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is now officially three metres shorter than... MORE

COFFEE DECAFFEINATED
Decaffeinated coffee owes its invention to a batch of beans that had been spoiled by... MORE

LONDON
The first escalator on the London Underground was installed at Earls Court station in 1911. Initially,... MORE

TABLOID
The word 'tabloid' was originally coined and registered on 14 March 1884 as a trademark... MORE

PEN
A pen, according to San Diego Police, is indeed as mighty as a sword and... MORE

PURPLE
The colour purple is named after a snail, the mucus glands of a tropical sea... MORE

CUBA
The tennis player John McEnroe was born on the day Fidel Castro seized power in... MORE

St PAUL'S
The first cathedral dedicated to St Paul's was said to have been built on the... MORE