Tag Archives: Europe

Queen Elizabeth II

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Queen Elizabeth II

Her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Also known as the Queen.

  • The Queen’s full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, and she was born in 1926.
  • The Queen’s real birthday is on the 21st of April, even though her official birthday is celebrated in June.
  • The Queen is married to Prince Philip; her father was King George VI, formerly known as ‘Prince Albert’; and her mother was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, well known as the ‘Queen Mother’.
  • The Queen’s reign began on the 6th of February, 1952, and her silver jubilee year was 1977, her golden jubilee year was 2002 and her diamond jubilee year, a celebration of 60 years reign, was 2012.
  • The Queen and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, were educated at home by her father, tutors and governesses.

Queen Elizabeth II, England, Australia, Perth, Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, CHOGM, Plane, Andrew Taylor, Commonwealth Secretariat, Flickr, Ten Random Facts

The Queen
Image courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat/Flickr
  • Although London was bombed in World War II, the Queen stayed at home with her mother, father and sister.
  • Even though it was her 40th year on the throne, the Queen announced 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year, or year of horrors, due to a series of disturbing family events that occurred throughout the year.
  • The Queen has been bitten by one of her pet corgis dogs on more than one occasion.
  • In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II, exceeded the age at death of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and as such became the longest living monarch the United Kingdom has had, while in September 2015, she became the longest reigning monarch of the UK.
  • Queen Elizabeth was patron to more than 600 charities and organisations in 2013.
Updated September 2015
Bibliography:
Elizabeth II 19 February 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II

Big Ben

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Big Ben

Listen to the bells ringing…

  • Big Ben is the nick name of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, London, and specifically the bell of the clock.  The origin of the nick name is uncertain.
  • Big Ben’s official name is the Elizabeth Tower, only recently renamed from “Clock Tower” in 2012.
  • The Big Ben, a free-standing clock tower, is the third tallest in the world, and holds the largest four faced clock that chimes.
  • Big Ben was completed in 1858 and has become the symbol of London and England.
  • Big Ben is named after Queen Elizabeth II, as a tribute to her in her Diamond Jubilee year.
Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, London Palace of Westminister, Clock Tower, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos, England Big Ben
Image courtesy of  Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee/ Free Digital Photos
  • Big Ben measures 96 meters (315 feet) in height, around the size of a 16 story building.
  • Although Big Ben is a popular tourist attraction, it is only open for those who are residents of the United Kingdom.
  • The Big Ben has a tilt that can be seen by the naked eye, and it currently tilts a further 0.9 mm each year due to nearby tunnels.
  • On 27 May, 2005, Big Ben’s clock mysteriously stopped at the time of 10:07 pm and again at 10:20 pm, stopping for 90 minutes.
  • Big Ben consists of one main bell, and four quarter bells which play play G#, F#, E and B notes.
Bibliography:
Big Ben 4 February 2013, Wikipedia,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben>

Black Forest

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Black Forest

The forest isn’t black… It’s green!

  • The Black Forest is a forest of many trees on a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, in South East Germany.
  • The Black Forest is situated on a layer of sandstone and contains mainly pine and fir trees.
  • The Black Forest is known as Schwarzwald in German, and was dubbed by the Romans as the “Black Forest”, due to its very dense growth of trees which makes it very dark in the forest.
  • The highest mountain in the Black Forest is Feldberg, 1, 493 meters (4,898 feet).
  • The Black Forest is the home of the giant earthworm, which hasn’t be discovered in any other region.

 Schwarzwald, Germany, Black Forest, Fir, Pine, Lanscape, View, Flickr, Ten Random Fact, Gerrit van Aaken

Black Forest
Image courtesy of Gerrit van Aaken/Flickr
  • Since the early 18th century, cuckoo clocks have been, and still are, a popular souvenir of the Black Forest.
  • In medieval times the Black Forest contained significant mines, some of which have been re-opened for public viewing.
  • The Black Forest is the home of many rivers including the Danube.
  • The Black Forest measures 150 km (93 miles) in length.
  • A cherry liquor from the Black Forest region was originally one of the significant ingredients in the world famous Black Forest cake, hence the name Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte – ‘Black Forest cherry torte’.
Bibliography:
Black Forest 26 January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest>

Eiffel Tower

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Eiffel Tower

La Tour Eiffel: “The Eiffel Tower” in French!

  • The Eiffel Tower is a steel framework tower located in Paris, France.
  • The Eiffel Tower is named after Gustave Eiffel who was an engineer and owned the company that built the tower.
  • The Eiffel Tower is the largest structure in Paris, but not in France, standing 320 meters (1,050 feet) in height which is approximately the height of an 81 storey building.  It weighs approximately 10,000 tonnes.
  • The Eiffel Tower saw 7.1 million visitors in 2011, and it is the most popular ticketed monument in the world.  It had seen 250 million visitors by 2010.
  • The Eiffel Tower has three floors and nine elevators.
Eiffel TowerEiffel Tower
Image courtesy of Matt Banks/ Free Digital Photos
  • The Eiffel Tower construction started in 1887 and was finished in 1889. The grand opening was on the 31st of March 1889, and was made for the World Fair that year.
  • 300 workers were first hired to construct the Eiffel Tower and during the two years of construction, there was only one worker death.
  • The names of 72 male French scientists and engineers, as well as other notable people, were first engraved on the Eiffel Tower when it was built.  The names were painted over in the 20th century, and were then restored in 1986 – 1987.
  • Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is painted over with 50-60 tonnes of paint to prevent rust.
  • The Eiffel Tower is the home of two restaurants: Le 58 Tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne and at the top is a broadcaster for television and radio.
Bibliography:
Eiffel Tower January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower>

Cherry

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Cherry

Red as a rose, sweet as love.

  • Cherries are stone fruit since they have one seed in them, and have an outer flesh.
  • Cherries are the fruit of certain species of ‘Prunus’, and most cherries that humans eat come from varieties of the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), which is mostly used for cooking purposes, or the wild cherry (Prunus avium).
  • The word ‘cherry’ comes from the common Greek word, translated into Latin, ‘Cerasum’.
  • The cherry tree cultivars are mainly native to the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Several caterpillars rely on cherry tree cultivars for food.

 Cherries, Cherry, Sour, Eatable, Many, Lots, Glass, Ten Random Facts

  • The word ‘cherry’ refers to the fruit, tree, similar ornamental trees and strangely enough, sometimes almonds.
  • The cherry tree’s prime season for harvest is Summer.
  • In 2007, cherry trees produced approximately 2 million tonnes of cherries world wide. 40% of this production belonged to Europe and 13% belonged to the United States of America.
  • Turkey was the top producer in 2009, with 417.7 thousand tonnes, followed by  the United States with 390.7 tonnes.
  • Cherries have been proven to decrease pain, swelling and tenderness in rats.
Bibliography:
Cherry 28 December 2012, Wikipedia,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry>

Christmas Stocking

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Christmas Stocking

Stuff it full of presents, please.

  • A Christmas stocking is typically a sock or sock shaped bag.
  • Christmas stockings are traditionally hung on Christmas Eve, ready to be filled secretly with presents during the night, which are usually opened the next morning.
  • Santa is said to put gifts in Christmas stockings, for good boys and girls.
  • There is no written history of the Christmas stocking, although there are many legends of how the stockings came about.
  • The Children’s Society produced the largest Christmas stocking made in December 2007, and measured 32.56 meters (106 feet and 10 inches) in height and 14.97 feet (49 feet 1 inch) in width, and contained 1000 presents.

 Christmas Stocking, Angel, Embroidery, Cross-Stitch, Girl, Pretty, Ten Random Facts

  • Christmas stockings are traditionally placed near a fireplace, although some people place them under their Christmas tree or hang them on the end of their bed.
  • Christmas stockings were traditionally filled with food to eat, and sometimes small gifts.
  • The Christmas stocking tradition started in Europe.
  • Christmas stockings traditionally have the owner’s name written on them, so that Santa knows which presents belong to each person.
  • Christmas stockings were originally plain socks, but soon, stockings made especially for the purpose of holding gifts, were designed.
Bibliography:
Christmas Stocking 10 December 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_stocking>
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