Fascinating Facts and Trivia

How London's famous markets got their names-part1(courtesy the Daily Mail Q&A)
London has at least 25 historic markets and 50 more working markets.
Borough Market claims to have existed since 1014. The name comes from burh, a fortification or fortified settlement developed in Alfred the Great's time to defend against the Vikings (spam, spam spam, spam!)

Billingsgate Market dates from the 14th century. It was described as a 'free and open market for all sorts of fish whatsoever' in 1699. The first market building was constructed on Lower Thames Street by the builder John Jay in 1850 and expanded in 1873 when it became the world's largest fish market. It is named after the City ward of Billingsgate, where the market was located before it moved to Poplar in 1982. Billingsgate is thought to be the of an ancient water gate leading to a quay or wharf. The 12th century cleric and historian Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that it was named after Belinus, a mythical king of pre-Roman Britain.

Part 2 to come.

One of Christopher Wren’s original ideas for St Paul’s cathedral proposed a 60 foot stone pineapple in place of the now iconic dome.

The Millennium Dome is the biggest structure of its kind in the world

The Millennium Dome is so big that it can fit the Great Pyramids of Giza comfortably under the roof! The structure is 365m in diameter; and 52m high in the middle; with 12 supporting poles, symbolising days, weeks and months of the year.

David Bowie became obsessed with the actor/entertainer/singer Anthony Newley and if you listen to 'Space Oddity' you can hear the influence.

Anthony Newley was the first person to record and sing Goldfinger before it was given to Shirley Bassey.

The world famous James Bond theme is attributed to Monty Norman(he won a court case over it) but it was written by Don Black as something completely different-for a play called The House of Mr Biswas. John Barry arranged it for Dr No.

John Barry wrote several Bond themes and recorded with artists like the afore-mentioned Bassey, Louis Armstrong(OHMSS), Tom Jones(Thunderball) and later Paul McCartney(Live and Let Die), Duran Duran(A View To A Kill) & A-ha(The Living Daylights) Bill Conti(ForYour Eyes Only) and Michael Kamen(Licence to Kill) each did one but the later themes were all done by David Arnold.

Caning and slippering children was finally abolished in 1986 but the act was passed by just 1 vote, but it meant that finally children weren't subjected to the cruelty of a piece of wood or leather across their backsides.
(Personally I suffered a ruler across my arm from a particularly sadistic female teacher in primary school and my mother went ballistic when she was how red my inner arm was and marched up to the school and gave this woman hell-yeah go Mum!)

Markets part 2
Greenwich Market dates back to the 14th century. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon Grenewic, meaning green port or harbour.

Leadenhall Market also dates back to the 14th Century though the current building is from 1881. In the Middle Ages, traders from outside London could sell their wares there. It got its name from a lead-roofed mansion that stood there.

Spitalfields Market was established in 1682 specialising in fruit and vegetables. It was called the spitel fyeld in 1561 and belonged to a medieval priory called the New Hospital of St Mary without Bishopsgate or St.Mary Spital.

Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill began as a food market in the 19th century, but was supplanted by antique dealers after World War II. The street was named in honour of Admiral Edward Vernon's 1739 victory over the Spanish at Porto Bello, now in Panama. Districts in Edinburgh and in Dublin also acquired the name of Portobello at this time. The name, which is said to have been coined by Christopher Collumbus, means 'beautiful port'.

You might also remember it was slightly stylised by Disney in 'Mary Poppins' and the Admiral Vernon pub was the scene of a shooting some years ago as it was also a place for gay people to meet up. The BBC antiques show, 'Bargain Hunt' regularly films there.

If you struggle to remember the order of the planets from the sun try this:

My Very Easy Method Just Speeded Up Naming Planets

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto

Paul McCartney was arrested and jailed in 1960 for setting a condom on fire.

I seem to recall another two mnemonics:
North South East West= Never Eat Shredded Wheat and the colours of the rainbow=Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)

As of January 2019 'Symphony Of The Seas' became the worlds largest passenger ship in the world - weighing 228, 081 tons, across 18 decks, measuring at 361.011 metres (1,184.42 ft) in length. It can accommodate 5,518 passengers, at double occupancy up to a maximum capacity of 6,680 passengers, aswell as a 2,200 person crew.
Features include 2 x 43ft rock climbing walls, ice skating rink, a full sized basketball court and a 'central park' which contains over 20,000 tropical plants.





There have been some famous and deadly eruptions in modern times that include Mount Krakatoa in 1883, Novarupta in 1912, Mount St Helens in 1991, but the biggest known Volcano in our solar system is actually on Mars. It's name is Olympus Mons and it measures at a whooping 600km (370 miles) wide and a height of nearly 25km (13.6 miles or 72,000 ft) as measured by The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA)





The worlds longest beard - 17 feet, 6 inches, belonged to a man named Hans Langseth who died in 1927. Mr Langseth understood the historical value of his facial hair and ensured it was preserved for posterity's sake. The impressive facial hair is now part of The Smithsonian Institutes Permanent Collection.