You can reach back into the history of the British Isles and pull out fun facts about England from any year. The following are the most interesting fun facts that you may not have known or realized. Some may even surprise you.
- The first public zoo in England opened in London in 1829. It was also a world's first.
- Though you won’t see it in any modern royal courts, animals were tried and convicted based on the bad deeds they got into in Medieval England. Their owners were fined damages occurred!
- Windsor Castle is the largest royal home in the world. It is also the oldest still in use as a royal residence.
- The first hot chocolate store opened in London around 1600. Ironically it was started and run by a Frenchman who made it very popular to drink hot chocolate. In a hundred years you could find almost as many hot chocolate stores as you could coffee and tea houses.
- The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest constructing edifice until 1280, when the Lincoln Cathedral took that moniker. Some of the cathedral was demolished in 1549, but it still retained its tall stature until 1884.
- In 1752, England (and the rest of the United Kingdom) adopted the Gregorian calendar eleven days after it was deemed impractical by the rest of the world.
- If you ate breakfast in Medieval England, you were also often served beer.
- The first telephone directory for England was published in 1880 and contained 25 names.
- Queen Victoria loved Valentine's Day cards. In fact, during her reign, she sent nearly 2500 cards.
- In the early days of England, numerous Kings presided over many of England's Realms. It's possible that you had to follow different laws in different sections of England, depending on where you traveled.
