Afternoon
Phoenix – I do hope you’re all enjoying this fine day! Welcome to
Trivia Tuesday. By request, we’re going to explore “the other side of
the pond” and talk about Malcolm MacBain.
Mal was born in the Scottish Highlands and is over 400 years old. He has a 15th century stone castle outside Edinburgh.
Trivia and facts about Edinburgh, Scotland:
1. Random Fact: Edinburgh's nickname, Auld Reekie (Old Smoky), marks an era when the city's buildings and homes burnt a lot of coal and wood for heat and chimneys would emit columns of smoke into the air.
2. Geological Fact: The rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built is the plug of an extinct volcano. Following glacial erosion, it formed a crag and tail formation: The Castle Rock and the Royal Mile respectively.
3. Interesting Fact: The Royal Mile is called this because it's a mile-long street with two royal buildings on each end - Edinburgh Castle and Holyroodhouse Palace.
4. Paranormal Fact: Edinburgh is said to be one of the most haunted places in Europe because it is home to the Mackenzie Poltergeist, the violent spirit of a 17th century murderer and torturer who haunts Greyfriars Kirkyard.
5. Creepy Fact: The 19th century body snatchers Burke and Hare murdered some 15 people in the city to sell their cadavers to the medical college. Burke's death mask and a wallet made from his skin are on display in the Surgeons' Hall Museums.
6. Heartwarming Fact: One of the most photographed monuments in Edinburgh is Greyfriars Bobby, the statue of a 19th century Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding his master's grave. Is sits at the corner of Candlemaker Row and the George IV Bridge.
7. Embarrassing Fact: Modeled on the Parthenon in Athens, the National Monument on Calton Hill is referred to as Edinburgh's Folly or Edinburgh's Shame because it was never completed due to a lack of funds.
8. Royal Fact: Tourists can view the mythical Stone of Destiny in Edinburgh Castle's Crown Room. It is still used for the crowning of English monarchs.
9. Mysterious Fact: In Edinburgh's Old Town lies the Real Mary King's Close, a long-forgotten underground series of streets that was built over as the city's population grew. It is now a commercial attraction.
10. Weird Fact: From 1477-1911, the Grassmarket was the site of one of Edinburgh's main horse and cattle markets. It was also the location of public executions.
11. Celebrity Fact: J.K. Rowling penned the first novel in her Harry Potter series at the Elephant House cafe on George IV Bridge.
12. Festive Fact: Every August thousands of tourists swarm the city for the Edinburgh Festival, which is composed of several different arts and cultural festivals.
Some info about the Scottish Highlands:
• Skara Brae, on the island of Orkney, is the most complete Neolithic village in Europe. It is also the oldest building in Britain, dating from 3100 BCE.
• Aberdeen Harbour Board is Britain's oldest recorded business, founded in 1136.
• The University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is the third oldest university in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge. It welcomed Britain's first female student in 1862. It is also here that the world's first students' union came into existence in 1882, while the world's oldest students' union building was the purpose-built Teviot Row at Edinburgh University, built in 1889.
• Scotland was an independent country until 1603. Then the king of Scotland became king of England (not the other way round), but the two country didn't merge their governments until 1707, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• The Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, is the oldest surviving bank in the UK. It was also the first bank in Europe to print its own banknotes, a function it still performs today.
• The Encyclopædia Britannica, the world's oldest surviving encyclopedia and one of the most scholarly of encyclopaedias, was first published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh. The first nine editions (out of fifteen so far) were all edited in Scotland. From 1901 it was edited conjointly in New York City and London.
• Edinburgh was the first city in the world with its own fire brigade, in 1824.
Have a fangtastic day everyone!<3 Brock V"""V
Mal was born in the Scottish Highlands and is over 400 years old. He has a 15th century stone castle outside Edinburgh.
Trivia and facts about Edinburgh, Scotland:
1. Random Fact: Edinburgh's nickname, Auld Reekie (Old Smoky), marks an era when the city's buildings and homes burnt a lot of coal and wood for heat and chimneys would emit columns of smoke into the air.
2. Geological Fact: The rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built is the plug of an extinct volcano. Following glacial erosion, it formed a crag and tail formation: The Castle Rock and the Royal Mile respectively.
3. Interesting Fact: The Royal Mile is called this because it's a mile-long street with two royal buildings on each end - Edinburgh Castle and Holyroodhouse Palace.
4. Paranormal Fact: Edinburgh is said to be one of the most haunted places in Europe because it is home to the Mackenzie Poltergeist, the violent spirit of a 17th century murderer and torturer who haunts Greyfriars Kirkyard.
5. Creepy Fact: The 19th century body snatchers Burke and Hare murdered some 15 people in the city to sell their cadavers to the medical college. Burke's death mask and a wallet made from his skin are on display in the Surgeons' Hall Museums.
6. Heartwarming Fact: One of the most photographed monuments in Edinburgh is Greyfriars Bobby, the statue of a 19th century Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding his master's grave. Is sits at the corner of Candlemaker Row and the George IV Bridge.
7. Embarrassing Fact: Modeled on the Parthenon in Athens, the National Monument on Calton Hill is referred to as Edinburgh's Folly or Edinburgh's Shame because it was never completed due to a lack of funds.
8. Royal Fact: Tourists can view the mythical Stone of Destiny in Edinburgh Castle's Crown Room. It is still used for the crowning of English monarchs.
9. Mysterious Fact: In Edinburgh's Old Town lies the Real Mary King's Close, a long-forgotten underground series of streets that was built over as the city's population grew. It is now a commercial attraction.
10. Weird Fact: From 1477-1911, the Grassmarket was the site of one of Edinburgh's main horse and cattle markets. It was also the location of public executions.
11. Celebrity Fact: J.K. Rowling penned the first novel in her Harry Potter series at the Elephant House cafe on George IV Bridge.
12. Festive Fact: Every August thousands of tourists swarm the city for the Edinburgh Festival, which is composed of several different arts and cultural festivals.
Some info about the Scottish Highlands:
• Skara Brae, on the island of Orkney, is the most complete Neolithic village in Europe. It is also the oldest building in Britain, dating from 3100 BCE.
• Aberdeen Harbour Board is Britain's oldest recorded business, founded in 1136.
• The University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is the third oldest university in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge. It welcomed Britain's first female student in 1862. It is also here that the world's first students' union came into existence in 1882, while the world's oldest students' union building was the purpose-built Teviot Row at Edinburgh University, built in 1889.
• Scotland was an independent country until 1603. Then the king of Scotland became king of England (not the other way round), but the two country didn't merge their governments until 1707, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• The Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, is the oldest surviving bank in the UK. It was also the first bank in Europe to print its own banknotes, a function it still performs today.
• The Encyclopædia Britannica, the world's oldest surviving encyclopedia and one of the most scholarly of encyclopaedias, was first published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh. The first nine editions (out of fifteen so far) were all edited in Scotland. From 1901 it was edited conjointly in New York City and London.
• Edinburgh was the first city in the world with its own fire brigade, in 1824.
Have a fangtastic day everyone!<3 Brock V"""V
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