BLOGGING THE VIEW: Weird but true: 7 cool facts to get your weekend started!

If you often find yourself in an awkward situation battling to make conversation, these 7 facts could help you break the silence for at least 25 seconds. Failing that, you might find them useful the next time you’re in a high-stakes pub quiz and it comes down to the lightning round! Or you could just find them to be an amusing read while you wait for the work day to end and the weekend to begin!

1. The strangest national animal
While we celebrate the Springbok as both our national animal and our beloved World Cup-dominating rugby team, Scotland went quite a different route when choosing their particular beast. Despite being home to deer, squirrels, wildcats, and more, Scotland decided the fictional unicorn would best represent their country. The unicorn, in Celtic mythology, is associated with chivalry, dominance, purity and innocence – and not rainbows and fairies like elsewhere in the world.

2. The ArtLympics
The International Olympic Committee is constantly adding new sports to the programme, with 2024 welcoming breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing, but they’ve also dropped a few sports over the years. Examples include croquet, cricket, polo, and even tug-of-war, but you probably didn’t know that there was a cultural side to this global contest years ago. From 1912 to 1948, artists could earn medals for painting, music, sculpture and architecture.

3. Follow the light
The historians among you might know that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States as a commemoration of their alliance during the American Revolution (the French will celebrate anyone who takes on the Brits!). However, what you probably don’t know is that the Statue of Liberty was originally intended as a lighthouse, and operated as such for 16 years. Unfortunately, the light emitted was insufficient for this purpose, and instead it just became a tourist icon.

4. Just jokes! (Not)
The English language has a long and intricate history, evolving over time and adapting to suit new emotions, situations and technologies. But what you might not realise is that the alphabet has changed over time as well, so much so that in 1523, there wasn’t a letter ‘j’. Up until that point, the letter ‘i’ was used for both ‘i’ and ‘j’ sounds.

5. Spain’s Eiffel Tower
If things had gone a bit differently, the Spanish landscape would have featured the Eiffel Tower rather than being the iconic tourist site in Paris that it is today. Gustave Eiffel (who actually took the claim even though his employer Maurice Koechlin did most of the work) pitched the concept to Spain who – quite rightly – said it was an eyesore. Fortunately, for Gustave, France was planning for its hosting of the 1889 World’s Fair and needed an archway for its entrance. It remains, despite most Parisians hating it at the time!

6. Raise your glass!
There are many traditions in which you will partake at weddings that date back many years, from white dresses and exchanging rings, to raising a toast to the married couple. The weird thing is that you don’t actually do anything with toast… any more. It was the Ancient Romans who used to drop a piece of their toast into their wine for good health, hence the expression.

7. South Africa aims to break a record
We have to end on a Rugby World Cup hopeful! Of the nine countries that have competed in the event, only four have won it, with both South Africa and New Zealand winning it three times since 1987. If (touch wood!) South Africa breaks through this weekend and next to raise the William Webb Ellis Cup, we will hold the record for the most Rugby World Cup wins.

SOURCES:
www.weareteachers.com/weird-fun-facts/
www.flow.travel
www.rd.com/list/eiffel-tower-facts/
www.cosmopolitan.com
www.funfactsabout.com/facts-about-the-rugby-world-cup/