Interesting Facts

29th April 1429 – Joan of Arc arrived to relieve the Siege of Orleans. 1770 – James Cook arrived at and named Botany Bay, Australia. 1882 – The "Elektromote" – forerunner of the tram – was tested by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin. 1885 - Women were admitted for the first time to examinations at England's Oxford University. 1916 – Martial law in Ireland was lifted and the Easter rebellion officially ended with the surrender of Irish nationalists to British authorities in Dublin. 1945 – The German Army in Italy unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. 1945 – Adolf Hitler married his long-time partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designated Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor. 1945 - Dachau Concentration Camp was liberated by US Troops. 1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali was stripped of his boxing title. 1985 - Four gunmen escaped with nearly $8 million in cash st...

The average child in the UK receives 8 chocolate eggs over Easter. (If they ate them all in one go they will have consumed 8,000 calories. I wonder if there is such a thing as chocolate poisoning.)

Unilever, the company behind the brands Marmite and Pot Noodle have teamed up with chocolate film Kinnerton, to produce Marmite, and Pot Noodle flavour Easter eggs. ( This is for +Xeb eke . Post by Marmite . )

There are over 130 flavours of jelly beans. (The flavours range from the traditional fruity ones to tabasco and beer-flavoured beans. Americans are mad for them: according to the National Confectioners Association, Americans buy 16 billion beans over Easter. It even has its own holiday today (22nd April). I had a box for Easter too, but some of the weirder flavours are simply not nice.)

According to a survey conducted by Travelodge, a third of British children think that Easter, one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, is a celebration of the Easter Bunny's birthday. (Bless.  Maybe they should read our culture page on  Easter . The real problem is that the average child in the UK will clock up 10,000 calories whilst binging on chocolate Easter eggs and sweeties over the Easter weekend.)

According to a survey run by Travelodge, on average British parents splash out £478.25 to take a short break and / or four day trips with their children this Easter, (The top 10 UK Easter destinations were:- 1. Blackpool 2. London 3. Birmingham 4. Cornwall 5. Brighton 6. Cardiff 7. Devon 8. Bath 9. Edinburgh 10. The Lake District However, in a study conducted by Sainsbury's, when asked to name their top five wishes for the perfect Easter, kids would most enjoy a family picnic, followed by an Easter egg hunt at home. I'm sorry if you are reading this after having spent all that money, but maybe you should have asked your little ones.)

According to a vicar, Father Phil Ritchie, from All Saints Church in Hove, East Sussex, this Easter we should all "Have a lie-in, have sex, and eat chocolate". (Father Ritchie said:  "The problem with the church is that we stay inside our building and occasionally come out and say, 'Why don’t you come to our church, it’s cool and funky' - To be honest, it’s not.  I would love more people to come at 10am on Sunday and I would welcome them to All Saints.  For Christians this is the most important day of the year.  All life and all hope flows from it.  But there are plenty of ways to celebrate without coming to a draughty Victorian building.  So why not stay at home, have a lie in, have sex and eat some chocolate." His suggestion actually raised his congregation for Easter Sunday to about 300, 100 more than usual, I guess the alternative didn't appeal to them much.) Source

The modern Easter Egg box was designed in the 1950’s by a couple of Americans who noticed how  light bulbs were packaged. (Two designers, Bill Horry and John Waddington were inspired by the open cartons used for light bulbs. As they were cheap and easy to make and they provided space and protection for the fragile eggs. Their prototype was developed by Cadbury’s Design Office, and first used for a Roses Easter egg – it’s the origin of all the Easter egg cartons you see in the shops today. I'm afraid these boxes are wasted on me, as I make my own eggs - the only transport problem I have is from the mould to my mouth.) Source: Cadbury's

Albert F Storz patented chocolate Easter bunnies in the USA on May 3, 1960. (The patent, number 187838, lasted 14 years. You can view it here .)

The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany in the early 1880s. (They were not made of chocolate; they were baked pastry bunnies.)

Any man who wants to take part in the Oberammergau Passion Play is not allowed to visit the barber for more than a year before the premiere. (No stick-on beards allowed.)

Every ten years the people of Oberammergau stage a monumental passion play. (A passion play depicts the Passion of Christ: the trial, suffering and death of Jesus Christ. It is a traditional part of Lent and Easter. The tradition in Oberammergau, started 377 years ago, during an outbreak of the bubonic plague. The residents made a vow to God that if he spared them they would give thanks by staging a passion play once every ten years. Centuries later, and the people of Oberammergau are still honouring their pledge. The passion play will be performed between May and October during 2010.)

The most famous decorated Easter eggs made by goldsmith, Peter Carl Faberge. (In 1883, the Czar of Russia, Alexander, commissioned Faberge to make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie. The first Faberge egg was an egg within an egg. It had an outside shell of platinum and enamelled white which opened to reveal a smaller gold egg inside. The smaller egg, opened to display a golden chicken and a jewelled replica of the Imperial crown. Me? I make do with a chocolate one.)

In 1928 an act was passed in Parliament to fix "Easter Day" as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. (It has never come into force though. So, in Britain Easter is taken to be the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the (northern hemisphere) spring equinox. Easy once you know how!)

In 1971 a Cadbury Creme Egg weighed 54g. Now, Easter 2006, it is only 39g. (No doubt it is for our own good.)

An average Easter egg consists of about 20% chocolate and 80% packaging. (What a swizz! That's why I buy chocolates and package them myself, in something decorative that can be reused.)