Interesting Facts

25th March 1306 - Robert the Bruce became King of Scotland. 1807 - The Slave Trade Act "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade" was signed. It made slave trading illegal throughout the British Empire. "Slavery is still practised in new forms that today affect millions of men, women and children across the world." Koichiro Matsuura 1957 - The European Economic Community was established. The members were West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. 1969 - During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their first Bed-In for Peace in the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel. 1975 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot and killed at his palace in Riyadh, by his mentally ill nephew. March 25th also used to be the start of the new year in England, Wales, Ireland, and the future United States until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. (The year 1751 began on 25 March; the year 1752 began on 1 January.)

From 1 January 2014, jugs of olive oil and dipping bowls will be banned from restaurants in Europe. (After that date olive oil "presented at a restaurant table" must be in pre-packaged, factory bottles with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and labelling in line with EU industrial standards. The European Commission, a committee of nameless bureaucrats, has used special Common Agriculture Policy regulations to pass this weird bill. Their reason for the ban is "hygiene" and to protect the "image of olive oil" to attempt to benefit struggling industrial producers in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. What a load of tosh!) Thanks to    + Luke Pettit for sharing this.

European patent applications can cost ten times more than patents registered in the US. (Now all but two of the EU's 27 member states have agreed to set up a common European patent system that could reduce costs, but Italy and Spain fear discrimination because patents could only be filed in English, French or German. If it does go ahead, the savings to UK business are likely to be around £20m per year in translation costs alone. Good news for business, bad news for translators.)

The European Union has scrapped rules on fruit and vegetable size. (Twenty-six fruits and vegetables are now free to grow their own way. But ten — including peaches, pears and tomatoes — still have to watch the scales. I shall look forward to funny shaped carrots going back on the shelf.)

EU leaders have been banned from using the terms 'Miss' and 'Mrs', 'Fraulein' and 'Frau', 'Mademoiselle' and 'Madam', 'Senorita' and 'Senora' for fear of causing offence to female MEPs (members of the European Parliament). (Instead female MEPs are to be addressed by their full names only. Surely the term female "members" is more offensive.)

The euro is ten years old. The euro was launched on the world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999. Happy Birthday euro.

According to recent figures, gas and electricity prices in Britain have climbed twice as fast as the European Union average. (According to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) there's been a 29.7 percent rise in utility prices in the past year in the UK, compared to a 15 percent increase in the EU. We don't call it "rip of Britain" for nothing.)

Germany paid more than any other country for its membership in the European Union, 114 billion euros ($179 billion). (Greece received the most money from the bloc, receiving 5.4 billion euros more from the EU than it paid in, making it the EU's biggest recipient for the second year running.)

Europe has a vodka belt. (The vodka belt comprises Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, although it is also produced in countries such as Britain, France, Italy and Spain.)

powered by ODEO According to a study carried out by University of Cambridge, Denmark is the happiest country in Europe. (Italy was found to be the unhappiest, Germany was 4th, and the UK was 9th out of 15. Worryingly, Britons were found to be getting unhappier, with falling trust in institutions, such as the police and government, to blame. They didn't say anything about Britons living in Germany though.)

45% of European citizens can take part in a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue. (And I am one of them!)