Interesting Facts

11th February 1990 - Leading anti-apartheid campaigner, Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years incarceration.

18th July Nelson Mandela Day National Caviar Day

Thamsanqa Jantjie, a sign language interpreter in South Africa has been branded a fraud by members of South Africa's deaf community. (Around the world deaf people started tweeting about what the man was doing, with Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the first deaf woman to be elected to the South African parliament tweeting: "ANC-linked interpreter on the stage with dep president of ANC is signing rubbish. He cannot sign. Please get him off." And others said it amounted to little more than "flapping his arms around." What a shame that this happened during a memorial ceremony for a great man. !Update - He now says he suffers from schizophrenia and was suffering an episode during the speech making.)

Until July this year Nelson Mandela was still on the US terror watch list. (For his 90th birthday he can now legally visit the US.)

Nelson Mandela used to steal pigs as a child. (He made this revelation during a visit from the director and stars of the film Tsotsi, which won a Best Foreign Film Oscar. Seemingly he and friends would use the dregs of traditional beer to lure the pigs.)