Interesting Facts

According to news reports, the new royal baby, Prince George has been given some unusual gifts, they include the following:- A hand-embroidered blanket made by nuns in Spain. An apple tree (supposedly this is traditional, but I can't remember getting one, probably because I'm not the first born son). A baby crocodile (called George). (I guess it beats silver spoons and rattles, but really, all he needs is loving parents and a relatively normal upbringing. We always tell our children that they can be whatever they want to be, so why not tell them they don't have to be whoever people say they ought to be.  If I were his parents I'd give him a free pass from becoming king.)

More than 209,000 young people were detained by police in England and Wales in 2010. (2,117 of those arrested were under the age of 11.  T he police have even arrested some children for throwing sticks at a horse chestnut tree (we do that to get the conkers, and yes, I have done it - even as an adult), but b elieve it or not, t he number of children actually arrested has fallen in recent years .  I have the sneaking suspicion that children are easy targets, whilst hardened criminals may be dangerous. I know who I'd rather go after.)

The Christmas tree at St Pancras railway station in London is ten metres high and made completely out of Lego bricks. (It took two months to build and contains 600,000 bricks.  There are more than 1,000 Lego baubles attacked to its 172 branches and according to Lego it is the tallest tree ever made using the Lego.)

According to a study by Nature's Calendar, Britain's native trees are producing ripe fruit, on average, 18 days earlier than a decade ago, probably as a result of climate change. (The most marked change was seen in the rowan tree, which according to Finnish mythology was the first tree on earth:- In the yard there grows a Rowan.  Thou with reverent care should'st tend it.  Holy is the tree there growing.  Holy likewise are its branches.  On its boughs the leaves are holy.  And its berries yet more holy. Excerpt from The Kalevala ,  a compilation of Finnish folk lore  According to the study, rowan berries are now ready to eat nearly a month earlier than 10 years ago.)

According to figures from accident and emergency departments in England, injuries to children from tree falls are down. In 2006-7, only 1,067 children went to casualty due to tree falls. (That sounds like good news, but the bad news is that children are more likely to injure themselves in a tumble out of bed - 2,531.)

The most valuable tree in the UK is a plane tree in central London. (It has been valued at £750,000, but as it is six-foot-wide and stands in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, that's not so surprising.)

powered by ODEO The Fortingall Yew, an ancient yew tree in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland, is probably the oldest tree in Europe. (Various estimates have put its age at between 2,000 and 5,000 years. Of course to find out how old it really is they'd have to chop it down and count the rings.)

It's coming up to Christmas and everyone seems to be buying a real Christmas tree this year. Well, the first tree to have its full DNA code unravelled was the poplar. (I hope it didn't hurt.) Photo by me. Fact Source - Genome Canada Project

One in six children in the UK think that broccoli is a baby tree. (You mean it isn't?)