Interesting Facts

Jamaica and Mauritania are the only countries whose flags have no red, white, or blue in them. (The Jamaican flag is black, green and gold, and the Mauritanian flag is green and yellow.)

Ports in the UK are on alert for the Asian tiger mosquito. (This species of mosquito can transmit up to 23 infections - including West Nile virus and dengue fever. It is not native to the UK, and is believed to have stowed away in used tyres being shipped from the Far East to the UK for retreading. It is slightly bigger than a native mosquito, and has distinctive black and white stripes.  With another report that there are 800,000 illegal immigrants currently living in the UK, I don't think the port authorities will have much luck stopping illegal mosquitoes.)

For the first 8 years of Charles Dickens' life, it snowed. (Every year between 1812 and 1820 in fact.  This probably explains why we are so fixated on a White Christmas in the UK.)

In the UK, white Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries (During the 20th Century, there were only 4 White Christmases in the UK, and so far this century, we've had two - 2010 and 2009. Yes, in spite of all those snow covered cards featuring snowmen and robins, and films where everyone rushes out to find it's snowing, we don't get much snow in England.  The sad truth is the most likely weather event on Christmas Day in the UK is rain.)

According to a recent study carried out at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, has concluded that our hair can't turn white overnight. (The study, called "Sudden Whitening Of The Hair: An Historical Fiction?" concluded that people's hair, does not all of a sudden turn white. It just doesn't. Hair whitening – "canities" in medical lingo – takes longer than days or even weeks. So all those stories of Queen Marie Antoinette of France and Sir Thomas More of England turning whitehaired the night before being beheaded are just historical urban myths. Or maybe the study just didn't scare any of its subjects sufficiently.)

Albino horses have to use sun lotion to prevent their skin blistering in hot weather. (Now you'd think that wouldn't be a problem in the UK, but you'd be wrong: During a heatwave (yes we get heatwaves), a police horse, called Sunny, got through 10 bottles of factor 50 sun cream a week, and that was just to protect his back, hips and nose. It's an expensive business, but a kind chemist donated five gallons of sun lotion to keep Sunny safe in the sun. In fact any pets with white fur can get sunburnt. It is important to put sun cream on any parts that might catch the sun - the tips of the ears are especially important, as these can burn easily.)