25 Fun Facts About The United Kingdom You’ll Want To Know

Posted by , Updated on January 9, 2024

One of the world’s most influential, powerful, and richest countries, the United Kingdom is an amazing piece of land with a very impressive history and we are almost sure you already know many interesting things about it. However, we bet there are still many United Kingdom fun facts you haven’t heard yet. To learn some new, little known facts about Great Britain including some surprising and interesting facts about England’s history, check out this post with 25 Fun Facts About The United Kingdom You’ll Want To Know.

25

With an area of 242,500 sq km (93,600 sq mi), the UK is quite a large country, but in fact, nowhere in it is more than just 113 km (70 mi) from the sea.

seaside in WalesSource: bloomsbury-international.com
24

Every day, the British drink 165 million cups of tea, which is over 20 times more than the Americans.

cup of teaSource: factretriever.com
23

At one point in time, the British Empire, the most extensive empire in world history, ruled approximately 1/4 of the world's population and covered about 1/4 of Earth's total land area.

British EmpireSource: newworldencyclopedia.org
22

Britain has waged many wars including devastating conflicts lasting for long decades. However, the country was also involved in what is generally considered the shortest war in history. The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 lasted just 38 minutes.

Anglo-Zanzibar WarSource: historic-uk.com
21

With one in four British adults being obese, the UK has the highest rate of obesity in Europe.

obese manSource: nhs.uk
20

The UK brought the world several sports, most notably soccer, rugby, and polo. However, the British now often lose at these sports to nations that adopted them.

soccer matchSource: British Council via Facebook
19

In the UK, accents change noticeably about every 40 km (25 mi).

British accentsSource: news.bbc.co.uk
18

One of the most bizarre cultural facts about England is that it's actually illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

Houses of ParliamentSource: mirror.co.uk
17

The Queen of the UK, Elizabeth II, has visited more than 116 counties of the world, although she does not have a passport. The reason is simple – she doesn't need to prove her identity. In fact, she is the one who officially issues passports for British citizens.

Elizabeth IISource: express.co.uk
16

There is a 'Rent a Mourner' service in the UK to fill your funeral with fake friends.

graveyardSource: factslides.com
15

With 500 recorded cases of ghostly encounters, York, Northern England, is the most haunted city in the UK and one of the most haunted in the world.

YorkSource: fodors.com

The US is pretty cool, but there are some areas where the UK triumphs. Check out 25 Areas In Which The United Kingdom Totally Triumphs Over The United States.

14

Connecting two tiny islands, Westray and Papa Westray in the North Sea, the UK is home to the world's shortest scheduled flight. The flight lasts just 2 minutes.

world´s shortest flightSource: telegraph.co.uk
13

The British Navy used Britney Spears' music to scare off Somali pirates along the east coast of Africa.

Britney SpearsSource: theguardian.com
12

London has not always been London. Successive occupants have used their own names for the city, such as Plowonida, Lowonidonjon, Londinium, Londinion, and Lundenwic.

London
11

The Windsor Castle in the English county of Berkshire is the oldest royal residence in the world that is still being used by the royal family.

Windsor CastleSource: bloomsbury-international.com
10

The UK boasts the largest Indian restaurant in the world, and London has more Indian restaurants than some actual Indian metropolises such as Mumbai and Delhi.

Indian restaurantSource: teatime-mag.com
9

The wife of Prince William, Kate Middleton, is an eighth cousin seven times removed to George Washington, the first President of the US.

Kate MiddletonSource: channel4.com
8

Supposedly, soccer got its start in England when Anglo-Saxon farm workers plowing a field unearthed a skull of a Danish warrior. To show their bitter feelings towards the Danes and to amuse themselves, they began kicking the skull among them. Therefore, the early form of soccer was called “kicking the Dane’s head.”

human skull Source: factretriever.com
7

Placing a postage stamp with the Queen´s head upside down on an envelope is considered an act of treason in the UK.

stamp with the QueenSource: sundaytimes.lk
6

There is a unique, genetically distinct subspecies of the mosquito living in the London subway system. Scientists were surprised to find out that the underground mosquito evolved independently from its surface-dwelling relatives.

mosquitoSource: bbc.com
5

Concentration camps are inseparably associated with the Nazi Germans during the WWII, but in fact, they were first used by the British long before that. In the early 1900's, the British soldiers used these “camps” to imprison the Boers in the Boer Wars in South Africa.

Boer WarsSource: historywiz.com
4

The UK is the first place in the world to allow the creation of babies from the DNA of 3 people.

DNA Source: factslides.com
3

In 1811, nearly a quarter of all the women in Britain were named Mary.

19th century peopleSource: mirror.co.uk
2

According to the Romanian National Tourist Office, Prince Charles is a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler, a notorious Romanian ruler from the 15 century that inspired Bram Stoker's iconic novel Dracula.

Prince CharlesSource: telegraph.co.uk
1

The UK is known for its rainy and cold weather, but it can actually get very hot in summer. In 2003, a temperature exceeding 38 C (100 F) was recorded in Kent, southeastern England.

rainy weatherSource: anglotopia.net

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out 25 Barely Believable Trivia About the United Kingdom.



Photos: Feature Image: pixabay (public domain), 25. pixabay (public domain), 24. Laurel F from Seattle, WA, Cup of tea, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0, 23-22. wikimedia commons (public domain), 21. http://www.cgpgrey.com, Four People 4888212879, CC BY 2.0, 20. Football.ua, De Rossi tackle on Rooney England-Italy Euro 2012, CC BY-SA 3.0, 19. Ricjl (talk) (Uploads), Selected languages and accents of the british isles rjl, CC BY-SA 3.0, 18-17. wikimedia commons (public domain), 16. Alexander P Kapp, St Catherine’s Church, West Bradford, Graveyard – geograph.org.uk – 758963, CC BY-SA 2.0, 15. publicdomainpictures.net (public domain), 14. wikimedia commons (public domain), 13. Jen from USA, Britney Spears 3, 2011, CC BY 2.0, 12. pixabay (public domain), 11. Diliff, Windsor Castle at Sunset – Nov 2006, CC BY-SA 3.0, 10. pixabay (public domain), 9. Nick Warner, Kate Middleton at the Garter Procession 2008, CC BY 2.0, 8. Malcolm Lidbury (aka Pinkpasty), Chalkware Human Skull, CC BY-SA 3.0, 7. wikimedia commons (public domain), 6. JJ Harrison ([email protected]), Mosquito Tasmania crop, CC BY-SA 3.0, 5. wikimedia commons (public domain), 4. publicdomainpictures.net (public domain), 3-2. wikimedia commons (public domain), 1. Håkan Dahlström via flickrCC BY 2.0