This is the May 2023 edition of the fascinating facts Newsletter, which includes a broad range of interesting topics. This includes information about May, Brunel & Buckingham Palace, to name a few.
Fascinating Facts May 2023 Contents
You can download the full newsletter to read HERE, however some snippets are listed below.
May The A-May-Zing Month !
May’s name is the modern-day adaption of the Latin word Maius, which has ancient Greek origins named after May (or Maius) the Greek goddess of growth. The word May was not used until the middle ages previously it was the Roman word Maius. In Old English times, they referred it to as the “month of three milkings.” Which meant that during this month, you could milk your cows up to three times per day!
May was once considered an incredibly ill-omened time to get married. There’s an adage for it actually, which goes: “Marry in May and you’ll rue the day.” Read Full Article…
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
The background to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s career was due to the way his father Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, FRS. FRSE. a French-British engineer, brought up his son. Born in France to a prosperous farmer, Marc followed the tradition of the second son entering the priesthood seminary when 11 years old. He showed little interest, so they allowed him to learn carpentry, and he soon became a skilled cabinetmaker.
He sketched ships in the harbour, so his father sent him to stay with relatives in Rouen, where a family friend tutored him on naval matters. In 1786, Marc became a naval cadet on a French frigate and made an octant to measure the altitude of the Sun or another celestial body, for himself from brass and ivory, which he used during his service. Read Full Article…
History of Buckingham Palace
In 1761 George III bought Buckingham House as a comfortable home, close to St James Place where many court functions were held, for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a family home. It became known as the Queen’s House, where 14 of his 15 children were born.
When George IV became king in 1820, he reconstructed the house into a pied-à-terre, using it for the same purpose as his father. Read Full Article…
Pearly Kings and Queens
History of the Pearly Kings and Queens originated in the Victorian era, when London street traders referred, to as costermongers, sewed buttons along the seams of their trousers to distinguish themselves and denote their status. They were proud of their working-class roots and were responsible for establishing the ‘Lambeth Walk’ parade. A tight-knit community, they were known for helping each other out. Read Full Article…
Antikythera mechanism
An ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, the Antikythera mechanism is described as the oldest known analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. It could also be used to track the four-year cycle of athletic games such as an Olympiad, the cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. Read Full Article…
Rags To Riches Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton was born in Anchay, Franche-Comté in the spring of 1821 to a family of artisans, carpenters, and farmers. His mother, a hat-maker, died, when he was 10 and his father soon after. So at 13, following a difficult relationship with his adoptive stepmother, he left his home taking odd jobs along the way, finishing up in Paris 292 miles away.
Arriving in 1837, in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, he became apprenticed to Monsieur Marechal, a successful trunk maker and packer. Such was his trunk making skills that within a few years, he gained a reputation amongst Paris’ more fashionable class as one of the city’s premier practitioners of the craft. Read Full Article…
Royal Observer Corps
A form of civil defence, The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was formed for visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting enemy aircraft. It operated from October 1925 to December 1995. ROC personnel wore a Royal Air Force (RAF) style uniform and came under the administrative control of the RAF Strike Command of the Home Office. A small group of full-time officers trained civilian volunteers under the command of the Commandant Royal Observer Corps. Read Full Article…
The Brodie – Military Tin Helmet
Designed and patented in London in 1915 by Latvian inventor John Leopold Brodie, the Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet. A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M 1917 Helmet in the US. Other names have been the shrapnel helmet, battle bowler, Tommy helmet, tin hat, and, in the United States, the doughboy helmet, the dishpan hat, tin pan hat, washbasin and Kelly helmet.
The German Army called it the Salatschüssel (salad bowl). The term Brodie is often misused. It is correctly applied only to the original 1915 Brodie’s Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern. At the outbreak of World War I, no combatant nations provided head protection to their troops. Soldiers went into battle wearing cloth, felt, or leather headgear that offered no protection from modern weapons. Read Full Article…
Chequered Design
The use of a chequered pattern is common on many public service vehicles in the UK and abroad. But it has a long history which can be seen in religious buildings and Freemasonry. It is referred to by different names, the most common being Battenburg and Chequered. It is defined as a pattern which typically contains two colours where a single square is surrounded on four sides by a square of a different colour. Read Full Article…
