Eleven weird yet mildly entertaining historical facts about Britain. God save the Queen.

1. In 1894, The Times estimated that by 1950 London would be nine feet deep in horse manure.

horse gif

2. Margaret Thatcher was part of the team that invented Mr. Whippy ice cream.

margaret thatcher

3. In the 19th century, sausages were known as “bags of mystery”.

sausage party

4. Marmite was actually invented by the Victorians as horse shoe polish. A stable boy spread it on his toast, thought it was delicious and the rest is history.

marmite

5. The Queen took her favorite Corgi on her honeymoon.

the queen

6. The last English woman convicted under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 was convicted in 1944.

witches

7. When England’s first escalator was installed in Harrods in 1898, smelling salts and brandy were offered to customers at the top in case they felt faint from the ride.

dog escalator

8. Gyldenbollockes was an actual surname in medieval England. Looks like they beat you to it Beckham.

Fresh prince

9. In 1811, nearly a quarter of all women were called Mary.

britney confused

10. In World War II, British soldiers got a ration of three sheets of toilet paper a day. Americans got 22.

toilet paper

11. In 1814, a massive flood of BEER killed at least seven people in London, when a vat burst at a brewery in Tottenham Court Road, sending a 15-foot wave of beer through the neighborhood.

beer

Now if those little “bags of mystery” haven’t tempted you over to Grande Bretagne we don’t know what will.

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