the cool facts blog

illegal christmas

2010-12-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas was illegal in England from 1647-1660. This was enforced by the then leader Oliver Cromwell who believed it was immoral to hold celebrations on one of the holiest days of the year. The celebration of Christmas was therefore a criminal offence which could lead to an individual being arrested if he or she was found guilty of condoning any revelry during the period.

yule log

2010-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

The tradition of burning a Yule log actually has its roots in ancient Scandinavia. The Yule log was a source of good luck and its remnants were saved to inspire good fortune throughout the year. It was such a widely held belief that people even threw the ashes in wells to make the water safer to drink.

pets are people to

2010-12-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

“Pets are people too”, this may be what pet owners are thinking during the Christmas season. It has been estimated that at least 56 percent of Americans sing to their pets. It may just be more fulfilling considering that pets cannot possibly complain.

tradionaly christmas dinner

2010-12-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

The traditional Christmas dinner in England used to be a pig head prepared with a mustard sauce. Most English folk are possibly quite delighted that this isn't the case anymore.

titanic sister ship olympic keeper fact

2009-11-19T15:07:00.001-08:00

The Olympic was launched on 20 October 1910 and made its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 14 June 1911. Later that year, on 20 September, the Olympic was rammed by the cruiser HMS Hawke in the Solent which had attempted to pass astern and hit the Olympic abreast the mainmast, starboard side. The ship went to Belfast for repairs but was out of action for six weeks. As the result of an enquiry into the collision the Olympic was found to blame as its speed and size had sucked the Hawke off course. It was able to resume normal service on 30 November 1911.

In February 1912 it was overhauled at Belfast and a new propeller was fitted. After the loss of the Titanic and the ensuing court enquiry had been published several changes were made to the ship. During 1912-13 the Olympic returned to Harland & Wolff for six months safety rebuilding. The double bottom was extended up the sides to the waterline, full height bulkheads were fitted, as were additional lifeboats. As a result of this the ships tonnage was increased to 46,359 tons. The Southampton to New York service was resumed on 2 April 1913.

In August 1914 it was requisitioned as a troopship. In October it unsuccessfully attempted to tow the mined and sinking battleship HMS Audacious in to Loch Foyle. In September 1915 the Olympic resumed trooping duties after being dazzle painted and fitted with 6 inch guns. During 1916 it was twice missed by torpedoes in the Mediterranean. On a third occasion, on 12 may 1918, the Olympic avoided a torpedo attack off the Lizard and then rammed and sank German submarine U-103. The survivors were picked up by the escorting American destroyer.

After this the ship was involved in the repatriation of Canadian troops. By the end of the war the Olympic had carried over 200,000 troops and steamed some 180,000 miles. Next it sailed back to Belfast to be refitted by Harland & Wolff. It was converted to oil burning engines thus reducing the engine room staff from 246 to 60. The passenger accommodation was also re-styled to accommodate 750 1st class, 500 2nd class and 1,150 3rd class passengers. On 25 June 1920 it returned to the Southampton-Cherbourg-New York service.

On 22 March 1924 it was involved in a collision with the Furness Line ship St.George whilst leaving New York. However, there was only minor damage to the stern post. In January 1928 the passenger accommodation underwent further alterations. In 1929 it briefly ran a new 'Quick-trip' service, along with the Majestic, between New York and Halifax.

On 10 May 1934 the Olympic became part of the newly formed Cunard-White Star Company. On its first voyage for its new owners the ship rammed and sank the Nantucket Lightship in fog. The accident killed eight people. On 27 March 1935 the ship made its last voyage on the Southampton to New York route and on its return it was laid up at Southampton. In September it was sold to Sir John Jarvis for £100,000. It was then resold to Metal Industries for breaking on the condition that it was done at Jarrow in order to relieve unemployment there. On 19 September 1937 the hulk was towed to Inverkeithing for final demolition.

titanic tragic sister ship the britanic keeper fact

2009-11-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

The Britannic was the sister ship to the Olympic and Titanic, although it never ran on the North Atlantic. There is a story that it was originally to have been named Gigantic. The White Star Line always denied it but the legend has never been definitely proved or disproved Its completion was delayed pending the outcome of the court enquiry into the Titanic disaster. As a result of this extra safety features were added.

It was finally launched on 26 February 1914 as the Britannic. White Star announced that it would begin sailing the Southampton-New York route in the spring of 1915. The outbreak of World War One changed this and it was converted into a hospital ship with over 3,300 beds. On 13 November it was fitted out medically and on 8 December commissioned as a hospital ship and handed over in International Red Cross livery. The Britannic arrived at Liverpool, from Belfast, on 12 December 1915, but it did not leave on its maiden voyage to Mudros until 23 December.

The ship went on to make further voyages as a hospital ship. Next it was to call at Mudros on the Isle of Lemnos and assist in the evacuation of wounded troops from the Gallipoli campaign. It also spent four weeks as a floating hospital ship off Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Subsequent to this it returned to Belfast on 6 June 1916 and was released from war service. Harland and Wolff had already begun refitting the Britannic as a Royal Mail and passenger steamer when the Admiralty recalled the ship to war service. The ship made two further trips to Mudros before its final voyage.

On 12 November 1916 the Britannic left Southampton and, after bunkering at Naples on the 17th, on the 21st it ran into a mine field in the Zea Channel, 4 miles west of Port St.Nikolo, Kea. The mines had been laid by German submarine U-73 and despite the fact that the Channel had been swept the day before some mines obviously still remained. The ship was racked by an explosion starboard below the bridge and the forward part flooded when the water-tight doors failed to function. Captain Bartlett tried unsuccessfully to beach the ship on Kea Island whilst preparations were made to save the 1,125 aboard, incidentally none of whom were patients.

As it settled by the head abandon ship was ordered. Two boats were lowered and slashed by the still rotating propellers killing 30. One hour after the explosion the ship keeled over to starboard and sank. The survivors were picked up by the escorting destroyers Foxhound and Scourge and the armed merchant cruiser Heroic. Two of the survivors had also been aboard the Titanic. The light cruiser HMS Foresight berthed at Port St. Nikolo and the French tug Goliath also assisted in the rescue. Captain Bartlett was the last to leave the ship and only 30 people died from the large number on board. The Britannic was the largest ever, 48,158 tons, British Merchant Service war loss.

Incidentally the Keiler Zeitung claimed that the Britannic had been torpedoed because the ship was carrying troops. After a period of speculation the mine theory was confirmed by U-73's commander Siess' log. he had only laid mines. Also the Braemar Castle, a ship of the Union Castle Line, struck a mine there two days later.

The shore based furnishings and equipment of the ship were auctioned on 4 July 1919. It wasn't until 1975 that the hull of the ship was located by Jacque Cousteau's Calypso, and the following year he returned to explore the site in more detail. It was considered to be too disintegrated to be of use. Recently, however, a team of Greek divers located and filmed the ship and are campaigning for funding in order to open a museum to display artefacts from the ship.

keep fact Titanic find: new evidence suggests the famous ship sank faster than previously thought.

2009-11-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

A new discovery has surfaced surrounding the world's most famous shipwreck. The Titanic's plunge to the ocean floor might have been faster than previously thought, say researchers.

Scientists once believed that the luxury liner broke into two main pieces--the bow and the stern. The bow is the front of the ship, and the stern is the back of the ship. The sinking was depicted that way in the 1997 movie Titanic.

The discovery of more wreckage suggests that the Titanic broke into three sections, causing the ship to sink more quickly than was previously thought. "The breakup and sinking of the Titanic has never been accurately depicted," says Titanic historian Parks Stephenson.

Fateful Voyage

On April 14, 1912, the luxury liner struck an iceberg on its very first voyage and sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Before the ship departed from Southampton, England, on its way to New York, it was hailed as "unsinkable." On that fateful April night, more than 1,500 people sank to their watery graves 2 miles below the ocean's surface.

In 1985, explorer Robert Ballard and his team discovered the wreck in two pieces. The wreck was found about 1,000 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts.

Quick Sinking

keeper fact about egyptian god horus

2009-11-10T13:24:00.002-08:00

Throughout the history of the Egyptian nation there are many references in mythology to several different Egyptian gods known as Horus; not just Horus the Egyptian falcon god. The first of these ancient Egyptian gods known as Horus appears in the early days of the Egyptian kingdom. It is believed that the first Horus, sometimes referred to as Horus the Elder, was a falcon god and creator god.

In the earliest stories regarding this deity, he was thought to be the son of Ra and that the eyes of the first Horus were the sun and the moon. In later stories, references to a Horus Egyptian falcon god indicate he was the son of Geb and Nut. The most popular version regarding one of the many Horus deities states he was in fact the son of Osiris.

Horus as Many Egyptian Gods

Horus may have been known in many forms, but he was always associated with the same symbol; that of the falcon. In almost all variations, Horus was known as the patron saint of the existing pharaoh. In fact, the pharaoh was often referred to as the 'Living Horus'.

The eye of Horus

Horus the Egyptian falcon god is often associated with the "Eye of Horus'; a symbol that is prominent throughout Egypt even until modern times. This symbol was found on the mummy on King Tutakhamen.

Perhaps the most well known version of the Horus mythology involves the birth of Horus following the death of his father. In this tale, Horus' parents are Osiris and Isis. Osiris was slain by his adversary and brother, Seth, prior to the birth of Horus. Later he was believed to have avenged the death of his father. The war that ensued as a result of Horus' attempts to avenge his father lasted for eighty years, with mutual casualties occurring between the two ancient Egyptian gods. In one scenario, Seth even tore an eye from Horus. It is believed that this incident led to Horus' association with his one eyed symbol.

Other versions and variants of Horus the Egyptian falcon god continues to be prevalent throughout Egypt, depending on the point in history and the location. Harmakhet is one of these many variations and is represented by a sphinx. Harpokrates is the version of Horus that is commonly associated with the deity that avenged the death of his father Osiris, at the hands of Seth. Like many other ancient Egyptian gods, Horus also became combined with the deity Ra. This version is known as Ra-Harakhte.

Unlike most Egyptian gods goddesses who were worshipped at specific cult centers in Egypt, Horus seems to have enjoyed immense popularity throughout the Egyptian nation.

keeper egyptian god seth fact

2009-11-10T13:24:00.001-08:00

Seth the Egyptian God is also known as the god of chaos. According to popular Egyptian mythology it would certainly seem that he created plenty of mayhem and chaos. Seth was believed to have been born as a second son to Geb and Nut, grandchildren of the ancient Egyptian god Ra.

Seth, god of chaos is also often associated with thunder, the desert and infertility. Paintings and drawings of him usually depict him as having red hair. Tales differ in regards to whether Seth was evil from birth or became evil at some later point in history. It would appear that regardless of when it occurred, some of the ancient Egyptian people considered Seth the Egyptian god to be none other than evil incarnate

america founded on christianity really? keeper fact

2009-10-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

“America was founded on Christianity.”
Not sure how many people actually know this, but it wasn't. Since the official creation of America's government, there has been no exclusive religion of the United States of America. The constitution explicitly excludes the inclusion of any laws or specific religious designation for the country.In fact, most of the founding fathers weren't Christians. For the majority, they were Deists, meaning that they believed there was probably a creator out there, but it has no real relevance or intervention in our lives.others of them were freemasons i dont know what they belive in but it is not a christian religion“But what about the whole 'In God We Trust' thing on our money?”That came out in the Civil War due to Christianity becoming the big “thing” at the time. It wasn't made the motto of the US until the Cold War.The Treaty of Tripoli even states in extremely clear writing, the following: “. . . the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion . . .” so america was not based on christianity

keeping fact about titanic

2009-10-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

it is estimated that in 50 years the titanic will no longer be under the water. they say it will turn in to the silt that suronds it. the water pressure is causing it to break down. this is why they go down 4 or more times a year and drag things up. they are trying to preserve the titanic.