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Did you know...

... that the Medici giraffe was the last live giraffe seen in Europe for almost 400 years?
...that the Count d'Orsay's poodle inspired Edwin Landseer to paint Laying Down The Law?
...that, despite the name, Mrs. Chippy, the ship's cat on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was actually male?
...that original copies of the Herefordshire Pomona, a 19th century catalogue of apples and pears, command prices of over $20,000 when they come up for sale?
...that the PDSA Gold Medal is awarded to animals for gallantry and devotion to duty?
...that Tom Hickathrift is the East Anglian equivalent of Jack the Giant Killer?
...that guards on the mail coach had to remain outside for the entire journey and sometimes froze to death?
...that "Splice the mainbrace" is an order given aboard naval ships to allow the crew an extra ration of rum?
...that when first introduced to England there was confusion over whether the Rouen duck was named after the Rhône region, Cardinal de Rohan, the colour roan, or the town Rouen?
...that shark threat display is an exaggerated swimming style exhibited by some sharks when they perceive they are in danger?
...that a record 7238 salmon made the trip up the 310 metre Pitlochry fish ladder in 2006?

...that Sir Edwin Landseer's iconic painting, Monarch of the Glen (pictured), was intended for the House of Lords, but the House of Commons refused to grant the £150 commission?

...that Harry McNish was one of only four crew members of the Endurance not to receive the Polar Medal, and that his grave remained unmarked for almost 30 years?
...that the body of the victim of the Red Barn Murder, in Suffolk, England, was discovered in 1828 after her stepmother reported dreaming about it?

...that the travels of a shipment of 29,000 Friendly Floatees bath toys lost overboard in the Pacific in 1992 have been used to model the world's ocean currents?
...that the 1592 book Nine Worthies of London charted the rise of nine tradesmen and apprentices to the nobility?
...that the Chubb detector lock was developed in 1818 in a competition sponsored by the British Government to create an unpickable lock and remained unpicked until 1851?
...that William King Gregory, a leading authority on vertebrate evolution and the pre-eminent expert on human dentition, was initially taken in by the Piltdown Man, a hoax which was purported to be an early human?
...that Nicolas Grollier de Serviere invented a type of bookwheel that allowed many heavy books to be read at the same time?
...that Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park was formerly home to one of the few colonies of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Western Mediterranean?
...that the New Guinean Quoll is a carnivorous marsupial that is reported to eat prey bigger than itself?
...that the trees alongside the Falls of Bruar were planted in response to an entreaty from Robert Burns, the Scottish poet?
...that Henry Burrell was the first person to successfully keep the Platypus in captivity, in a habitat of his own design that he called a platypusary?
...that Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service was created in 1971 due to controversy surrounding the flooding of Lake Pedder in 1970?

...that ukiyo-e artist Keisai Eisen was famous for his bijin prints of beautiful women (pictured) and claimed to have owned a brothel?
...that a Congreve clock uses a rolling ball rather than a pendulum to regulate the time?
...that nobody buried in a safety coffin is known to have taken advantage of its features?

...that the Théâtre Optique show (pictured) of 1892 was the first public projection of moving images, predating the Lumière Brothers' screening by three years?

...that Thomas Orde-Lees (pictured) jumped from Tower Bridge into the River Thames to prove the effectiveness of parachutes to the Royal Flying Corps?
...that Buster, the dog of British Labour politician Roy Hattersley, earned his owner a criminal record after killing a goose in St. James's Park, London?

...that John Singleton Copley's painting, Watson and the Shark (pictured), was based on a real-life shark attack that occured in Havana, Cuba in 1749?
...that the high-pitched quack of the Call Duck was used to lure wild ducks into funnel traps?
...that Roland Winters, who played the role of Charlie Chan in six films, was younger than Keye Luke, who played his son?
...that platypus venom is delivered by small spurs on the male's hind limbs?
...that the Alcazaba in Málaga, Spain reused materials from the nearby Roman ruins in its construction?
...that Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter each wrote a chapter of the short story "A House to Let"?

... that canine hydrotherapy (pictured) was initially used only to treat racing greyhounds?
...that Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy successfully amputated Perce Blackborrow's gangrenous toes while stranded on Elephant Island in Antarctica?
...that the original title of the Christmas carol "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" is "Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour"?
... that the Moscow Water Dog, developed as a water rescue dog, preferred to bite drowning people instead of saving them?

...that Robert Cocking was the first person to die in a parachuting accident, after a parachute of his own design (pictured) failed during a test at Vauxhall Gardens in 1837?
...that Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon ordered that the Living Museum of the Horse be built, believing he would be reincarnated as a horse?

...that Ford Madox Brown painted most of The Last of England (pictured) outdoors in bad weather?
...that among the earliest accounts of the use of a man-lifting kite is in the story of Ishikawa Goemon's robbery from Nagoya Castle?
...that Sir Francis Mitchell was the last British knight of the realm to be publicly degraded?

...that features of The Jurist in the painting (pictured) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo are composed of fish and poultry?

...that Rosersberg Palace (pictured), one of the Swedish Royal palaces, was used as a school of musketry for 101 years?

...that John Pasco (pictured) advised Nelson to change the wording of "England expects that every man will do his duty", his famous signal at the Battle of Trafalgar?
...that Robert Keyes was related to five of the other Gunpowder Plot conspirators?

...that renowned brothel-keeper Elizabeth Needham, depicted in William Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress (pictured), was pelted so severely in the pillory that she died 3 days later?

...that alchemist James Price committed suicide by drinking prussic acid after being challenged to prove he could turn mercury into gold?
...that Barrier Reef Anemonefish are born sexless, develop into males, and only become females if they rise to the top of the hierarchy?

...that the first plate of William Hogarth's The Four Stages of Cruelty features a boy supposed to be a young George III?

...that An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (pictured) depicts the recreation of an experiment first carried out by Robert Boyle over a hundred years earlier?

...that matches were so prized during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition that Alfred Cheetham offered a bottle of champagne for one?
...that the Witches of Belvoir supposedly believed a cat named Rutterkin helped them cast spells?
...that John Freke was the first ophthalmic surgeon?
...that cock throwing was a popular blood sport in England for centuries?

...that William Hogarth's Four Times of the Day (pictured) shows a sign for a pie shop with a picture of the severed head of John the Baptist and the words "Good Eating"?

...that criminal and boxer, James Field, was so feared by the police force of London in the 18th century, that they would pretend not to recognize him rather than arresting him?
...that actor Edward Chapman, known for his role as "Mr. Grimsdale" in many Norman Wisdom films, tried to have Sir John Gielgud thrown out of Equity?

...that George Pocock invented a kite-drawn carriage (pictured) that could outstrip the horse-drawn mail coach?
...that the gene that creates the crest of the Bali Duck also causes physical defects which can kill it before it hatches?
...that most of the trees in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize burnt down just five years after the reserve was established?
...that the charity Facing the World offers cosmetic surgery to children with facial disfigurements who live in countries where effective treatment is unavailable?
...that William Frederick Yeames' painting, And When Did You Last See Your Father?, has been reproduced as a waxwork at Madame Tussauds, London?
...that free-diver Herbert Nitsch can hold his breath for over nine minutes?

...that Château de Clermont (pictured) belonged to the French actor Louis de Funès?
...that highwayman Henry Simms invented a plot against the King to try to gain a pardon?
...that English seaman John Vincent lost part of his upper lip when it froze to a metal cup during the voyage of the James Caird?
...that Southern stingrays, originally drawn to an area in Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize by food from fishermen cleaning their nets, are now a tourist attraction being fed by local tour guides?

...that the painting by Melchior d'Hondecoeter known as the The Floating Feather (pictured) gained its name from a tiny detail he added to the pool?
...that the Newgate novels of the 19th century were attacked by the press for glamorizing the criminals portrayed in their stories?
...that Caffè Florian, established in 1720, was the first coffeehouse in Venice to admit women?

...that balloonist Sophie Blanchard (pictured) was Napoleon's Chief Air Minister of Ballooning, and was named "Official Aeronaut of the Restoration" by Louis XVIII of France?

...that Able Seaman Just Nuisance is the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy?
...that kissing the statue Il Gobbo di Rialto marked the conclusion of a traditional Venetian punishment in which petty criminals were forced to run naked through the streets from Piazza San Marco?

...that Old Walton Bridge was the subject of a painting by Canaletto in which he included an image of himself painting?
...that in penny gaffs, theatrical entertainments enjoyed by the working classes in 19th century England, the plays were often brought to an end by a timekeeper, regardless of what point in the script the actors had reached?

...that The Log from the Sea of Cortez documents a trip taken by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts around the Gulf of California, but neither is mentioned by name in the book?

...that the Western Blue-tongued Lizard displays its tongue to frighten off predators?
...that the legend of the smuggler Cruel Coppinger was embellished by Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker when he published it in 1866?

...that Saturn Devouring His Son (pictured), by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, was painted directly onto the wall of his house and never intended for public exhibition?

...that the Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca (pictured), built to defend the Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba from pirate attacks, was captured and partially destroyed by pirates while it was being constructed?

...that competitions for the design of José Martí Memorial (pictured) in Havana, Cuba started in 1939, but the design that was finally constructed in 1953 was a variation on a design that had come in third in the fourth competition?
...that Desmarest's Hutia has the most complex stomach of any rodent?
...that Burning Bright by John Steinbeck was an attempt at a new form of literature, the "play-novelette"— but both the play and novel were savaged by the critics and Steinbeck never wrote for the theatre again?

...that Dyrehaven, a forest park outside Copenhagen, has 15 entrances, all with characteristic red gates (pictured)?
...that French pirate Jacques de Sores, who captured Havana in 1555, went by the nickname of "The Exterminating Angel"?
...that the 16th-century Castillo de la Real Fuerza in Havana is the oldest stone fortress in the Americas?
...that naturalist Remington Kellogg used his time serving in France during World War I to collect specimens for universities in the United States?

...that a view from the Plaza Mayor (pictured) in Trinidad, Cuba, is featured on the 25 centavo convertible peso coin?
...that 18th century prostitute Sally Salisbury was sent to prison after a riot but was released by a judge who was infatuated with her?

...that 25 of the 368 Cuban bird species are endemic?
...that there are 618 species of birds in Belize?

...that the avifauna of Lithuania includes a total of 342 species, of which 2 have been introduced by humans?
...that more than half of the 214 bird species found on Barbados are considered "accidental"—that is, they are found there only because they strayed off-course?

...the tiger's prey in Henri Rousseau's painting, Tiger in a Tropical Storm (pictured), is not shown but Rousseau said it was a group of explorers?
...that the world's third largest statue under cover, The Statue of the Republic, is housed in El Capitolio, in Havana?
...that a Hocktide initiation ceremony in Hungerford, England involves a blacksmith driving a nail into the initiate's shoe?

...that classification of the Yellow-crowned Amazon (pictured) is so problematic that some authorities divide it into three separate species?
...that the Duke of Wellington had not seen Kitty Pakenham for ten years when he proposed marriage to her in 1806?

...that Pieter Brueghel the Elder's painting, Netherlandish Proverbs (pictured), features depictions of around 100 common sayings of the 16th century?

...that the mammals found in Senegal include the critically endangered Dama Gazelle (pictured)?
...that Dr. Benjamin Bates gave up his practice to accompany Sir Francis Dashwood around Europe, but Dashwood died and Bates never received the huge payment he had been promised?

...that the original painting of Hogarth's Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn (pictured) was destroyed in a fire in 1874?
...that the Caves of Nerja were discovered in 1959 and opened as a tourist attraction a year later?

...that over 9,000 animals were killed during the inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre?

...that William Hogarth's 1748 painting The Gate of Calais (pictured) features Hogarth himself about to be arrested as a spy for sketching the gate?
...that the initial publication of the The Highfield Mole (since dubbed "the next Harry Potter") was financed by the sale of the house of one of the authors?
...that, despite its name, the Pygmy Blue Whale reaches lengths of 24 m (79 ft)?
...that Robert Clark made his own alcoholic drink, "Gut Rot 1916", while stranded on Elephant Island in 1916?

...that the bill of the Magpie Duck (pictured) becomes green as the bird gets older, and its black crown may go completely white?
...that in the 18th century the owners of Tom King's Coffee House developed their own argot, Talking Flash, to prevent informers learning of their misdeeds?
...that Juanelo Turriano was forced to build a second version of his Artificio de Juanelo as the city of Toledo refused to pay for the first one?

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...that Jacques-Louis David produced four slightly different versions of Napoleon Crossing the Alps (pictured) between 1800 and 1805?

...that the stray dogs Bummer and Lazarus (pictured) were so popular with the people of San Francisco in the 1860s that they were given special exemption from the leash laws?

...that in 1859 John Wise (pictured) made the first airmail delivery in the United States?

...that many modern breeds of hound trace their bloodlines back to the extinct Southern Hound (pictured) and North Country Beagle?
...that 18th century brothel-keeper Jane Douglas sold condoms in silken bags to her customers?
...that the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales was commissioned by the Governor of Havana but took so long to build that another five Governors had come and gone before it was completed?
...that, believing himself to be George Washington, the 19th-century phrenologist Frederick Coombs petitioned Congress to give him the Washington Monument?

...that Abada (engraving pictured) was only the second rhinoceros seen in Europe since the Roman era, and was thought by some observers to be a unicorn?

...that Citoyenne Henri (illustration pictured) was only allowed to take a balloon trip with Andre-Jacques Garnerin after it was ruled that "there was no more scandal in seeing two people of different sexes ascend in a balloon than it is to see them jump into a carriage"?
...that Carpenter's Coffee House in Covent Garden, London, became known as "The Finish" as it was the place revellers went when all the other coffee houses and taverns closed?
...that Christopher Wright, one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, could be the source of the letter that betrayed the plan?
...that The Stonebreaker by Henry Wallis shows a labourer who appears to be resting but is actually dead?
...that the elephants Castor and Pollux were shot for food during the Siege of Paris in 1870 and their trunks sold as a delicacy?

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