Not exactly a joke...

[piper_dancer]

Yesterday I was at a festival of cultures here in Mississauga at the Scotland Pavilion and learned this interesting fact.

Annually, in Scotland alone, 70-80 million gallons of whisky is sold.

That's just scotland. and JUST whisky.

[piper_dancer]

any more interesting or weird facts, just add em on

[Steve]

Here is one for ye...


Hunker doon. Used in Scotland since the 18th century, 'hunker doon' means to squat down on your 'hunkers' (Scots for the back of your thighs).

[Steve]

Long list of Scottish Facts...



Scotland is bigger than many people think being nearly two thirds the size of England in land area. Scotland also has a very long coastline and few places are far from the sea. With many inlets and craggy features- geos etc it not hard to see why Scots have been heavily involved with fishing and ship building in the past. The lists of many geographical features are long so here are just a few main ones with the odd Caithness one maybe thrown in for comparison.

Scotland includes 787 islands, of which most belong to groups known as the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland but only 62 are over 3 square miles

Scotland has a great many lochs (lakes). Along the coast are many Sea Lochs, the longest of which, Loch Fyne, penetrates over 40 miles inland. Fresh-water lochs include Loch Ness . Loch Eriboll in Sutherland on the north coast has one of the most spectacular for views.

Scotland is a country of over 5 million people and an area of over 30,000 square miles. There are 790 islands in Scotland. If you travelled north to its furthest point, you would end up at the lighthouse on Muckle Flugga, on the island of Unst, Shetland. If you turned west, the furthest you could travel would be to St Kilda, looking out on the Atlantic Ocean. Eastwards you would come to Buchan Ness.

Mainland Scotland measures 78,789 km2; 30,420ml2. The maximum length on the mainland is between the Mull of Galloway in the south to Cape Wrath in the north, measuring 440km, 274 miles. The widest part of the mainland stretches from Applecross in the west to Buchan Ness in the east, measuring 248km, 154 miles. The narrowest part of Scotland is between the Firths of Forth and Clyde, measuring only 41km, 25 miles.

The northernmost point in mainland Scotland is Dunnet Head, not John O'Groats.

Scotland's Rivers
26 rivers flow to the sea. In Caithness The main ones are the rivers Wick and Thurso.

Tay (188 Km or 117 miles long)
Spey (177 Km or 110 miles)
Clyde (170 Km or 106 miles)
Tweed (154 Km or 96 miles)
Dee (154 Km or 96 miles)
Don (132 Km or 82 miles)
Forth (106 Km or 66 miles)
tidal for 85 Km or 53 miles)
Scotland's Mountains
284 peaks over 3000 feet
Ben Nevis (1343m or 4406 feet high)
Ben Macdhui (1309m or 4296 feet)
Braeriach (1296m or 4252 feet)
Cairntoul (1293m or 4241 feet)
Cairngorm (1245m or 4084 feet)
Ben Lawers (1214m or 3984 feet)
Scotland's Lochs
Loch Lomond (27 sq. miles in area)
Mean depth is 37m (121 feet) and maximum depth is 190m (623 feet). Largest fresh water loch.
Loch Ness (21.8 sq. miles)
Mean depth is 132m (433 feet) and maximum depth is 230m (754 feet).
Loch Awe (14.8 sq. miles)
Mean depth is 32m (105 feet) and maximum depth is 93m (307 feet).

Top 5 Largest Freshwater Lochs
1. Lomond 71.1km2 ; 27.5 miles2
2. Ness 56.4km2 ; 28.1 miles2
3. Awe/Etive 38.5km2 ; 14.9 miles2
4. Maree 28.6km2 ; 10.3 miles2
5. Morar 26.7km2 ; 10.3 miles2

Main Exports
Office Equipment. Communications Equipment, Whisky, Chemicals

Main Export Markets Outwith The UK
USA, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy

What's In Scotland
100 Distilleries, 600 Golf Courses, 70 National Nature Reserves, Over 200,000 wild red deer in addition to roe and sika.

Flora and Fauna
Scotland has a wide variety of plants and animals, but do you know the tallest tree? Or what animals have become extinct?
The oldest tree in Europe is around 3500 years old, and is a churchyard yew at Fortingall.
The tallest tree in Britain is a Douglas Fir at the Hermitage in Perthshire, it measures a huge 213 ft tall.
Extinct species
Aurock (urus: 6 feet wild ox) Extinct in Scotland in prehistoric times
Beaver Extinct by 11th c or 12th c
Caledonian Bear (used in Roman arenas) Survived to 10th c
Elk (moose) Disappeared in 9th c
Giant Fallow Deer (3.7 m/12 ft high) Disappeared in pre-historic times
Great Auk Exterminated on St Kilda, 1840
Lynx Disappeared in prehistoric times
Reindeer Disappeared in 9th c (re-introduced in 1950s)
White-tailed Sea Eagle Disappeared in 19th c
Wild Pig Existed until early 18th c
Wolf Last one killed in Morayshire, 1743

The longest single word placename in Scotland is Coignafeainternich in Inverness-shire.

The oldest working post office in Scotland is in Sanquhar near Dumfries?

The oldest structure in Scotland is a hearth from Mesolithic period (c 6013BC), on the island of Jura, Argyll.

At no point does Hadrian's Wall touch Scotland.

The highest restaurant in Britain is the Ptarmigan on Cairngorm.

The highest village in Scotland is Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway (420m/1380ft above sea level).

The largest ship ever built in Scotland was the Queen Elizabeth, launched in 1938. The smaller QE II was launched by Queen Elizabeth in 1967.

A Scottish mile is 1,984 yards compared to the norm of 1,760 yards.

The world's oldest rock is the "Archaen Gneiss" from Lewis at almost 3000 million years old.

The highest cliffs in Britain are the Conachair cliffs on St Kilda, Western Isles (425 m/1,397 ft).
Note - Caithness.org web master Bill Fernie was at the top in 1969

The shortest scheduled flight in the world is one and a half miles from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkneys. The trip takes 1 minute and 14 seconds.

The oldest high school in Scotland is the Royal High School in Edinburgh established in 1128.

The youngest undergraduate in Scotland was William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), who entered Glasgow University at the age of ten.

The most northerly point on the Scottish mainland is at Dunnet Head, Caithness

Scottish Inventions - Where Do You Start?
Penicillin, Golf, Cloning, Telephone, Television, Fax Machine ( A Caithness man Alexander Bain and further back than you might think) The list is long - check Google for hundreds more.

[Stormy]

Bleedin' eck Steve, you put me to shame!
What can I say except maybe "Hunker doon" and "That's ma country"

[Stormy]

Originally Posted by piper_dancer

Annually, in Scotland alone, 70-80 million gallons of whisky is sold.

Are you trying to tell me I'm slacking??
I have a good idea what Mrs Stormy will say but I will do my best to increase your figures!!!

:pint: :pint: