15 Interesting Facts About Great Britain

On the Internet, you can find many interesting facts about Britain and the British. We are not original: here you can find also an interesting selection. Although no, our article is unique: we will not give this as the ultimate truth. Therefore, each reader will be able to decide for themselves: whether it is a myth or truth.

• 1. I bet that you also often met photos of the British in summer clothes in the winter? Or maybe even you by yourself witnessed such a frost-resistant girl who was worn in sandals and a short skirt in winter? Yes, these are the kind of hot the British girls and boys.
• 2. If in London you want to wash your hands with warm water, then you will have to arrange a special procedure as far as British have two separate taps, instead of a mixer, a sink, and a plug. We shut the sink, we open the tap with cold water and the tap with hot water simultaneously, fill the sink, and just then enjoy the water procedures.
• 3. Do you want to work as a taxi driver in London? Do not even dream! Here, they will not take a foreigner for one simple reason: in the capital of Great Britain - a thousand of streets. Each of them must be known by heart. Taxi drivers even take the exam.
• 4. If in London, they say "smile, you are shot by a hidden camera," then you better take their word for it. During the day, you can easily get into the lens of about 50 security cameras. And you can easily find yourself on a dozen of photos. So if you do not want to see your gloomy face on the Internet one day, it is better to smile.
  
• 5. It can be difficult to understand why the British are so crazy for talks about the weather. But they are necessary in any case. It is no accident that a term such as English weather-talk appeared. An acquaintance begins with the question about the weather, an address to a stranger, filling pauses in conversation, and even communication between quite close people. You will be treated much friendlier if you do not start with “How do you do,” but with some kind of phrase about rain, clouds, or the sun.
• 6. By the way, do not think that you can easily find out the name of your interlocutor in the UK. This is not a usual picture on the playground when any game starts with the classic "hello, what's your name, let's play". And even if you kindly introduce yourself, the true Englishman will say something polite in response but carefully hide his/her name.
• 7. Do you think that Big Ben is such a clock tower? The main thing is not to tell about it to the British, or you will offend their national feelings as far as Big Ben is a bell. It weighs almost 14 tons and is hidden behind the dial of the clock.
• 8. It is not socially acceptable for the British to tell something about their personal lives: children, their wife, husband, and place of residence. They will be happy to talk about the weather, politics, and all sorts of common topics.

  Nevertheless, the British are rather curious. They are just too well educated. Therefore, to satisfy their curiosity, at least partially, they play Guessing-game: they ask suggestive questions, where the answers are the base to guess regarding how the interlocutor lives. At the same time, of course, the questions and answers are not straightforward, but with hints.

  
• 9. In London, you are unlikely to meet a black cat or shaggy dog. The fact is that there are practically no homeless animals at all: the merciful British take them to themselves. True, not everything is so easy: before you shelter a poor animal, you need to contact the Society for the Protection of Animals. Further, the compassionate British is checked: the Society’s representative will come, assess the housing conditions, hold a conversation, and then issue a verdict of "for" or "against."
• 10. If you like to actively gesticulate, it is unlikely to be understood by the British. You can wave with your arms in Italy, and here, in England, you will have to behave with extreme restraint. However, you can expressly point with your index finger in the direction of some house, but only when you decided to explain the road to a man.
• 11. Pubs are indeed wildly popular among the British. Well, of course: you cannot be frank, you cannot gesticulate, you cannot even wash your hands with warm water! It remains only to spend pastime in pubs; or even stand in line on the street waiting for a warm place to vacate in the pub.
• 12. A royal horseracing is often called a festival of hats. It is true. What is easy to see if you look at the photos. No self-respecting Briton will come bare-headed here.
• 13. The English dream is not like the American one. Most Britons sleep and see themselves as the owners of the estate. And they want to spend most of their time working in the garden.
• 14. Yes, England is very proud of its gardens. If you are lucky enough to receive an invitation to a private home, then do not even hope for a tour of the rooms and stairs. Nobody will proudly demonstrate "here is our favorite fireplace, and this is a portrait of my grandfather, but this is my husband's cabinet made with his own hands." But the Britons will probably show you their garden, tell about each tree and a flower, and will wait for a response (here, the main thing is not to blab about the weather) - this is such an interesting fact about England.
• 15. If you took a table for two in a restaurant, then they will unquestionably sit someone else next to you. Accordingly, if you chose a table for four, then be ready for a noisy company of three more hungry people. So it is accepted there: the compactness manifests itself in everything.

  Here, were 15 fascinating facts about UK you probably did not know yet! If you also know some peculiar moments from Brits’ life, you are welcomed to share them with us in comments.