The most handsome men in Scotland. Interesting facts about Scotland that you never knew! What the “original” source will tell you

Today a referendum is being held in Scotland, in which the residents of this country are deciding whether to remain part of the united kingdom or not.
So what kind of country is Scotland? If anyone is interested, read this post.

1. The unicorn is an animal that is depicted on the coat of arms of Scotland.

2. The shortest scheduled flights in the world take place in Scotland. The flight is one and a half miles long, from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands. The journey lasts 1 minute 14 seconds.

3. Scotland occupies approximately 790 islands, 130 of which are uninhabited.

4. Skara Brae, a Neolithic settlement located on the Isle of Bray, Orkney, is the oldest structure in Britain, dating back to 3100 BC. e.

5. The Hamilton Mausoleum in South Lanarkshire has the longest echo in the world - it lasts 15 seconds.

6. In Scotland there are more than 600 sq. miles of freshwater lakes, including the most famous Loch Ness.

7. Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, is the second largest city after Glasgow.

8. Edinburgh became the first city in the world to have its own fire brigade.

9. Like Rome, Edinburgh was built on seven hills. The city has the largest number of architectural monuments than anywhere in the world.

10. Until 1603, Scotland had its own monarch. After Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland also became ruler of both Scotland and England, resulting in him also becoming James I of England.

Balmoral Castle, where the royal family likes to relax.

11. The city of St. Andrews is considered the “birthplace of golf.” It was played here back in the 15th century.

12. Queen Victoria is believed to have smoked cigarettes to ward off midges during her visit to the Scottish Highlands.

13. Edinburgh became the birthplace of the Skye Terrier Greyfire Bobby, who won the hearts of everyone who knows his history.

After the owner's death, Bobby every day for 14 years went to the cafe where he was used to being with the owner, received a bun and returned to the owner's grave in the cemetery. There he met his death and was buried. In Edinburgh there is a fountain with a sculpture of a Skye terrier. The monument was erected in 1872 after the death of Bobby, who had earned the reputation as the most loyal dog in the world.

14.V currently Scotland is second largest country Great Britain after England.

16. The motto of Scotland is “Nemo me impune lacessit”, or “No one will touch me with impunity.” It is used by the Order of the Thistle and also in later versions of the royal coat of arms.

17. Scotland is my favorite country royal family, who loves to relax at Balmoral Castle on the banks of the River Dee.

18. In the northeast of the country, girls are called quines, and boys are called louns.

19. The first recorded appearance of the Loch Ness Monster occurred in 565 AD, when the monster attacked one of the followers of St. Columba.

Saint Columba is an Irish holy monk who preached Christianity in Scotland. Saint Columba is considered one of the twelve apostles of Ireland. In 563, Saint Columba founded the first monastery in what is now Scotland and was abbot there.

20. The Scottish city of Aberdeen is known as the oil capital of Europe, as well as the Granite City.

Fortingall yew is the oldest tree in Europe.

21. The deepest lake in Scotland, Loch Morar, reaches a depth of 328 meters and is considered the seventh deepest lake in the world.

22. Scotland's smallest distillery, Edradur in Pitlochry, attracts 100,000 visitors a year, but produces only 90,000 liters of malt whiskey.

23. Scotland is the homeland of the oldest tree in Europe, the Fortingall yew, which is approximately 3 thousand years old. According to local legend Pontius Pilate was born in the shade of this yew tree and played there when he was little.

24. The raincoat was invented in 1824 in Scotland. It was invented by Charles Mackintosh, a chemist from Glasgow. In the UK the raincoat is still called "Mac".

25. State religion Scotland - Christianity.

26. Scotland gained independence in 1314 when Robert the Bruce defeated an English army at the Battle of Bannockburn.

27. The Kingdom of Scotland remained independent until May 1, 1707, when Scotland joined England by the Act of Union, forming single state– United Kingdom of Great Britain.

29. The country's territory covers 78,772 km².

30. The population of the country is about 5.2 million, which is approximately 8.5% of the total population of Great Britain.
31. Population density – 65.9 people/km².

32.V North America There are about as many Scots living as in Scotland itself, while, according to the US and Canadian censuses, about 5 million people claim to have Scottish ancestry.

33. Scotland has its own judicial system, different from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The jury can return a verdict of “guilty,” “not guilty,” or “not proven guilty.”

34. The Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, is the oldest existing bank in Great Britain. It was also the first bank in Europe to issue its own banknotes.

35. Famous Scottish inventors include John Lougie Baird, who invented television in 1925, Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone in 1876, and Alexander Fleming, who invented penicillin in 1928.

36. The first university hospital in America, the Baltimore Infirmary, was founded by Glasgow surgeon Granville Sharp Pattison in 1816.

37. Scotland has three official languages: English, Scots and Gaelic, which is spoken by only 1% of the population.

38. There are 19 universities and institutes in Scotland, including the University of St. Andrews, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, met.

39. The area of ​​Scotland is approximately equal to the area of ​​the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Panama, Maine in the USA or Japanese island Hokkaido.

40. Canada's first two prime ministers, John MacDonald (1815-1891) and Alexander Mackenzie (1822-1892), were Scots.
41. One of the most famous products produced in Scotland - whiskey - was invented in China. It was first distilled by monks in Ireland at the beginning of the 15th century, and only 100 years later whiskey came to Scotland.

42. Scotland's most infamous dish is haggis. It is prepared from lamb offal - liver, heart and lungs, boiled in a lamb stomach. It is unknown where it originated, but a similar dish was mentioned in Greece 2,500 years ago.

43. Scotland is the birthplace of many great thinkers, including Adam Smith, James Watt, David Hume and John Stuart Mill.

44. Famous Scottish inventions include logarithms (1614), asphalt (1820) and the pneumatic tire (1887).

45. Many famous Scottish inventions - kilts, tartan (checkered patterns) and bagpipes - were not invented in Scotland. Kilts originated in Ireland, and tartan designs have been discovered as far back as Central Europe Bronze Age, and bagpipes came from Central Asia.

46. Famous representatives literature - Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

47. The flag of Scotland is an image of St. Andrew's Cross.

48. The thistle is a symbol of Scotland.

49. Scotland has the most red-haired people in the world. About 13% of Scotland's population are redheads, and 40% of the population are carriers of the recessive gene.

50. First official international Soccer game was played in 1872 in West Scotland between England and Scotland.

BUTLER , Gerard
(Butler, Gerard)

Born 13 November 1969 in Glasgow, Scotland
Scottish film actor.
When Butler was 6 months old, his family moved to Montreal, where his father worked as an accountant, and a year and a half later his parents divorced.
Even as a child, Gerard became interested in theater - at the age of 12 he participated in a theatrical production in one of the major theaters in Glasgow. He entered the Scottish youth theater, however, despite the fact that he was considered one of the most talented students there, Butler decided that actor career too unrealistic and entered the University of Glasgow to study law.
After finishing his studies, Butler went to Los Angeles. Having failed to get one there interesting role, he returned to Scotland, where he practiced at one of the largest law firms for two years. Work as a lawyer soon followed Butler's path - one day he visited theatrical production“On the Needle” and realized that I had chosen the wrong profession. Such sentiments apparently did not go unnoticed by his employers, and Butler was fired just a week before the end of his legal internship. Now there was nothing holding Butler back and he went to London, where he began to look for an opportunity to get back into the world of theater. Soon luck smiled on him - first he got a role in the play "Coriolanus", and after some time he played a leading role in the production of "Trainspotting", which he had previously admired from the audience.
In 1997, Butler made his first major film debut - he played in the film "Mrs. Brown" with Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. Around the same time, he played a small negative role in Bond's Tomorrow Never Dies, while maintaining his theatrical career. In 2000, several films with Butler’s participation were released - the gangster film “Shooters”, war drama"Harrison's Flowers", as well as "Dracula" by Wes Craven, where the actor got the main role. Next year was not very successful for Butler, he mainly worked on television projects and only in 2002 received a role in the film “The Reign of Fire”, where he played an associate of Christian Bale in the difficult task of exterminating dragons.
In 2003, the actor joined Angelina Jolie in the sequel to Lara Croft, which undoubtedly contributed to his further recognition among the general public. In the same year, another film with Butler's participation was released - Timeline, a film adaptation of Michael Crichton's best-selling novel, which received rather lukewarm reviews from critics and performed rather poorly at the box office.
Gerard Butler was casting for the film adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera” among hundreds of other actors, but it was his tough, slightly rock and roll voice that appealed to the author of the musical, Andrew-Lloyd Webber, who took him to the stage. main role even despite the relative obscurity of the actor. Filming was not easy for Butler - he had to spend 4-6 hours every day while makeup was applied to him, singing in which was much more difficult than usual. But the final product was undoubtedly worth all the effort put into it and can rightfully be considered one of the best screen musicals of recent times.

Filmography:
1997 - Mrs. Brown
1997 - Tomorrow Never Dies
1998 - Tale of the Mummy
1998 - Little White Lies (TV)
1998 - “The young person’s guide to becoming a Rock Star” (TV series)
1998 - Fast food
1999 - One More Kiss
1999 - The Cherry Orchard
1999 - Please!
1999 - "Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married" (TV series)
2000 - Arrows
2000 - Saving Harrison
2000 - Dracula 2000
2001 - Atilla the Conqueror
2001 - Diamond of the Sahara
2002 - "The Jury" (TV series)
2002 - Power of Fire
2003 - Lara Croft 2: The Cradle of Life
2003 - Trapped in Time
2004 - Dear Frankie
2004 - Phantom of the Opera
2004 - The Game of Their Lives
2005 - Beowulf and Grendel

9.3k (175 per week)

As with every state, the features of Scotland are unique to this unusual and outlandish country. Scottish specificity is manifested in all aspects of life and is expressed in large quantities outlandish traditions, customs, household items, natural, historical sights, famous people whose destinies are connected with this country. The most famous facts about Scotland the following can be mentioned:

1. Most iconic musical instruments In Scotland the bagpipes are considered. It is as popular as the balalaika in Russia, the harp in Greece and the banjo in America. In the United Kingdom, there are a lot of jokes about bagpipers, in which they are portrayed as funny rural simpletons. Few people know that bagpipes were invented in India and brought to Scotland by the ancient Romans.
2. The first thing that is associated with Scotland is the national plaid men's skirt - the kilt. IN Everyday life Only guardsmen wear a kilt, but at festivals, holidays and events you can see this item of clothing on almost every man.
3. The country has a countless number of lakes, rivers and fresh water bodies, which in total occupy an area of ​​950 sq. km. The most mysterious and popular among tourists is Loch Ness. Such excitement is associated with a monster named Nessie that supposedly lives in it.
4. Whiskey is the favorite drink of the Scots. Translated from Celtic, the name of the drink translates as “water of life”, and it was originally prescribed as a medicine. The inventor of whiskey is not known for certain, but, according to some hypotheses, scotch was brought to the country from Ireland. Today the brand is officially registered at the state level.
5. Another random invention is attributed to Scotland. Mac- a piece of clothing that is a waterproof raincoat. The clothing was named after its creator, Charles Mackintosh, who unintentionally soaked the jacket with a rubber solution, after which the fabric stopped allowing water to pass through.
6. Most red-haired people live in Scotland. Only 13% of the indigenous population have red hair, and almost half of Scots carry “red” hair color in their genes, meaning their descendants could potentially be red. From time to time, marches in support of red-haired people are held in certain cities, where you can see Scots with curls of all shades.
7. The number of Scots living in the country itself and in North America is approximately the same. More than 5 million people who are citizens of Canada and the United States consider themselves ethnic Scots.
8. Some Hollywood films have been filmed in Scotland. One of the most famous is considered to be “ brave heart”, which won five Oscar statuettes in 1995. The film is based on historical period The 13th century, when Scotland was fighting for independence from the British Empire.
9. Sean Connery is considered the most famous Scottish actor, who was given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. The screen master played Agent 007 James Bond for 21 years, although he began his career in the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition, where he took third place.
10. The mythical character of the series is familiar to the whole world as Duncan MacLeod- a highlander of all times and peoples. According to legend, at the end of the 16th century, an immortal warrior was born in Scotland, in a beautiful mountainous area.
11. It's hard to believe, but honorary citizens Glasgow in 2007 included Scrooge McDuck, hero animated series"DuckTales". The greedy and enterprising drake was Scottish by birth, and, according to the script, before leaving to work in the USA he was an ordinary shoe shiner.
12. Scotland has given the world a huge number of great scientists who made significant contributions to science. The most famous are: Scottish engineer James Watt, after whom the power unit is named; father of economic thought Adam Smith; philosopher David Hume; physicist William Kelvin; astronomer James Ferguson.
13. Classics of world literature Great Scottish writers are considered - Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lord Byron.
14. A lot of highly paid actors have Scottish roots: Gerard Butler, Ewan McGregor, David Tennant, James McAvoy, Dougray Scott. Among the Scottish musicians, Annie Lennox, Angus Young, guitarist of AC/DC, Exploited and Mogwai became legends.
15. Little known fact- Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov was a descendant of a native of Scotland. At the beginning of the 17th century, Georg Lermont, with the rank of lieutenant, joined the ranks of the Russian army, after which he adapted his surname in the Russian manner and converted to Orthodoxy.
16. Record holder for the shortest duration of a scheduled flight considered a flight connecting two Scottish islands - Papa Westray and Westray. In total, passengers fly for two minutes, with the runway of one island visible from the other.
17. Castles are considered the most popular Scottish attractions. They have been preserved in the country from different times great amount. The most visited is Edinburgh Castle, located in the capital of the state. An amazing feature of the citadel is that it was built approximately in the 11th-12th centuries on the top of an ancient extinct volcano.
18. The Scottish legal system interprets verdicts in criminal cases in a rather unique way. The judge has three possible verdicts: “not guilty”, “guilty” and “guilty”. crime committed has no evidence."
19. The Scots are famous inventors, who remake many things with wonderful originality. For example, in 2002, the country built a one-of-a-kind engineering structure, the Falkir Wheel, a carousel elevator designed for the passage of ships between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The purpose of creating the canal was to combat the difference in water level, thanks to which barges and ships sail from one water reservoir to another in 15-20 minutes. The total height of the elevator is 35 meters, which corresponds to a 12-story building.

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What is Scotland famous for? What is interesting about this country?

For most people on Earth, any country is associated, first of all, not with geopolitics and international relations, and with famous people, brands, traditions and culture.

For example, if you ask foreigners about Russia, they will most likely remember vodka, bears, Russian frosts, caviar, Orthodoxy, Russian women, astronautics, Russian writers, and so on.

The USA is usually associated with global brands such as Coca-Cola, Windows, or Hollywood, skyscrapers, jeans.

What associations does Scotland evoke? What and who can this country be proud of? What is interesting about this country?

1. The first thing that comes to mind is the Scottish bagpipes, about which they even come up with jokes (probably the English) in which the bagpiper looks like a narrow-minded village simpleton.

   Bagpipes for Scotland are the same as the balalaika for Russia, or the banjo for America, but contrary to popular belief, it was not invented in Scotland, but in the South - East Asia, possibly in India. It was subsequently brought to Scotland by the Romans.

A true Scottish Highlander wears a kilt without underwear. The British love to laugh about this. The lack of underwear under a kilt has often become the subject of incidents and misunderstandings, for example, in windy weather the Scottish army looks even more militant...

1. Scotland has the highest percentage of red-haired people in the world. About 13% of the population has red hair, and approximately 40% carry the recessive gene, meaning their offspring are likely to be red.
   On August 10, 2013, a march was even held in Glasgow to protect red-haired people from ridicule under the slogan “Red and Proud.”

1. The country has about the same number of Scots as North America. According to censuses conducted in the United States and Canada, about 5 million people permanently living there consider themselves Scots.

1. Scotland has given the world a number of outstanding scientists. For example, James Watt, Scottish engineer and inventor. It is not difficult to guess that the unit of power measurement - Watt - is named after him. The Scots included economist Adam Smith, philosopher David Hume, astronomer James Ferguson, physicists William Thomson Kelvin, Maxwell James Clerk and many other famous scientists.
   Therefore, in vain, on the Internet, Scottish scientists are considered a subdivision of British scientists, the heroes of jokes. " Gossips Scottish scientists are credited with such outstanding research as the earthworm census and the creation of whiskey-based fuel.

1. The most famous Scottish writers are Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

1. In the 17th century, Scottish lieutenant George Learmont entered service in the Russian army. In Russia he converted to Orthodoxy and became Lermontov. Among his descendants famous poet Mikhail Lermontov.

1. The shortest scheduled flight in the world is considered to be the flight between the two Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray. Passengers remain in the air for about two minutes. With one runway the other one is clearly visible.

1. Scotland has a unique interpretation of the law; in criminal cases they allow three verdicts: “guilty”, “innocent” and “crime not proven”.

It attracts attention with a rather unexpected form. Moreover, not only ordinary Scots noticed in its outlines masculinity(or the end?). So in 1992, the British Board of Film Classification decided to consider as pornography those films in which the male reproductive organ is in a more “high spirit” than the Kintyre Peninsula in relation to the island of Britain…. And period!