st. patrick wasn't irish. he was born to roman parents in wales, england, or scotland.

queen victoria's diary consisted of 122 volumes at the time of her death.

the name 'robin hood' was a generic name for highwaymen and bandits in medieval england, and first appears in print in the year 1252.

british prime minister winston churchill's mother was born in brooklyn, new york.

pope alexander iii 'gave' ireland to the kind of england in 1172, in order to spread the influence of the catholic church.

when french king louis xiv died after a 72-year reign, his body was dug up and his heart stolen by peasants. the reverend william buckland, who was fond of exotic cuisine, purchased it from the peasants, slow roasted it with some beans, and ate it.

he thought that it would make him immortal.

there used to be a lot more mummies around than exist today - literally millions of them. so where did they all go? (the ones that didn't come back to life and follow you around, that is.)

they were used as firewood, ground up as 'medicine', used instead of coal to power steam locomotives, and had their linen shrouds sold as wrapping paper (at least, until people caught cholera from them and died). they were even sold to rich english socialites for 'unwrapping parties', which were exactly what they sound like.

hadrian's wall used to divide northern england from the rest of the country... until it was completely disassembled by locals and carted off to make roads and houses.

the same thing happened to the altar stone at stonehenge, which found its way into a nearby bridge.

despite rumors to the contrary, queen victoria's journals reveal that she was very fond of sex.

france sent 300,000 soldiers to fight in the american revolutionary war. at the time, england had a total of 40,000 troops in the colonies, and no backup.

spoilers: if you're a fan of the disney cartoon, 'pocahontas', you are about to have a rude awakening.

'pocahontas' was actually named motoaka. pocahontas is a nickname which roughly translates to 'naughty one' or 'spoiled child'. at the age of 12, she used to run around the jamestown encampment naked and bald - both of which were normal for pre-pubescent girls of her tribe.

she wasn't an 'indian princess', but she was called one when she was brought to england and turned into a sideshow attraction for the wealthy to tut-tut over. she also never had a thing for john smith. instead, she eventually married an englishman named john rolfe and changed her name to rebecca.

french was the official language of england for more than 600 years.

the trenches used by the british during wwi were primarily dug by 90,000 chinese laborers.

in 1963, margaret campbell, the duchess of argyll, was divorced by her husband for sleeping with at least 88 men, including members of the government and 3 members of the royal family. she later wrote a 'guide to entertaining', and died penniless.

65% of college-bound american students can't find england on a map.

in england, royal navy ships entering the port of london are still required to give the constable of the tower a barrel of rum.

during christmas of 1914, during 'the great war', british and german soldiers declared a truce, exchanged presents and food, and had a soccer match. germany won 3 to 2. the following day, they went back to butchering each other.

cockle bread used to be baked by english women who liked a particular fellow. it was kneaded via rubbing up against it with one's bare crotch, then presented to the lucky fellow after baking.

bob hope didn't become an american citizen until age 17, even though he moved to the u.s. shortly before his 5th birthday. he was born in england.

the french kiss doesn't come from france. the english used it as an insult against the french, saying that they were exactly the kind of people who would stick their tongues where they didn't belong.