Wednesday 2 May 2007

Things about May that you never knew, and weren't about to ask:

1. May comes from the French Ma'ae, which means to warm with sunlight

2. May was originally the 3rd month in the western calendar, but people found that Christmas kept getting shifted by about 60 days a year and no one liked to have Christmas in warm weather. Those that did decided to build a massive ark and drove it to Australia.

3. May is made famous by the May pole. This originally was made out of a massive dead tree that stood next to the tower of London. Manned around the clock by children, they danced using 700ft long strips of cloth, weaving until they reached the May Pole. This signified the first day of May. From here, they would take off the knitted pole cover and begin again on their 365 day dance. The fully formed silk cocoons were used to bury the children in who had died during its creation.

4. May is the first month of the year in which wearing sandals does not make you look gay.

5. It is illegal for British weathermen to use the word "gusty" or "dingy" in weather reports that relate to May. This was originally a law created in war-time to help boost the morale by pretending it had better weather than Nazzis.

6. Yam is the only anagram of may. Though Jam can rhyme with it.

7. The May Yam Jam experience was an experimental Jazz/folk group in the 1960s.

8. Robert de Niro, Shane Ritchie and the King of Norway all have their birthdays in May.

9. The official colour for May is Moonslip Pink.

10.May was the first month that the English national anthem was released to the public in 1812. Before this, people were only allowed to hum the anthem or pay a fine.