London: fun fact sheet

London has about 9 million inhabitants. Well, that is indeed a fact about UK`s fantastic capital, but it`s nothing really new and different. Discover 30 very strange and curious things to know, that will even shock proper Londoners!

So, let`s get straight into it. Here are my most favourite unusual, interesting and surprising facts about London: 

1. More than half of the Underground system is actually running above ground. 
2. The London Eye is actually called Coca Cola London Eye.
3. Big Ben is merely the name of the largest bell in the tower, whose name is Elisabeth Tower and part of the Place of Westminster.
4. The shortest distance between 2 stops on the Tube is between Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line with 260 meters and about 20 seconds of duration.
5. It is illegal to die in the Palace of Westminster, which is also called Houses of Parliaments and has more than 1,000 rooms.
6. The Roman name of the city was Londinium.
7. The average age of a Londoner in 2020 was 40 and a half.
8. The longest escalator in an Underground station is at Angel with 60 metres, while the shortest is at Stratford with 4 metres.
9. The London Zoo was located in the Tower of London before it moved to Regent`s Park.
10. London has 32 boroughs.
11. In the Tower more people were killed by animals than were executed.
12. The Oyster Card was introduced in 2003.
13. There is a sign at Chelsea Embankment at Albert Bridge ordering marching troops to break their step when crossing to avoid damage at the structure.
14. The London Underground system is the third busiest in Europe, right after Moscow and Paris.
15. Filming on the Underground costs £ 500 per hour, unless your crew is smaller than 5 people.
16. There is a Ha Ha Road in Greenwich.
17. Harrods sold cocaine until 1916.
18. The longest tunnel on the Underground network is on the Northern Line between East Finchley and Morden.
19. The last person to be executed at the Tower of London was the German soldier Josef Jakobs in 1941.
20. Sir Christopher Wren put pineapples on the western towers of St. Pauls Cathedral.
21. Less than 10% of the Tube are located south of the river Thames.
22. About 40% of all Londoners are immigrants.
23. There is no "Road" in the City of London, only plenty of "Lanes", "Alleys" and "Streets".
24. There is an entire pet cemetery in Hyde Park.
25. Blackfriars is the only train station with an entrance on both sides, south and north, of the Thames.
26. Hitler wanted to dismantle Nelson`s Column in Trafalgar Square and rebuild it in Berlin. 
27. The London Underground Film Office handles about 200 requests every month.
28. There are more than 30 musicals that you can watch in Central London.
29. The devastating Great Fire of London began in Pudding Lane at 1 am on a Sunday.
30. There are 11 Tube lines, with additional Overground, TfL rail and DLR services.