Discover the Top 8 Entertaining & Surprising Facts about Manchester You Never Knew!

1. Manchester's Buzzing Emblem

When life gives you bees, make Manchester: the city's emblematic worker bee is not only a buzzing symbol of its industrious nature, dating back 150 years, but it also cocoons an aura of unity and community spirit. Guarded fiercely, the Manchester City Council has even registered trademarks for different versions of the bee image, which can be visited in their online hive of creativity.
Source => manchester.gov.uk

2. Mancunian Christmas Cheer

Who needs reindeer when you've got Mancunian cheer? Deck the halls, Manchester-style, at the city's annual sleigh stop for festive fun-lovers: Manchester's Christmas Market is the largest in the UK, attracting around 9 million visitors in its last event and ranking as the most popular Christmas market online in the country with over 114k Google searches. Running for nearly six weeks and boasting over 300 stalls, this jolly celebration secured the top spot in the UK's top 10 Christmas markets analyzed by My Favourite Cottages.
Source => ilovemanchester.com

Did you know that Big Ben isn't the tower-clock we all thought? Discover the hidden truth about this London icon and its massive 13-ton secret hiding inside the Elizabeth Tower! 🇬🇧🔔✨

=> Fun Facts about London

3. Steamy Railway Romance

Once upon a steamy romance: two cities made tracks with each other, forging a bond that would rock the world as we know it. This power couple, Liverpool and Manchester, ran with a steamy affair and in 1830 brought forth the world's first inter-urban, steam-powered railway to move not just their love letters, but also passengers and goods. This railway revolution became the darling blueprint for a global train mania, proving that long distance relationships can work, between 1830 and 1845.
Source => scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk

4. Teletubbies' Giggly Origin

Ever wondered where the Teletubbies got their bubbly giggles? The answer lies in the heart of MediaCityUK, where British dreams are brought to life: Located in Salford, Greater Manchester, the Dock10 Studios stands as Europe's largest purpose-built television studio, hosting seven high-definition studios and serving as the hub for BBC's Children's, Sport, Future Media, and Technology departments, with residential towers, public spaces, and office spaces for media and creative business go-getters.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. The Manchester Baby Computer

Before the world was graced with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, we had the humble beginnings of computing with an adorable tot called the Manchester Baby: In 1948, the University of Manchester saw the birth of the first electronic stored-program computer, the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), designed and built by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Geoff Tootill, which ultimately led to the development of modern computing and the world's first commercially available general-purpose computer, the Ferranti Mark 1.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Hide-and-Seek Bridge

Like an architectural game of hide-and-seek, Manchester's Hanging Ditch bridge just couldn't stay hidden for long: This medieval treasure, hidden since 1421, was unearthed in the 1880s, attracting 32,000 visitors in three months before being covered again, only to be accidentally discovered in 2002 and integrated into the cathedral's Visitor Centre as a living display of Manchester's rich history.
Source => atlasobscura.com

7. The Not-So-Hidden Gem Church

Hidden in plain sight like a really bad game of hide-and-seek with a toddler, Manchester's St. Mary's Catholic Church, also known as The Hidden Gem, has been fooling pedestrians since the 18th century with its not-so-secret location: Established in 1794, the church was rebuilt after a fire in 1846, with architect Richard Lane combining Norman, Gothic, and Byzantine details to create a stunning interior including a marble High Altar, life-size saint images, and an expressionist-style Stations of the Cross painted by artist Norman Adams.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Manchester's Salad Rebellion

Who knew lettuce could be so revolutionary? The city that gave birth to the salad rebellion: Manchester was the cradle of the Vegetarian Society in 1847, formed by forward-thinking folks who saw a meat-free lifestyle as not only healthy, but morally essential. This herbivorous inception was rooted in the Bible Christian Church in Salford, led by Reverend William Cowherd, whose meat-abstinence mantra inspired the formation of the Vegetarian Society.
Source => vegsoc.org