Did You Know? Some Fun February Facts

There's much more to February than just being known as the month of love! Here are some fun February facts as we start the second month of the year.

Mud or cake?

Anglo Saxons called February 'Sol-monath'. Some sources suggest 'sol' means mud, so February is mud month. Others report sol as meaning cake. This is linked to the offering of cakes to the gods during February.
We much prefer the latter, as it sounds like something we can get on board with! If anyone would like to send us cakes, our address is on the contact page!

Festival February

With some months being named after Roman gods, you might assume that February is named after Roman god Februus. Actually the word comes from the festival of purification, called Februa, which both the month and the god were named after.

Theory of Evolution

Charles Darwin was born on 12th February 1809, in Shrewsbury UK. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, later obtaining a degree in Theology.
Darwin's most famous work "Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" was published in 1859, and remains widely debated by scientists, sociologists, geologists and zoologists to this day.

Birthplace of British Cinema

Regent Street Cinema was the first to open its doors in the UK, premiering the first "film" in 1896. 54 people paid a shilling to watch several short daily life scenes, hand cranked by a projector. The "films" played ten times a day on the hour, to huge demand.

Pounds, shilling and pence

Up until January 1970, British people paid for goods and services in pennies and shillings - with 12 pennies to a shilling, and 20 shillings to the pound. On 15th February the country converted to decimal. Banks were closed for four days in advance to prepare for the change. The cost of converting telephone boxes across the country was £3m. While some new currency had been in circulation prior to the change over date, with the 50p coin appearing in 1969 (known as a 10 shilling coin at the time), it wasn't until 15th February that the new 1p and 2p coins were introduced to the general public.

Moonlighting

Due to its short nature at only 28 days, February is the only month that can pass without the occurrence of a full moon. This last happened in 2018, and isn't scheduled to occur again until 2037!

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We hope you've enjoyed our February facts! To find out more things that happened in February, why not think about studying history with us? We offer IGCSE History, A Level History, A Level History including exams, Researching Local History or Social and Political History.
Alternatively, how about a course in Genealogy? You may find family members you didn't know even about who were born in February!
For more information, give us a call on 03300 563100.