OK, summer officially started over two weeks ago and it looks like it’s over. I’m probably tempting fate here but I thought we might spend some time looking at summer facts, trivia, and fun things to get us in the mood for the next few months of dreariness and rain. As Bill Bryson once said, “it’s like living in Tupperware”.
Summer & weather
When does it start? Well, astronomically speaking it’s around June 21st when the sun is over the Tropic of Cancer. It then continues for around 3 months depending on location (3 days in the UK).
The hottest British summer on record is 1976 when the average temperature was 17.8°C (64°F) whilst the hottest summer in the world was recorded at Dallol in Ethiopia. The average temperature was 35°C (94°F).
Summery food
Watermelons are actually a vegetable and not a fruit! A member of the Cucurbitaceae family, there are more than 1,200 cultivars (or varieties) and the flesh can be red, yellow, white, or orange.
Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey as the USA’s national bird as he felt it nobler than the bald eagle. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson overruled him and that’s why you’ll see bald eagles around the States this 4th of July.
Summer burn
Around 42% of people get sunburnt each year. Make sure you’ve got sunscreen, sunglasses etc. as sunburn can double the risk of skin cancer. More importantly though, severe sunburn lines and redness are a source of mirth for Europeans!
1 in 30 BBQs result in a garden fire or damage to property – Follow the tips in our BBQ blog to ensure you don’t start a bigger fire than you planned for.
Summer hobbies
On Jersey, men are banned from knitting during the fishing season between August and September.
If you want to get into surfing, aim high! Garrett McNamara holds the record for largest wave ever surfed after riding a 100ft monster.
Summer songs
If you want some summery tunes, here are our top 5:
1. All Summer Long by Kid Rock
2. Surfin’ USA by The Beach Boys
3. School’s Out by Alice Cooper
4. The Boys of Summer by Don Henley
5. In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry
Summer blockbusters
The 5 highest grossing summer films of all time are:
1. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) – $1.518 billion
2. The Dark Knight (2008) – $1.005 billion
3. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – $1.084 billion
4. Shrek 2 (2004) – $919.8 million
5. Star Wars I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – $1.027 billion
NB: All earnings have been adjusted for inflation
Summer quiz (answers below)
1. Which Spanish costa is located north of Barcelona?
2. Which of these is not in the Canaries?
• La Gomera
• El Hierro
• São Miguel
3. What is the capital of Serbia?
4. Which is the 2nd largest country in the world by area?
5. Which American state is nicknamed “The Sunshine State”?
6. Which is the only English county to have 2 separate coastlines?
7. Where is the Parthenon?
8. What is the airport code for Faro Airport?
9. Which is the only bilingual Province in Canada?
10. Where are Economy Car Hire based?
Summer shark
It wouldn’t be summer in the UK without a Great White being spotted off the Cornish coast. It’s usually a basking shark or porbeagle, although British waters are home to other species including blue sharks and shortfin mako’s so there’s no need to worry.
The Mediterranean on the other hand….
Summer facts
Whilst Spain is the UK’s most popular holiday destination, you’d be forgiven for not guessing our next favourite. It’s the UK! That’s right, we Brits would rather stay at home than go somewhere besides Spain. The USA was 3rd, followed by Italy and France.
France is the most popular tourist destination in the world welcoming (I use the term loosely) around 85 million holiday makers a year.
The Eiffel Tower grows by 6 inches during the summer as the metal heats and expands. It shrinks again in colder weather.
“The Dog Days of summer” refers to the weeks between July 3rd and August 11th. They are named after the Dog Star (Sirius) in the constellation of Canis Major.
August is statistically the worst time to be admitted to hospital. The 1st week of the month is when newly qualified doctors take up their posts and senior doctors are often on holiday.
Quiz answers
1. Costa Brava
2. São Miguel (it’s in the Azores)
3. Belgrade
4. Canada
5. Florida
6. Devon
7. Athens
8. FAO
9. New Brunswick
10. Dereham, Norfolk
How did you do?
1-3: English summer
4-7: Next stop, Mediterranean
8-10: Hotter than the sun! – have a bonus point if you know who said this!
Make sure you let us know what your score was below!
If you haven’t decided where to go next, check out these blog posts for planning your summer holiday. If you want to keep up to date with all our other posts, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and sign up to our Newsletter for all the latest news and deals from Economy Car Hire.
