More amazing Scottish facts

Test your knowledge of Scotland with our fascinating and fun facts!

In 18th century Scotland the cure for stomach aches and indigestion was chucking a few woodlice in your wine. As Bushtucker Trial as it sounds, the woodlice’s exoskeletons are predominantly calcium carbonate, a major ingredient of indigestion tablets.

During the Second World War, Italy’s Popolo D’italia newspaper reported that the Loch Ness Monster had been killed in a German air raid. The story was proved to be a hoax when Nessie sightings continued unabated.

thought to be the world’s smallest gin distillery operates from a cupboard in a Glasgow tenement. Colin Mclean and his partner Jess produce Mclean’s Gin in the 1.5 sq m (16 sq ft) space.

A blue plaque in Linlithgow’s Annet House museum acknowledges the town as birthplace of Star Trek’s Scotty. It claims he was born there in – wait for it – 2222!

Orkney and Shetland seem unlikely meccas for rap music but boast place names Busta Little and Tongue of Gangsta

Jamie Oliver has been named Scotland’s favourite chef. One in three Scots regularly use his cookbooks.

Edinburgh-based climber Mollie Hughes is the youngest woman in the world to summit Everest from both sides.

Ever wondered what to call a white cloud that’s high in the sky on a windy day? Wonder no more – in Scots it’s known as a roarie bummler.

Glasgow is the UK’S lightsaber capital. ebay research revealed residents were the most Jedi-friendly having bought more lightsabers in the past eight years than any other city.

In 1974, three workers at the Rolls Royce factory in East Kilbride helped ground part of the Chilean air force. Bob Fulton, John Keenan and Robert Somerville led refusals to repair plane engines used during the country’s violent coup. The boycott lasted four years.

The Queen’s attempts to turn Balmoral green have been blocked by red squirrels. The estate planned to build a turbine to generate power from the River Muick but it was decided this would be too noisy for wildlife in the area, including red squirrels, badgers and otters.

Barflogging is a Scots word for beating your arms across your shoulders to keep warm

A video of pupils at Drakies Primary School, Inverness, performing This Is Me from The Greatest Showman, was seen on Twitter by Hugh Jackman, who described the performance as awesome. 20th Century Fox sent free tickets for them to see the movie.

Russia’s first luxury department store, Muir & Mirrielees, was opened in Moscow in 1885 by Scottish entrepreneurs, Andrew Muir and Archibald Mirrielees. Playwright Anton Chekhov loved the store so much that he named his two dogs Muir and Mirrielees.

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