24th October: United Nations Day

United Nations Day commemorates the forming of the UN on this date in 1945. Some things you might not know about the UN:

1. There are 193 UN member states. On this date in 1945, there were just 51 (mostly those who had been on the winning side of World War II). The most recent nation to join was South Sudan in 2011.
2. The UN replaced the League of Nations. The League of Nations was set up after World War I, to ensure that such a conflict never happened again. It clearly wasn't very effective as there was a World War II, so a new organisation was called for.
3. The name "United Nations" was proposed by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Winston Churchill in 1942. Churchill was staying in Washington DC at the time and was sitting in the bath when Roosevelt had someone push his wheelchair into the bathroom so he could tell Churchill his idea immediately. Churchill noted that Lord Byron had used the name to describe the Allies at the Battle of Waterloo in his book Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: "Here, where the sword United Nations drew, Our countrymen were warring on that day! And this much—and all—which will not pass away."
4. As well as the member states, there are observer states. There are currently two of these - The Holy See and Palestine. Switzerland, famous for being neutral in everything, was an observer state from 1948 until 2002, when it decided to become a full member.
5. There have been eight Secretary-Generals. The current one is Ban Ki-Moon from South Korea, who replaced Kofi Annan in 2007. He will hold the office until the end of 2016. Ban Ki-Moon has a reputation for being bland, and his nickname is Ban-chusa, or "the bureaucrat" in Korean, but when he was elected he surprised everyone by singing "Ban Ki-moon is coming to town" to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
6. Funding comes from contributions by member states. The two-year budget for 2012–13 was $5.512 billion in total. How much they are expected to contribute depends on the ability of the nation to pay as measured by their gross national income with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income. The lowest amount a country can be expected to pay is 0.001% of the total budget. The UK pays 6%. The country that pays the most is the USA (no surprises there) but they also are renowned for paying late - in 2005 the US owed the UN $960 million. In fact, only about 40 of the member nations ever pay up on time.
7. Although the UN headquarters is based in New York, it is deemed to be international territory, and as such, does not meet all of the fire and safety standards for New York City buildings.
8. Alfred Hitchcock wanted to film North by Northwest at the UN in 1958, but did not have permission, so Cary Grant was filmed approaching the entrance by a hidden camera. Other UN scenes were done using a sound stage and special effects.
9. The logo, a projection of a map of the world centred at the North Pole and enclosed by two Olive branches, was first designed as a lapel pin by Donal McLaughlin.
10. There are six official languages used at the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.