5 July: The Isle of Man

Today is the national day of the isle of Man, (sometimes spelled Mann) Tynwald Day. The Isle of Man is an island the size of Singapore, located in the Irish sea, with a population of about 80,000. Here are 10 more facts about the island:

1. It's a Crown Dependency, which means it belongs to the Queen rather than to the United Kingdom. Until 1765, it was ruled by the Lord of Mann, who sold the feudal rights to George I, who adopted the title. The monarch of the United Kingdom therefore has Lord of Mann as one of their titles, even when that monarch is female. Even though it isn't part of the UK, it uses the British pound as currency and Britain is responsible for defending it.
2. It used to have its own language, Manx, which is a kind of Gaelic language similar to Irish. However, the last native Manx speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974. Only 2% of the population today even know any of the language, though there have been attempts to revive it.
3. It has the oldest continuous parliament in the world. The same legislative body has been in charge there since 979. It's called the Tynwald and was founded by the Vikings. While Iceland's parliament has been around for longer, since 930, it was suspended for 45 years in the nineteenth century, so cannot claim to be continuous. Another fact about the Tynwald – it was the first parliament to grant women the right to vote, back in 1881, although only unmarried women were allowed to vote.
4. One of the things the Manx Parliament has done is pass a law in 1907 to close the roads for the annual Tourist Trophy (TT) motorcycle race, the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world.
5. The island has unique breeds of Cats and sheep. You may know that Manx cats have no tails but you may not know that Manx cats have particularly large hind legs and rounded heads. Manx Loaghtan sheep are known for sometimes having four or six horns instead of the usual two.
6. While on the subject of animals, there is an old Manx superstition which says it is unlucky to say the word “Rat”. If you need to refer to these animals, they must be referred to as “longtails.”
7. The Isle of Man has one mountain, Snaefell. From the top of it, you can see all four of the countries that make up the United Kingdom – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. According to some old local sayings, as well as these four and the Isle of Man itself, you can also see the kingdoms of Heaven and Neptune (the sea).
8. The capital is Douglas. Douglas is located at the mouth of the river Douglas. Once a small settlement, it benefited greatly from its proximity to the English port of Liverpool, and in 1869, it replaced Castletown as the island's capital.
9. The island's symbol is a three legged triskelion which appears on its flag, coat of arms and currency. The island's motto refers to it – the Latin motto translates as “whichever way you throw, it will stand”.
10. Famous people from the Isle of Man include the Bee Gees (born there but the family later moved to Australia). Also born there was Elizabeth Holloway Marston, who moved to America, and with her husband William, invented the systolic blood pressure test which was a precursor to today's polygraph tests. William also wrote comic books and created the character of Wonder Woman, based on his wife. 

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