Many people are familiar with the England they see on television and the news media but there are some interesting facts about this European county that are little known and might surprise you.

England, even though it is regarded as a large country, is less than half the size of America. It is half as small as Australia and thirty percent smaller than Japan. It holds almost three times as many people as Australia and twice as many as the state of California. London has a total population of over twelve million people. It is the largest city in all of Europe and was once the biggest city in the world. With all these people living here, it is no surprise that England consumes more tea than any other place in the world. Its tea consumption far surpasses that of Japan!

From the beginning of the 11^th century through the 14^th century, the rulers of England spoke French. Richard the Lionheart, one of England's most famous kings, spoke no English, hated the weather and spent only 6 months of his ten-year-reign in England. Still, his English subjects loved him and almost beggared themselves to collect an enormous ransom to free him from captivity in Austria.

The English school system is another oddity. While there's now a reasonably good state school system in place, the well-bred and the well-off still send their children to Public Schools - which are actually private and extremely costly - as they have done for centuries. In the past, these schools were the jumping board into England's famous universities. Now anyone who can pass the entry exam will earn a place, but Oxford University still has a rule that forbids its students to bring their bows and arrows to class with them!

And if you consider that London is one of the largest cities in the world, one of the largest financial centers in the world and has - in London Heathrow - one of the busiest international airports in the world - would it then amaze you to learn that English police officers go about their duties unarmed? How totally unique is that?

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