Wikiless Wednesday: the best London #factswithoutwikipedia
Wikipedia has shut its doors for the day to protest potentially internet-destroying legislation in the US leaving us deprived of sweet, sweet London knowledge. Fortunately, the denizens of Twitter have been sharing plenty of ‘informative’ trivia in Wikipedia’s absence… here are a few of the alleged capital factoids we’re temporarily choosing to believe.
@victamildew: The Great Fire of London in the 1600s was started by a car backfiring.
@what_sam_said: One Direction were all found lost as orphans in London Underground stations and raised by Simon Cowell.
@tobysearle: The London riots were caused over police confiscation of a Pokémon card.
@sj_thomas85: Ed Miliband is a London based Alt-Folk band.
@BrettMendoza: The city of London was built based on the opening credits of Eastenders.
@MadgeHooks: It takes approximately 1 million cochineal bugs to paint a standard London double decker bus.
@steveleng: Sophie Ellis-Bextor once ran for a Lib Dem councillor seat in West London.
@theauracl3: London was designed from the ground up by an archaic version of Sim City, titled: Ye Olde City of Sims.
@zombiemao: Retweeting will be an official event at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
@benhodgson: London’s sewer system is adapted from 16th century tunnels used to pump jams and preserves around the city.
@smokescreen89: The Stig is a clown associated with the London Zoo.
@LFBarfe: The capital of London is Brentford.
@HackneyWolves: Only ten people are allowed to travel in a London tube carriage at any one time…
@Jimbo_W: Abbey Road in London was named after the famous 1969 Beatles album
And there’s plenty more where that came from in our London Lies for Tourists.
