Scotland Fun Facts!

I faxed my driving record to the consulate on Friday morning.  I was wigging out all Thursday night because it says "Non-Certified" and does not include the fines I had to pay, and the certified copy I ordered is not going to be here in anything like a timely manner.  But surely they'll email me again if what I faxed is not good enough, right?  Right, guys?  RIGHT???

Enough anxious nonsense.  It's time for SCOTLAND FUN FACTS!!!  :D

- Population: approximately 5.2 million.  More people live in London than in all of Scotland.
- Patron saint: St. Andrew.  That's his cross you'll find on the blue and white Scottish flag, or Saltire.
- Edinburgh's population is 486,000, making it slightly larger than Raleigh, NC.  Edinburgh is the second largest city in Scotland (next to Glasgow) and the seventh-largest in the United Kingdom.
- There are only four cities in Scotland with populations over 100,000: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Dundee.
- Highest point: Ben Nevis, at 1,343 meters, or not as high as Mt. Mitchell.  More people die each year trying to climb Ben Nevis than Mt. Everest.
- Much of Scotland was once volcanic, which is what makes the scenery so spectacular.  Edinburgh itself is built on several volcanic hills, the most recognizable of which include Castle Rock, Arthur's Seat, and Calton Hill.
- Scotland has 790 islands, which can be roughly divided into Shetland, Orkney, and the Inner and Outer Hebrides.  130 of them are inhabited.
- The Orkney and Shetland Islands once belonged to Norway; you will therefore find a lot of Norse and Viking influences there, from architecture to family names.
- The official flower is the thistle and the official animal is the unicorn.  Scotland is the only country I know of which has a fictional creature for its official animal.
- Scotland has no official national anthem, but it does have an unofficial one: "Flower of Scotland," written by Roy Williamson of The Corries.
- Most widely spoken languages: English and Scots Gaelic (pronounced "gallic").  You'll mostly find Scots Gaelic spoken in the western highlands and islands.  All the road signs are bilingual in that part of the country, as well.  Some of my Scottish friends would have my head if I didn't also mention Lowland Scots...which is more of an English dialect than a separate language.
- It is technically correct to call a Scottish person British, because "Britain" is the name for the island which England, Scotland, and Wales comprise.  It is technically incorrect to call a Scottish person Scotch - Scotch is whisky.  (I have tried to explain this to my 84-year-old English grandmother several times, to no avail.)  And for the love of God, whatever you do, do NOT call a Scottish person English!