Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Fun Facts

Today is the official halfway point in my study abroad program!  It's been work, work, work these past few days.  I've been trying to churn out these two papers so I can relax and enjoy the remainder of my time here.  I've been doing approximately 8 or 9 hours per day of school work (3.5 hours of seminars/lecture and 4.5 or 5.5 hours of homework).  There's still so much I want to see around Oxford, so I am motivated to wrap it up!  I want to visit Carfax Tower, Oxford Castle, the Ashmolean Museum, and more!  In doing some research about what I still need to explore, I stumbled upon some fun facts about Oxford, and I'd like to share...
  • Oxford's population is 150,000, of which 42,000 are students.
  • Hitler intended to set up his Nazi headquarters in Oxford if he conquered England.  The site that he chose is now part of the Bodleian Library.
  • Oxford has more published writers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
  • Oxford is home to the creators of Alice in Wonderland, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Inspector Morse, and has also provided filming locations for Harry Potter.
  • The University of Cambridge, known to this day in Oxford as 'the other place', was actually founded by Oxford scholars.
  • Oxford University has educated 25 British Prime Ministers, including Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.
  • Other famous Oxford scholars include:  Bill Clinton, Hugh Grant, TS Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Christopher Wren, William Penn, Stephen Hawking, and many more.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Heather!

    I just wanted to let you know that I have been following your blog since the beginning and I really love it! I'm a bit of a Anglophile and I would love to explore more of the UK if I had the time and the means! But studying there for a month is also such a great idea because despite the grueling schoolwork, you'll have more opportunities this way to develop long-lasting friendships! So I'm living vicariously through you so please keep up all of your great work on this blog! I look forward to each and every one of them every day! Just wanted to let you know even though I don't comment every time.

    Cheers!
    June from San Francisco, CA

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