Published on 12, July, 2020
I encourage you to reply, but not more than once a day, with a interesting new fact. Let’s stretch this out instead of dumping all the interesting facts out all at once. (Btw feel free to comment on the interesting facts as much and as often as you want)
edit: posting a source for your fact is strongly encouraged.
Stuart Drummond was probably the only elected mayor in the UK to have campaigned successfully as a monkey. He wore a monkey suit throughout the run-up to the election, the mascot of the local football (soccer) team. He was elected in 2002 and held office until 2013 when the people of Hartlepool voted in a referendum to end the elected mayoralty. [Wikipedia]
IIRC the monkey mascot is called Hangus because according to legend, the Hartlepoolians hanged a monkey because they thought it was French... or something. People are so ridiculous.
Yes, I think it was during the Napoleonic war. A French warship foundered off the coast, I don't know if it was due to the weather, bad navigation or the Royal Navy. Most of the crew sadly drowned, but the ship's mascot, a monkey, managed to get ashore. The locals thought he was a Frenchman and promptly lynched him.
Sad. I'm a proud supporter of "Singe Sans Frontiers", a lesser known cousin organisation of Medicine Sans Frontiers.