The Isle of Man is an undoubtedly unique place… Think otherworldly folklore tales, unexpected wildlife, natural phenomenon, strange cultural practices and more. Here are 30 quirky facts that we bet you didn’t know about the Extraordinary Isle.
1. The Isle of Man is the world’s first entire nation UNESCO Biosphere.
2. The author of the Thomas the Tank Engine series credited the Isle of Man as inspiration for the fictional Island of Sodor, the name of which references the Manx ecclesiastical diocese of Sodor and Mann.
3. Manx Gaelic is an ancient language still spoken on the Isle of Man. It shares similarities with Irish and Scottish Gaelic, but also contains hints of Old Norse from when the Vikings arrived on the Island.
4. The Isle of Man has the largest concentration of Dark Skies sites in the British Isles.
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5. The Isle of Man was the first place in the world to give women the vote.
6. The Iapetus Suture, one of the world’s major geological faults caused by the collision of ancient land masses, can be seen at Niarbyl on the Island’s southwest coast. The Niarbyl Fault is an exposed section of the Iapetus Suture that crosses through the Irish Sea.
7. The Isle of Man is home to Manx Loaghtans, a rare breed of sheep with brown wool and four horns, far from the stereotype that you picture when you think of sheep!
8. The Isle of Man has its own traditional sport, named Cammag, which is similar to hurling or shinty in other Celtic nations.
9. On the Isle of Man, locals won’t say the word rat, instead spelling out the word or referring to them as longtails. When the Boomtown Rats performed on the IOM, they changed their name to the Boomtown Longtails for one night only.
10. The Peel P50, created on the Isle of Man, holds the title of the world’s smallest production car.
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11. The Isle of Man is home to the world’s oldest continuous parliament, Tynwald.
12. Archibald Knox was a Manx designer who was best known for being Liberty’s primary designer and is considered a leading figure on the Modern Style movement, with many of his designs being inspired by the Island’s Celtic and Norse carved stone crosses.
13. There are no motorways on the Isle of Man!
14. There are many building ruins on the Isle of Man, locally known as tholtans, that were more often than not former dwellings located in rural, hard to access locations. Hundreds of these haunting structures can be found around the Island.
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15. Most Manx people won’t risk crossing the Fairy Bridge on the A5 between Douglas and Castletown without stopping to say hello to the fairies, or in Manx “Moghrey mie Vooinjer Veggey” (Good morning Fairies) or “Fastyr mie Vooinjet Veggey” (Good afternoon Fairies) in Manx.
16. Children on the Isle of Man celebrate Hop tu Naa rather than Halloween, carving turnips (locally referred to as moots), rather than pumpkins.
17. The Isle of Man is home to the world’s oldest working water wheel, the Great Laxey Wheel.
18. The Isle of Man is home to the Manx Cat breed, a cat that’s either completely tailless or only has a small stub of a tail.
19. The Island is home to the world’s largest motorcycle road race, the Isle of Man TT Races.
20. One of the Island’s most prominent folklore tales is that of Gef the Mongoose, a talking mongoose that inhabited a farmhouse in Dalby back in the 1930s, it was even investigated by the International Institute for Psychical Research.
21. Every summer the Island holds the Parish Walk, which sees participants walking around the Isle of Man, ticking off each parish (county/district) with a visit to each Parish church.
22. The Bee Gees were born on the Isle of Man and are commemorated with a statue on Douglas Promenade.
23. The Isle of Man is known for its queenies, also known as queen scallops, having been crowned the Island’s national dish. In 2012 Isle of Man queenies were awarded the European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) stamp, meaning that they can only be labelled as such if they come from the designated region, the Isle of Man.
24. There’s a number of British wildlife species that are notably absent from the Isle of Man; foxes, badgers, squirrels, and voles.
25. The Isle of Man is dotted with keeills, primitive chapels that were built between the 6th and 12th centuries. There was more than 200 keeills on the Island in years gone by, now the remains of many of the stone keeills can still be found. Keeills of note can be found at Spooyt Vane, Balladoole, Maughold Churchyard, and Lag ny Keeilley in Patrick.
26. The Isle of Man still has an operating traditional horse drawn tramway on Douglas Promenade.
27. The mother of infamous suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst and Mary Jane Clarke was a Manx woman who was credited for having an important influence on her daughters’ political beliefs.
28. From the top of the Island’s only mountain, Snaefell, on a clear day you can see what locals refer to as the Seven Kingdoms; Isle of Man, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Heaven and the sea.
29. The Island is home to a wide variety of incredible wildlife, including; risso's dolphins, grey seals, hen harriers, chough and more.
30. The Isle of Man prints its own unique coins and banknotes, despite using the pound sterling currency.
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