12-03-2018, 04:48 PM
This thread is similar to Crooked Crow's Nest of Interesting Facts - but, instead of sharing things that we know to be true, we're sharing urban myths. They may or may not be true, but they're widely-believed and circulated - and, in many cases, we probably want them to be true, even if they aren't .
I'll start with this one:
When Tsar Nicholas I of Russia visited London in 1844, he was taken to Vauxhall railway station to see the trains. However, when he saw the station name board that said "Vauxhall", he mistakenly thought this was the generic term for a railway station, rather than the name of that specific station. Consequently, to this day, the Russian word for 'railway station' is 'вокзал', or 'vokzal'. (IMO, this is unlikely to be true: while this is indeed the Russian word for 'railway station', the first railway station in Russia opened in 1837 - seven years before the Tsar's visit was alleged to have taken place, and three years before the station was even built. I really want it to be true, though!)
So, has anybody got any more?
I'll start with this one:
When Tsar Nicholas I of Russia visited London in 1844, he was taken to Vauxhall railway station to see the trains. However, when he saw the station name board that said "Vauxhall", he mistakenly thought this was the generic term for a railway station, rather than the name of that specific station. Consequently, to this day, the Russian word for 'railway station' is 'вокзал', or 'vokzal'. (IMO, this is unlikely to be true: while this is indeed the Russian word for 'railway station', the first railway station in Russia opened in 1837 - seven years before the Tsar's visit was alleged to have taken place, and three years before the station was even built. I really want it to be true, though!)
So, has anybody got any more?
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