Things you didn't know about... South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire, home of the world's oldest football club

The world's oldest football club, Sheffield FC (not to be confused with Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday) is in South Yorkshire. The club, which celebrated its 150th birthday in 2007, was originally formed by two cricketers who wanted to stay fit during the winter months.

South Yorkshire, home of the world's oldest football ground

Another South Yorkshire football club, Hallam FC, is officially recognised as having the world's oldest football ground, Sandygate Road. The match between Sheffield and Hallam is thought to be the world's oldest football derby.

South Yorkshire is at the cutting edge

You may know that the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield is the birthplace of stainless steel (it was invented by Harry Brearley in 1913). But did you know that over half of the world's surgical blades are made in Sheffield?

Inventors get inspired in South Yorkshire

Both the screw-down water tap and the Bailey Bridge were invented in South Yorkshire—in Rotherham, to be precise. The latter is a type of portable, pre-fabricated bridge that was said by Winston Churchill to have shortened the war by a couple of years.

Spirtualism is alive and well in South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire has a high number of spiritualists. It's reputedly the only county that counts as a full region within The Spiritualists' National Union.

Goldfish longevity peaks in South Yorkshire

Tish, the record-breaking goldfish, lived to the ripe old age of 43, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Back in 1956 the fish was won as a prize at a fair in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, by Peter Hand. When Tish passed away in 1999, he was buried in a yoghurt carton at the bottom of Peter's parents' garden.

Codswallop comes from South Yorkshire... maybe

The Hope Glassworks at Stairfoot, South Yorkshire, made drinks manufacturer Hiram Codd's glass bottles. The story goes that many of the millions that were made were used for a beer called "wallop". Which is why Codd's wallop is thought to be the origin of the expression "codswallop", meaning nonsense or rubbish.