As we already know the result of the Dutch GP here's something a bit different, The Unbelievable Truth. Hidden in the following nonsense are various truths about The Netherlands. Your task, should you accept it, is to find those truths.
We all know the Dutch like cycling, this is because the bicycle was invented by a Dutchman, Guido van Peedalman. The Dutch people own, on average, 1.3 bicycles per person. Lewis Hamilton famously comes from the slum town of Stevenage, the building of the first houses of the New Town was in 1950. Almere in Flevoland used the roundabouts and underpasses of Stevenage New Town as a template for their city.
The Dutch love orange, despite it being the colour officially regarded as being most despised by F1 fans. Carrots are orange, but in olden times carrots were actually white, purple and yellow. Dutch farmers deliberately bred orange carrots to celebrate their Royal Family, something for us all to think about when having our next roast dinner. Dutch are statistically the tallest nation in the world, as a result when Dutch politicians travel around the world they have a team of diggers who are tasked with creating 20cm holes for them to stand in to make sure they don't tower over their opposite numbers from other nations.
Bridges were invented by Ruud de Bridgemaker, a Dutch amateur engineer who in the 8th century married a woman who lived on the other side of a river. The wedding ceremony involved him and his bride to be, Marta van Ballbreaker, shouting their vows at one another. A bridge was, of course, essential for him to be able to consummate his marriage. To celebrate this hero the Dutch have built over 1,200 bridges in their capital, Amsterdam, so that horny stag party attendees can get to visit prostitutes without having to swim a canal. There are over 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands. These were needed as over 2/3rd of the Netherlands was below sea level in the 16th century and the windmills were used to lift up the land from the sea so they could put bricks underneath. Now only 1/3rd of the country is below sea level.
The Netherlands has given us some great musicians, for example Eddie van Halen and Andre Rieu (I did a quick search and they were the only two I knew). The Dutch National Anthem, Het Wilhelmus, is the oldest patriotic song in the world and was adopted as their anthem in 1932. So you can sing along at the upcoming race here at the lyrics:
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik van Duitsen bloed
den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje
ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje
heb ik altijd geëerd.
Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
op U zo wil ik bouwen,
verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven,
uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hart doorwondt.
Which translate as:
William of Nassau am I, of German descent;
True to the fatherland I remain until death.
Prince of Orange am I, free and fearless.
To the King of Spain I have always given honour.
You, my God and Lord, are my shield, on You I rely.
On You I will build; never leave me,
So that I may remain pious, your servant at all moments,
Dispelling the tyranny that wounds my heart.
The Dutch GP is 72 laps of a 4.259 km circuit. Here's the schedule, enjoy. Well, try not to scream too loudly as Max tops every session, takes pole, lead every lap, and sets the fastest even though he will be making a pit stop every 5 laps "just for a laugh".
We all know the Dutch like cycling, this is because the bicycle was invented by a Dutchman, Guido van Peedalman. The Dutch people own, on average, 1.3 bicycles per person. Lewis Hamilton famously comes from the slum town of Stevenage, the building of the first houses of the New Town was in 1950. Almere in Flevoland used the roundabouts and underpasses of Stevenage New Town as a template for their city.
The Dutch love orange, despite it being the colour officially regarded as being most despised by F1 fans. Carrots are orange, but in olden times carrots were actually white, purple and yellow. Dutch farmers deliberately bred orange carrots to celebrate their Royal Family, something for us all to think about when having our next roast dinner. Dutch are statistically the tallest nation in the world, as a result when Dutch politicians travel around the world they have a team of diggers who are tasked with creating 20cm holes for them to stand in to make sure they don't tower over their opposite numbers from other nations.
Bridges were invented by Ruud de Bridgemaker, a Dutch amateur engineer who in the 8th century married a woman who lived on the other side of a river. The wedding ceremony involved him and his bride to be, Marta van Ballbreaker, shouting their vows at one another. A bridge was, of course, essential for him to be able to consummate his marriage. To celebrate this hero the Dutch have built over 1,200 bridges in their capital, Amsterdam, so that horny stag party attendees can get to visit prostitutes without having to swim a canal. There are over 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands. These were needed as over 2/3rd of the Netherlands was below sea level in the 16th century and the windmills were used to lift up the land from the sea so they could put bricks underneath. Now only 1/3rd of the country is below sea level.
The Netherlands has given us some great musicians, for example Eddie van Halen and Andre Rieu (I did a quick search and they were the only two I knew). The Dutch National Anthem, Het Wilhelmus, is the oldest patriotic song in the world and was adopted as their anthem in 1932. So you can sing along at the upcoming race here at the lyrics:
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik van Duitsen bloed
den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje
ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje
heb ik altijd geëerd.
Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
op U zo wil ik bouwen,
verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven,
uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hart doorwondt.
Which translate as:
William of Nassau am I, of German descent;
True to the fatherland I remain until death.
Prince of Orange am I, free and fearless.
To the King of Spain I have always given honour.
You, my God and Lord, are my shield, on You I rely.
On You I will build; never leave me,
So that I may remain pious, your servant at all moments,
Dispelling the tyranny that wounds my heart.
The Dutch GP is 72 laps of a 4.259 km circuit. Here's the schedule, enjoy. Well, try not to scream too loudly as Max tops every session, takes pole, lead every lap, and sets the fastest even though he will be making a pit stop every 5 laps "just for a laugh".
