From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
...that
Central Fire Station , the oldest existing
fire station in
Singapore , had only four
portable
water pumps when it was completed in
1908 ?
...that the
Jinricksha Station is
Singapore 's last reminder of the once ubiquitous
rickshaw , which was phased out after
World War II ?
CHIJMES (Did You Know...mention 30 January 2006 )
...that
CHIJMES , a historic building complex in
Singapore , began life as a
Catholic
convent in the
1850s and has been
gazetted as
national monument ?
...that the
July 2005
NKF scandal led to a backlash from the
donors to the charity, resulting in the resignation of the board of directors?
...that the
Old Ford Motor Factory ,
Ford 's first assembly plant in
Southeast Asia and built in 1941, was the site of the historic surrender of the
British to the
Japanese in
World War II , later described by
Winston Churchill as the "largest capitulation in British history"?
...that
The Observatory , a
Singaporean
space rock band released their first album packaged as a
diary , complete with torn pages and paperclipped photos?
...that
Saint Jack , a 1979 fiction
film about a
prostitute in
Singapore and the only
Hollywood film about Singapore to be shot
on location , was banned in the country until 2006?
...that the
EMAS has been so effective in monitoring traffic conditions on
Singapore 's
expressways that the
LTA removed most
SOS
telephones from the expressways as a result?
...that completion of the
West Coast Highway
viaduct — the longest in
Singapore — was delayed for more than two years because of the
contractor 's financial problems?
...that
Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka is the oldest
mosque in Singapore and was established in 1820, just a year after the
British set up a trading post in
Singapore ?
...that a detailed
Development Guide Plan exists for each of
Singapore 's 55
urban planning areas ?
... that
Yueh Hai Ching Temple is the oldest
Taoist
temple in
Singapore , and
Chinese Emperor
Guang Xu presented a
plaque to the temple in
1907 ?
...that although
archaeologists in Singapore have discovered many
artifacts , they do not have government support for their work, and there is no centralised place to store the artifacts?
...that the
Chesed-El Synagogue , built in 1905, is the second
synagogue for the
Jewish community in
Singapore , and was also one of the first places to use
gaslights in Singapore?
....that
Escape from Paradise , a book which documents a
Singaporean woman's divorce, was removed from
bookstores and
libraries in the country in 2002, even after it had been reviewed in the Singapore press?
...that
graves in Singapore are exhumed 15 years after
burial , and the remains are
cremated or re-buried?
...that although the
Constitution of Singapore had been revised in 1958 to implement
self-government for the then
British
colony of
Singapore , self-government was only officially achieved with the
Singapore general election of 1959 ?
Merdeka , (Did you know, mention 18 June 2006 )
...that the
Malay word
Merdeka has been used in both
Singapore and
Malaysia to describe the campaigns for
self-government and
independence in both countries?
Ah Meng , (Did you know, mention 23 June 2006 )
...that
Ah Meng , a
Sumatran Orangutan and tourism icon of
Singapore , had breakfast with celebrities including the
Duke of Edinburgh and pop star
Michael Jackson ?
... that
Singapore 's
Police Coast Guard is a
coast guard and
water police service that is also responsible for maintenance of order on most of Singapore's
off-shore islands ?
...that
Central Sikh Temple was
Singapore 's first
gurdwara when it was first set up in a
police
barracks in the 1880s?
...that the
Old Ministry of Labour Building in
Singapore housed the
Chinese Protectorate before
World War II , and has been gazetted as a
national monument ?
...that the
Civilian War Memorial in
Singapore was built in 1967 in memory of the civilians massacred during the
Japanese Occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945?
...that the original
stained glass windows of the
Saint George's Church in
Singapore were packed away for safekeeping before the
Japanese Occupation of Singapore but were never found since?
Singapore 2006 , (In the news, mention 14-17 September 2006; 19-22 September 2006 )
...The
61st Annual Meetings of the
World Bank Group and the
International Monetary Fund commence in
Singapore under strict security.
...At the
61st Annual Meetings of the
World Bank Group and the
International Monetary Fund held in
Singapore , a reform of the IMF is adopted to give
China and other
emerging markets more voting rights.
...that the
Queen Elizabeth Walk in
Singapore was built on
reclaimed land in 1922 and that it was renamed in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ?
...that a
fountain was built by the
British colonial government to commemorate
Tan Kim Seng ' s
$ 13,000 contribution towards
Singapore 's first public
waterworks ?
...that
Pagoda Street in
Chinatown, Singapore was named after the
pagoda -like
gopuram of
Sri Mariamman Temple ?
...that
Hong San See , a Chinese
temple and
national monument in Singapore , was sited on a small hill for good
fengshui and once commanded a good view of the sea?
...that
Ying Fo Fui Kun is the first
Hakka
clan association in
Singapore , and its clan house at
Telok Ayer has been
gazetted as a
national monument in 1998?
... that
Keong Saik Road in
Chinatown, Singapore was formerly a
red-light district in the 1960s but is now the site of many
boutique hotels ?
...that
The Cenotaph is
Singapore 's first major
war memorial built in memory of the people who gave their lives in
World War I , and was unveiled by the young
Prince Edward of Wales , later
King Edward VIII ?
...that
Duxton Hill in
Singapore used to be a notorious
slum area with
brothels ,
opium and gambling dens, but now belongs to a
conservation area known as
Tanjong Pagar ?
...that
Esplanade Park , built in 1943, is one of the oldest
parks in
Singapore , and has a number of historical
landmarks which include the
former Indian National Army Monument site and
The Cenotaph ?
......that
Wee Siew Kim , a
Singaporean
MP , had to apologise after
scandal broke out involving an
elitist
blog entry made by his daughter?
...that in
1819 ,
Hussein Shah , the seventeenth
Sultan of Johor , allowed a
British settlement in Singapore in order to wrest the throne from his brother with the help of the British, leading to the
Malay Peninsula 's colonisation?
...that during construction of the
Fort Canning Tunnel , special care was taken to minimize environmental impact on the surrounding
Fort Canning Park ?
...that
Singapore 's
Museum Planning Area contains ten
national monuments ?
...that the
Southern Islands of
Singapore are being developed into a getaway for the ultra-wealthy, similar to
Dubai 's
Palm Islands ?
... that the
Istana Kampong Glam is a former
Malay
palace in
Singapore , and was refurbished into the
Malay Heritage Centre in 2004?
...that
Singapore Dreaming bagged
Singapore its first IFFPA-recognised award at an
international
feature
film festival ?
...that the
Coleman Bridge in
Singapore was the second
bridge built across the
Singapore River , and the first built in
masonry ?
...that the
statue of the
Blessed Virgin Mary at the
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary , a
national monument in
Singapore , was given by
Sultan Ibrahim of
Johor in
Malaysia ?
...that
Pulau Senang was a
penal
settlement in
Singapore but shut down after only three years when a
riot broke out in
1963 ?
...that
Farrer Park is where
Singapore 's first
racecourse was built and the island's
aviation history began?
...that
Pulau Sejahat was a
British
military
encampment in
Singapore during
World War II whose gun
batteries were never used against Japanese invaders?
...that despite the
1997 Asian financial crisis , the
Singaporean film
Money No Enough earned over S$5.8 million, and remains Singapore's all-time highest-grossing film?
Inuka , (Did you know, mention 31 December 2006 )
...that
Inuka , a
polar bear who is the
mascot of the
Singapore Zoo , is the first and only polar bear born in the
tropics ?
...that
Chingay Parade in
Singapore , a display of floats, music and dances, is a major festival in Asia attended by more than 200,000 people and watched by millions on TV across Asia?
...that more than one thousand people are
caned in Singapore each year using a
bamboo
cane that has been soaked in water overnight to prevent splitting?
...that to prepare for future
examinations , Singapore students use the
ten year series to practice on past years' examination papers, some of which date back to before they were
born ?
...that the
Gurkha Contingent of the
Singapore Police Force is the world's only
police department outside of
Nepal to be comprised of
Gurkhas , and it is currently the only military or police unit in
Singapore to be headed by a
Briton ?
...that
Jurong Falls is the tallest man-made
waterfall in the world at 30 metres tall and it is located at the
Jurong BirdPark which also houses the world's most numerous bird collection??
...that
Cavenagh Bridge , the only
suspension bridge in
Singapore , was originally designed as a
drawbridge but on its completion in
1869 was found to be suitable only as a fixed structure, and is now a
pedestrian bridge?