Portal:Singapore/Did you know

DYK 1

A live adult Limicolaria flammea

• ... that there have been proposed urgent eradication of Limicolaria flammea (pictured) in Singapore?

• ... that Ong Kim Seng is the only Asian artist outside the USA to be admitted into the American Watercolor Society, having won six awards from the society?

• ... that free MMS were sent out to all 5.5 million mobile phone subscribers in Singapore to alert them of the prison break of ISA detainee Mas Selamat bin Kastari?

• ... that Singapore paid uneducated women to get sterilised as part of its Stop at Two campaign?

• ... that John Little, established in 1845, is the oldest department store in Singapore?

DYK 2

Supreme Court Building, Singapore

• ... that the High Court of Singapore (Supreme Court Building pictured) is the sole court in Singapore exercising original criminal jurisdiction that may impose the death penalty?

• ... that through the opening of the Thomson MRT Line and Eastern Region MRT Line by 2020, Singapore's rail network density will rise from 31 km per million residents today to 51 km per million, surpassing what Hong Kong and Tokyo currently have?

• ... that the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of Singapore allows restrictions to be placed on religious leaders who promote political causes under the guise of religious activity?

• ...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 the apparent disparagement of Singapore as a "little red dot" by former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie has come to be used by Singaporeans with pride?

DYK 3

The Majestic

• ... that The Majestic in Singapore was an opera house built by tin and rubber magnate Eu Tong Sen in 1928 for his wife who was a Cantonese opera fan?

• ...that Central Fire Station, the oldest existing fire station in Singapore, had only four portable water pumps when it was completed in 1908?

• ... that Singaporean dancer, choreographer and teacher Neila Sathyalingam, who dances in the classical Indian style, decided to devote her life to dance after performing for Queen Elizabeth II?

• ... that during the Singaporean parliamentary general election of 2011 the opposition Workers' Party won a Group Representation Constituency for the first time?

• ...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?

DYK 4

The coat of arms of Singapore

• ... that the tiger in the Coat of arms of Singapore (pictured) represents Malaysia?

• ... that during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore the Kempeitai East District Branch was the site of interrogation and torture of many civilians and that later the building housed the YMCA?

• ... that Choa Chu Kang Community Library was the first library in Singapore to install self-check machines for borrowing and returning of books?

• ... that the late Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan became a neurosurgeon after seeing the effects of Minamata disease in Minamata, Japan, as a medical student?

• ... that 159 soldiers of the Malay Regiment fought against a 13,000-strong Japanese force to defend a hill position in Singapore’s Kent Ridge Park?

DYK 5

The Singapore Power Building

• ... that the architecture of the Singapore Power Building (pictured) was influenced by Gerhad M. Kallmann's Boston City Hall and Le Corbusier's Sainte Marie de La Tourette?

• ... that Liang Wern Fook, a pioneer of Singapore's xinyao movement, has composed over 200 songs?

• ... that Singaporean citizenship was first granted in 1957 when Singapore was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom?

• ... that the first Director of Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department, Glenn Knight, was also the first legal officer in the country to be charged for corruption?

• ... that Dragon's Teeth Gate, an ancient navigational landmark, was documented in one of the earliest historic records of Singapore?

DYK 6

A sign at the Speakers' corner

• ... that people making speeches at Speakers' Corner in Singapore (pictured) must use one of Singapore's four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil – or a related dialect?

• ... that the Bukit Timah Monkey Man is a Singapore cryptid said to inhabit the centrally forested Bukit Timah area?

• ... that under the Vandalism Act of Singapore, a person convicted for the first time of vandalism by defacing property using an indelible substance such as paint must be sentenced to caning?

• ... that Runme Shaw, philanthropist and founder of the Shaw Organisation, started his Singapore movie business in a makeshift timber cinema known as The Empire in 1927?

• ... that The Float@Marina Bay, a venue of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as the world's largest floating stage?

DYK 7

Golden Mile Complex

• ... that the Golden Mile Complex (pictured), which was designed as an avant-garde building with a stepped terrace structure, was once described as a "vertical slum" by a Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament?

• ... that Singapore's Ee Hoe Hean Club, a century-old millionaires' club for Chinese businessmen, became a headquarters of an anti-Japanese movement in Southeast Asia from 1937-1942?

• ... that in her début at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tao Li broke the Asian record for the 100m butterfly twice and became the first Singaporean swimmer to enter an Olympic final?

• ... that Farrer Park is where Singapore's first racecourse was built and the island's aviation history began?

• ... that at the age of 10, Megan Zheng became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award?

DYK 8

The Buddhist Library of Singapore

• ... that the Buddhist Library (pictured), which is located in a shophouse, is Singapore's first dedicated Buddhist library and is unique in that it is neither an association nor a temple?

• ... that John Martin Scripps was the first Briton in Singapore to be sentenced to death by hanging?

• ... 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 Presidential Council for Minority Rights, a Singaporean body that ensures laws do not discriminate against racial or religious minorities, has not issued an adverse report since its creation?

• ... 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?

DYK 9

Edgedale

• ...that the Singapore Government has introduced the "Punggol 21-plus" plan to re-vitalise Punggol New Town (pictured), after an unsuccessful attempt in the late 1990s?

• ... that Catherine Lim's 1994 essay The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide invoked such a strong response from the Singapore government, its then-PM Goh Chok Tong outlined which topics were permissible for public discussion?

• ... that Tang Choon Keng, who established Tangs and built the former Dynasty Hotel, was also known as the "Tin Trunk Man" in Singapore for his rags to riches legacy?

• ... that four Japanese War Memorials found in the Japanese Cemetery Park were built without knowledge of the British colonial government of Singapore?

• ... that the Former Singapore Badminton Hall was marked as a historical site by Singapore's National Heritage Board in 1999, as it held two Thomas Cup tournaments and was the vote counting station for a landmark 1962 referendum?

DYK 10

The Concourse

• ... that the tower of Paul Rudolph's The Concourse (pictured) is octagonal in plan, as the number "8" is associated with prosperity in Chinese culture?

• ... 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 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 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?

• ... 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?

DYK 11

The City Hall and Old Supreme Court Building

• ... that the National Art Gallery of Singapore will incorporate two national monuments — the Old Supreme Court Building and the City Hall (both pictured)?

• ... that Chia Thye Poh, formerly detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act, has been called "the world's second longest serving prisoner-of-conscience after South Africa's Nelson Mandela"?

• ... that former chef Aziza Ali is credited with establishing Singapore's first Malay restaurant?

• ... that animator Nickson Fong is the first Singaporean to receive an Academy Award?

• ... that the Singapore Constitution that came into force on 9 August 1965 was not drafted as a single document but was made up of provisions from three separate statutes?

DYK 12

The Supreme Court of Singapore at night

• ... that the Singapore High Court (pictured) can grant the remedy of declaring void a law inconsistent with the Constitution enacted before its commencement, even though Article 4 seems to say otherwise?

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