There are three Scottish place names which contain only two letters-Oa, Ae, and Bu.
Five species of deer can be found in Scotland-Red Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, the small Sika introduced from Japan, and Reindeer.
The shortest scheduled flight in the world is one and a half miles from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkneys. The trip takes 1 min 14 sec.
Edinburgh has more booksellers per head of population than any other city in Britain.
Britain's narrowest hotel is the Star in Moffat. It is 20 feet wide, has eight bedrooms, two bars and a restaurant seating 70.
A Scottish mile is 1,984 yards compared to the norm of 1,760 yards.
The Lincoln Monument in Edinburgh's Old Carlton Cemetery was the first statue of an American president to be constructed outside the US.
There are approximately 450 golf courses in Scotland.
Johnny Walker Red Label is the world's largest selling whisky brand.
Strathisla, in Keith, founded in 1785 is the oldest working malt whisky distillery in the Highlands.
Tomatin Distillery is the largest in Scotland making malt whisky.
The Scottish people of today are made up of Scots, Picts, Britons, Celts, Angles, Vikings, Normans, Flemings, Dutch, Pakistanis, Sikhs, and Bangladeshi.
Loch Lomond is Britains' largest fresh water lake, 23 miles long and one and a half to five miles wide. There are 24 islands on it. Scotland is divided physically by "faults", which are great fractures of rock strata.
The Highland clearances in the 19th century resulted in the emigration of Scots to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Landlords evicted tenants to make way for sheep, as mutton and wool were more profitable.
Scotland's national flag is the St. Andrew's cross-a white cross on -a blue background - known as the Saltire. The Lion Rampant, often used to represent Scotland is in fact an illegal display of the banner.
Scotland's oldest inhabited castle is Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye.
The largest ship ever built in Scotland was the Queen Elizabeth, launched in 1938. The smaller QE II was launched by Queen Elizabeth in 1967.
The population of Scotland is approximately five and a half million. Its area is 30,411 square miles including 787 islands.
Inverewe Gardens near Poolewe is in the same latitude as Siberia and Labrador but the plants grown there are sub-tropical-from South America, South Africa and the South Pacific. The Gulf Steam makes this possible.
Golf has been played in St. Andrews since its arrival from Holland in the 15th Century. The Old Course is the oldest in the world.
McGill University in Montreal was founded in 1744 by a Glasgow fur-trader of the same name.
The Witches Well on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade marks the spot where more than 300 witches were burned between 1479 and 1722.
A large proportion of Indian tea plantations were developed by Scots. By the late 1800s, a Glasgow trader named Thomas Lipton controlled a tenth of the entire tea trade.
There are two river Dee's in Scotland, in the Grampian and Galloway regions.
In 1645 the bubonic plague devastated the city of Edinburgh.
Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to land on the moon, was part Scottish.
Ceilidh is Gaelic for 'visit'. People in remote areas used to gather in each others' homes for entertainment, each contributing a song, a poem, a story or instrumental music.
Heather grows in great abundance in Scotland, as it thrives on the sort of acid soil prevalent in many parts of the country.
Paisley was the world's leading producer of thread.
Oats is the chief crop in Scotland, because the cool, moist climate is most suited for growing that crop. Oats are able to grow on poor soil, which is common in the Highlands.
Alan Pinkerton, born in Glasgow founded the world famous detective agency.
John Muir, father of the American Conservation movement was born in Dunbar in 1838.
The most Scottish immigrants are in Canada. Australia is in second place.
James IV came to the throne at age fifteen. King James practised dentistry and charged his patients for the extractions.