Work in progress
Created | Updated Jun 19, 2003
The Isle of Man. An island unfamiliar to many people, often confused with the Isle of Wight. It's in the middle of the Irish Sea, though it is frequently missing from simplistic maps of Great Britain. Celts, Vikings, more recent Irish, Scottish, Scouse and other ex-patriate peoples. expand on 'comeovers'.
Significant industries
Finance and Tourism. expand on TT - Joey Dunlop
Significant exports
kippers and thermocouples.
Significant artists
Archibald Knox and T.E.Brown
Differences from the rest of the UK
cats (tailless),
government (which leads to most of the other differences, coinage and stamps (difficult or impossible to get accepted in UK),
tax (income and inheritance),
national speed limit (none),
road fatalities (well publicised)
Manx jokes:
A tourist having a pint of Okell's beer in the pub is joined at the bar by a fisherman with a bucket of live crabs. The fisherman gets a drink and ignores the bucket.
The tourist watches as the crabs skitter about trying to climb out of the bucket. He says to the fisherman "Aren't you afraid you'll lose your crabs?"
The fisherman glances down at the bucket and replies, "No, those there are Manx crabs. As soon as it looks like one of them is going to get out the others gang up and pull him back down to their level."
How many Manxmen does it take to change a lightbulb?
It can't be done - the Manx don't like change.
Not sidesplitters admittedly, but would raise a wry smile from many who are familiar with the insular nature often portrayed as being typiclly Manx.
