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Did you know that coconut oil was used to light street lamps in Singapore in the early 19th century?

Careful restoration work was undertaken to ensure that the Old Ford Factory's façade remained as close as possible to the building's original facade when it was first completed in 1941. Now a national monument called Memories of Old Ford Factory, the boardroom where the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, remains intact. It contains a replica of the original table (the original is with the Australian War Memorial), a clock set at the exact time of the surrender, and a map of Malaya.

The old spiral staircase leads up to the National Museum's roof. It was originally found in someone's private residence. The rod iron structure of the staircase is similar to that of the intricately designed railings that overlook the first floor lobby. The metal engraved patterns on the balustrades resemble the one found in the Victorian Albert Hall in London.

The Sunda Pangolin is a scaly anteater that is found in Singapore and various other parts of Southeast Asia. A shy and solitary animal, it is considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in Singapore and has been classified as "critically endangered". In separate incidents in August and September 2008, two pangolins were killed while crossing Jalan Bahar and Kranji Expressway. The number of such animals in the wild here are unknown.

Seletar Airport is the oldest aerodrome in operation in the country. Completed in 1929, it was purpose-built for the British Royal Air Force and was their first airbase in the Far East.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Ford Factory was designated as a "butai" or Japanese facility. Nissan, which was then a prominent "zaibatsu" or Japanese multinational company, took over the plant to assemble military trucks and other vehicles for the Japanese occupying forces.

The original name for Sentosa was Pulau Blakang Mati meaning in Malay 'Island Behind Death'. This is believed to stem from a legend which said a Malay had been murdered behind the hill on the island. This could be linked to piracy which was once common in the area. The island was renamed Sentosa meaning 'Isle of Tranquility' in Malay in 1972.

Legend has it that Pulau Ubin was formed when three animals from Singapore (a frog, a pig and an elephant) challenged each other to a race to reach Johor. The animals that failed would turn to stone. All three came across many difficulties and were unable to reach the shores of Johor. Therefore, the elephant and pig together turned into Pulau Ubin whilst the frog became Pulau Sekudu or Frog Island located just off Chek Jawa.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore discovered the world's smallest fish in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia. But the tiny carp's survival is under threat because its natural habitat is being destroyed. The world's smallest fish - Paedocypris progenetica - is fully grown at just 7.9mm from nose to tail.

Raffles Hotel is where the Singapore Sling was invented. The cocktail was invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon between 1910 and 1915.

A Japanese shrine (Syonan Jinja) was built by British prisoners-of-war and the Japanese Army off Adam Road inside the MacRitchie Reservoir area. It was officially unveiled on 10 September 1942. The shrine was demolished after the Japanese surrender with the return of the British forces in 1945. Only remnants of the foundation still remain visible today.

The statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle (1651 - 1719) by Italian sculptor Cesare Aureli (1843 - 1923) at Singapore Art Museum was erected in 1913. It was donated by an ancillary descendant of the founder. The statue was silver prior to restoration. There were also cracks on it and one finger of St. John was missing. The flaws were corrected and the statue is now painted the original bronze colour.

Built across the mouth of the Marina Channel, the Marina Barrage marks Singapore’s 15th and largest reservoir with a catchment area spanning 10,000 hectares or about one-sixth the size of Singapore. It was opened on November 1 2008.

Constructed in four phases from 1864 to 1920, the Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) and its extensions were built to provide much needed space for the growing colonial administration. Fortunately, every one of these extensions was faithful to McNair's Neo-Palladian design and the building maintained a harmonious overall look.

Elegantly proportioned, the Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) is laid out symmetrically along a central axis.

Indian dhobies (laundrymen) in early Singapore washed their laundry in the stream which used to be known as Sungei Bras Basah, a rivulet that flowed from Orchard Road to the sea. Today this is the Stamford Canal. The Chinese called the road beside it 'Lau Chooi Koei' (Flowing Water Road).

The most famous or rather infamous feature of the National Museum of Singapore is the spiral staircase. Reputed to be the scariest part of the building, this staircase has been the scene of various ghost sightings and stories over the decades!

The Kranji War Memorial (walking distance from the Kranji MRT station) commemorates the contributions of 24,000 soldiers of the allied forces who died during World War II. More than 850 graves are of unidentified personnel.

The forest in Bukit Timah was known to be a 'horrid tiger-infested' area by the early Colonials where the roar of these mighty big cats could be heard at twilight.’ - A View From The Summit“

Pulau Ubin's name is derived from its original Malay name, Pulau Batu Jubin meaning 'Island of Granite Stones'. The granite of Pulau Ubin was used for many early developments in Singapore. Examples include the Horsburgh Lighthouse (1851) whose granite block walls were quarried and shaped at Pulau Ubin by Indian convicts, and the Singapore-Johore Causeway which was made with granite from the island along with granite found in Bukit Timah.

Legend has it that the Banyan Tree located outside the National Museum in Stamford Road was left standing as people were afraid that chopping it down would result in bad luck befalling them. Back then, many believed the sacred Banyan Tree provided the museum with a special protective power. Though it is a sacred tree, it is believed to be popular with the ghosts said to still occupy the museum. On quiet evenings, they come to rest and contemplate on the Banyan's soft bark.

Coleman Street is named after G. D. Coleman, Singapore's first architect and superintendent of Public Works Architect. Some of the 19th century buildings at the junction of Hill Street and Coleman Street include the Armenian Church, the oldest church built in Singapore; Central Fire Station, the oldest fire station in Singapore today, Freemason’s Hall, and the building that houses the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The double-storey colonial building that houses Singapore Philatelic Museum was formerly part of Anglo Chinese School. In 1906, the Trustees of the Anglo Chinese School commissioned Tomlison and Lermit Architects to design the building as an additional school building to Oldham Hall. The original plans of the building were approved on 22 June 1906. For many years, the building was used as the Methodist Book Room until 1995 when the Museum started operation on 19 August 1995.

The highest man-made waterfall of the world, 30 m high, is located at the Jurong Bird Park of Singapore and the largest fountain of the world is located at Suntec City in Singapore.

The Ford Motor Factory resumed operations after the war in 1947 and was finally shut down in June 1980. On 7 February 2006, the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) announced that it would gazette the Old Ford Factory for preservation as a national monument on the 64th anniversary of the surrender on 15 February 2006.

The front of Memories at Old Ford Factory features a Chinese calligraphy sculpture depicting the characters "he ping" or "peace", storyboards that recount the battles fought during the Malayan Campaign and history of Bukit Timah, as well as a granite rock carved with a statement from a decree by Tang Taizong urging visitors to "Take History As A Lesson".

The garden plot behind Memories at Old Ford Factory in Bukit Timah still has wartime crops such as tapioca, sugar cane and bananas. It comes complete with a wooden walkway similar to that used by farmers of the period.

Kent Ridge Park near the National University of Singapore, was once home to an opium-processing factory until around 1910.

The Tree Planting campaign was launched by the government in 1963 with the objective of making Singapore a green city.

Did you know that Singapore was home to the first Chinese-medium university established outside of China and Taiwan? The Nanyang University was set up in 1955 by the Chinese community in Singapore. This stemmed from the British administration's refusal to support Chinese-language education, resulting in a move by the community to form their own centre for tertiary education. Donations came thick and fast and the university was officially opened in 1958 by Sir William Goode, the then governor of Singapore.

Raffles Hotel is reputedly where the sole surviving wild tiger in Singapore was shot and made extinct. Some stories place this event in the Long Bar. Raffles itself claims the tiger had escaped from enclosure at a nearby 'native show' and chased underneath the hotel's Bar and Billiard Room and shot dead on August 13, 1902. There was however a later media report which said the last wild tiger was shot in the 1930s in Choa Chu Kang.

Singapore Art Museum's Dôme Café is the only Dôme Café in Singapore that actually has a dome!

Located at the mouth of the Singapore River, the Asian Civilisations Museum's imposing Neo-Palladian exterior with timber-louvred windows and pitched clay tile roofs often caught the attention of immigrants and visitors sailing into Singapore harbour as it was located right at the mouth of the Singapore River. A 1905 Singapore guidebook describes Government Offices and its neighbouring buildings as such: "Apart from the cities of India, there is, perhaps, no place in the East which boasts such a handsome group of [government] buildings as viewed from the sea."

Did you know the oldest mosque in Singapore is reputed to be the Masjid Omar Kampong Malaka built in 1820. The oldest Hindu temple here is the Sri Mariamman Temple. The oldest church in Singapore is the Armenian Church. The oldest Chinese temple is belived to be the Thian Hock Keng Temple in Telok Ayer Street while the oldest Jewish synagogue is the Maghain Aboth built in 1878.

The Merlion Statue stands 8.6 m high and weighs some 40 tons. One of Singapore's national icon, it was designed by Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board. Later, the vice-chancellor of the University of Singapore, Kwan Sai Kheong conceptualised the Merlion Statue which was thereafter constructed by Lim Nang Seng, a local craftsman. Since 15 September 1972, the Merlion statue and its cub had stood guard at the Mouth of the Singapore River at the Merlion Park. Exactly 30 years later, it was officially relaunched at its new home, the Merlion Pier, just off of One Fullerton.

During the invasion of Singapore in 1942, many battles were fought around the Ford Factory in Bukit Timah and nearby areas including Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang as Japanese forces advanced into Singapore. The factory was subsequently taken over and used as the military headquarters for the Japanese Imperial Army.

Kandang Kerbau Hospital started back in 1924 when a free maternity clinic from Victoria Street moved into a pre-existing hospital building in Kandang Kerbau. This general hospital on Kampong Java Road was established in 1858 as a treatment centre for veneral diseases. Prostitutes made up the bulk of those seeking treatment. Caucasians in need of medical attention, were attended to in a separate section of the hospital. The building had two sections - one for the Europeans, called the "Seaman's Hospital", and the other for the locals, called the "Police Hospital". In 1905, the hospital started to house female lepers when they and poor children were transferred to it from the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

In the 1950s, Singapore's Kandang Kerbau Hospital recorded an average of 100 deliveries a day.

Did you know that at the height of the nutmeg cultivation frenzy in the 1840s, over 71,000 nutmeg trees were planted in Singapore? Orchard Road in the 19th century, was full of nutmeg plantations and that many well-known streets around Orchard Road such as Scotts Road, Cairnhill Road and Oxley Road were named after nutmeg plantation owners?

The building which is currently the Singapore Philatelic Museum, was in the 1970s the Methodist Book Room.

Opium Hill or Bukit Chandu in Malay was named after an opium-processing factory located at the foot of the hill. Reflections at Bukit Chandu, a heritage interpretive centre, stands at the location where C Company of the Malay Regiment made their final stand against the invading Japanese forces.

Folklore has it that visitors to Bukit Chandu where a major battle was fought in the early stages of World War II, is a hive of paranormal activity. One of the claims is that visitors can still hear voices in Malay shouting repeatedly "Fight on".

The founder of modern Singapore Sir Stamford Raffles has two statues to his memory. The original bronze cast by Thomas Woolner in 1887 was unveiled originally on the Padang on 27 June 1887 by the Governor, Sir Frederick Weld. In 1919 during the Singapore Centenary Celebrations. It was removed to a site in front of the Victoria Memorial Hall and Theatre. After the occupation of Singapore in 1942, the Japanese placed it in the Museum, but it was reinstated in its present location in 1946. In 1972 a polymarble statue which was made from plaster casts from the original 1887 figure was unveiled. The replica stands on North Boat Quay, behind Old Parliament House - at the site where Raffles is though to have landed on January 29, 1819.

A special feature wall was discovered during the renovation phase of Singapore Art Museum. It was hidden behind a row of built-in cabinets and no one knew it existed till the cabinets were removed. The entablature, supported by two columns on pedestals. It bear an emblem with the words "Signum Fidei", meaning "Sign of Faith". The emblem can now be seen from the exterior of the porch.

The building which is now the Singapore Philatelic Museum in Coleman Street, was formerly part of the Anglo-Chinese School when it was completed in 1904.

Originally intended to be a courthouse, the Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Cvilisations Museum) instead became offices for the government departments located in the adjacent Maxwell's House (later the old Parliament House).

Rickshaws - those people-powered taxi-cabs were introduced in Singapore on 16 February 1880, the same year it was brought to Shimla in the Himalayas but some time before it first appeared in Beijing in 1886. Rickshaws originated from Japan and soon became a major form of public transport and a primary source of income for the thousands of Chinese immigrants to Singapore between the 1880s to the 1930s.

The first foreigners reported to reach the summit of Bukit Timah were Singapore’s Resident Councillor John Prince accompanied by his contractors in June 1827. It took them five hours to cover a distance of 22.5 kilometres of plantations, hills and swamps from the south. A white flag was hoisted up the tallest tree, which could be seen from as far as Fort Canning Hill. The access road to the summit was built in 1843.

The first postage stamp was introduced in Singapore in 1854. It was issued by the British East India Company because the Straits Settlements was placed under the control of the administration in Bengal, India. The stamp featured Queen Victoria, and was without perforation.

While the Monetary Authority of Singapore was housed in the Empress Place Building , there were two vaults that were built on the ground floor where the currencies were kept. These vaults were mostly kept a secret from the public until much later. Ghurkhas guarded the building at night to enhance the security. The vaults still stand today at the South Asia Gallery (Galleries 7 and 8) of the current Asian Civilisations Museum, where the strong room used to stand.

Did you know there is a bronze elephant statue outside the Old Parliament House? It was a gift from King Chulalongkorn of Thailand.

The Empress Place Building underwent renovations and opened as the second wing of the Asian Civilisations Museum on 2 March 2003, exhibiting Southeast, South, and West Asian collections.

Concerned about the state of dental hygiene among the young in Singapore, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, initiated a campaign to improve oral hygiene standards in the late 60s and 70s. It was reported that half of the population did not know how to brush their teeth properly, and that half of all schoolchildren did not own toothbrushes. As part of the drive, each child was supplied with a toothbrush and plastic mug for a fee of just 25 cents a set. In all, 367,000 children from 439 schools participated in the campaign between 1969-1970. Following the success of the campaign, the programme was extended to all kindergartens in 1973.

The Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) was the last building to be built by convict labourers. The original section of the building was designed by colonial engineer J.F.A. McNair and built by convict labour between June 1864 and December 1867. This original section now forms the part of the building nearest to the old Parliament House.

Did you know that the Sultan Mosque on North Bridge Road was designed by Irishman Dennis Santry Swan?

The National School Savings Campaign was introduced to government and government-aided schools in 1969 to cultivate a habit of saving money using then then-Postal Savings Bank (later renamed as the Post Office Savings Bank or POSB). Students could save by cash or by purchasing 10-cent postage stamps which were then pasted on cards. When completed, the stamp cards were then handed to the bank as a form of deposit. In addition, Secondary One students who had a minimum balance of $5 in their POSB accounts were also given a $5 cash gift by the government. However, the combined sum of $10 could only be withdrawn from the bank after a minimum period of five years. During this period, the deposits earned an interest rate of 4% per annum.

An aerial bomb landed in Singapore Art Museum's courtyard during World War II.

Located at the entrance of The Peranakan Museum are two black eagles made of cast iron. The eagles were part of the original Tao Nan School and moved with the school when it relocated to Marine Parade. When it was decided that the building would be preserved, the eagles were brought back to its original location in 1996. The reason as to why the eagles are placed at the entrance is a mystery but it may be because their presence lends an awe-inspiring touch to the façade. Birds of prey are also regarded as guardians against bad luck. In addition, the Chinese word for eagle, "ying", is the same character used for the word "jing-ying" or "elite", a possible reference to the potential that the students of the old Tao Nan School were believed to hold.

The floor and roof of the National Museum are original from when the building was first opened as the Raffles Library and Museum in 1887!

The Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) was gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992.

On 13th February 1942 during World War II, the British army set up its final headquarters in Raffles Square where the Raffles Library and the National Museum building was located. Protected on three sides, the tall three-storey building with a large courtyard was large enough to accommodate the army vehicles.

The government decided to merge the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. This merger resulted in the establishment of the National University of Singapore in 1980.

Did you know that if were to sail around Singapore keeping the coast in sight, you would cover a distance of 150.5 km?

Singapore Art Museum's star artefact, "Dotting the Eye", refers in particular to the Chinese tradition of painting the eye of the lion before the start of a lion dance. This is done to awaken the spirit of the lion. The colours of this particular composition, especially the particular shade of red used, are colours very much associated with Chinese culture.

The Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) was used by government departments until the late 1980s. It is perhaps best known as the Registry of Births and Deaths, the Citizenship Registry, and the Immigration Department.

Nankin Street in Chinatown is one of the oldest streets in Singapore appearing in the original 1822 town plan of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles. The street became a popular with Samsui women who came to Singapore as migrants seeking work. Samsui women who arrived in Singapore from 1934 to 1949 made Upper Nankin Street and Upper Chin Chew Street their residential quarters. Both Upper Nankin Street and Upper Chin Chew Street were expunged to pave way for the construction of the Hong Lim complex in 1980.

The Ford Factory in Bukit Timah was built by Ford Motor Works in October, 1941 and became Ford's first motor car assembly plant in Southeast Asia.

Singapore Art Museum's star artefact, the "We're Happy, Are You Happy?" sculpture, is partially created from paper pulp, a technique developed and coined by Teo Eng Seng as "paperdyesculp". He would work with ready-made objects such as this bird cage in "We're Happy, Are You Happy?".

During the colonial era, the Empress Place Building, which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum, was known simply as Government Offices. The first civic buildings were planned here in Sir Stamford Raffles' day.

The maximum height of skyscrapers allowed in Singapore is up to 280 metres. This is due to air restrictions.

The round pillar box outside Singapore Philatelic Museum in Coleman Street is the only operational post box of its kind in Singapore today. Red pillar boxes were used in Singapore during the British colonial days until 1971 when they were replaced by rectangular posting boxes. Pillar boxes are made of cast iron. They are about 1.5 metres tall, and weigh about 400 kilogrammes.The post box outside the museum was officially re-commissioned when the Singapore Philatelic Museum opened on 19 August 1995.

The dhobies of old Singapore dried their laundry in the open space between Bras Basah Road and Stamford Road. Bras Basah Road (West Rice road) was once called Church Street and College Street because of the several churches and the schools in that locality.

In the late 1980s, plans were made to convert the Empress Place Building (which now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum) into a museum. Extensive restoration began, culminating in the opening of the Empress Place Museum on 7 April 1989 by the then Second Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong.

The British may have been able to repel the Japanese invasion of Singapore during World War II. General Tomoyuki Yamashita who led the Japanese Imperial Army was quoted as saying years later: 'My attack on Singapore was a bluff - a bluff that worked. I had 30,000 men and was outnumbered more than three to one. I knew that if I had to fight for long for Singapore, I would be beaten. That is why the surrender had to be at once. I was very frightened all the time that the British would discover our numerical weakness and lack of supplies and force me into disastrous street fighting.'

Telok Blangah Hill was once known as Mount Washington.

Early Singapore it seems was a haven for killer tigers. The first reported case of a tiger attack was found in the Singapore Chronicle dated 8 September 1831. The newspaper said two people were killed presumably by the same tiger. Ravages by tigers grew so intense that it was said by the middle of the 19th century, tigers claimed one life a day. This however could not be verified through official documents. In 1859, one village near Bukit Timah was abandoned due to too many attacks. It was reported that 390 people were killed in tiger attacks in 1857. The actual number may have been higher as many attacks went unreported. The government offered a reward of $20 for every tiger killed but the increasing number of casualties led to the reward being increased to $50 then to $100. The last wild tiger, roaming in the Choa Chu Kang vicinity, was killed in the 1930s.

Did you know the first radio broadcast in Singapore took place in 1936, black and white television was started here in 1963 and colour TV introduced in 1974.

During the Malayan Campaign of World War II, the Ford Factory's modern assembly equipment was used by the Royal Air Force to assemble fighter planes.

The National Archives was originally established in 1968 for the preservation and administration of the nation's most treasured records. This treasure house has records dating as far back as 1800, 19 years before the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles!

The Battle Box or Fort Canning Bunker was built in 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the British Strategic Command as the nerve-centre for British Military operations in the Far East during World War II. It was here that Lieutenant General Percival made the decision to surrender the allied forces stationed on the island to the invading Japanese army on 15 February 1942. The underground bunker was reopened on 31 January 1992 as the Battle Box, serving to recreate for visitors the events that occured there during World War II.

The Old Ford Factory is the site of the historic surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, at the end of the Battle of Singapore in World War II. It was here that the meeting between Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and General Tomoyuki Yamashita was held and the surrender document signed.

The National Archives of Singapore (NAS), the custodian of the Old Ford Motor Factory, converted the building to house a World War II exhibition gallery and repository called Memories at Old Ford Factory. The preserved Old Ford Motor Factory underwent a two-year, S$10.3 million facelift and is now NAS' second repository for its growing archives of various media.

Did you know that Alexandra Hospital was originally called the British Military Hospital?

Singapore Art Museums's signages were designed by award-winning local artist Francis Ng who represented Singapore at the Venice Biennale in 2003.

The Rotunda of the National Museum consists of 50 intricately designed stained glass windows that form the roof of this dome. The beauty, the floral and geometric pattern is as inspiring today as it was 119 years ago. Imagine the challenges faced when building this Neo Palladian renaissance style dome in the mid 1800s. At 28 metres in height and with no internal pillars, it was no easy feat. The dome sense of grandeur is enhanced not just by light but also by other special features. These original columns are adorned by beautiful cornices at the top.