If you've sobered up from the New Year festivities, and are a fan of the hit television programme, QI then you'll be happy to know that today is officially National Trivia Day!

Though not quite as popular as "national" Christmas Day or for example, National Trivia Day is a day of intuition, knowledge and learning.

To celebrate this great day, we are going to tell you some of the great facts about not just oak, but a whole lot of wood.

So the next time that you go to sleep in a fabulous Mahogany bed, you'll know that in the 1760's, over 90 per cent of all mahogany imported into Britain came from Jamaica.

But what else is there to know?

  • Although Mango Wood is one of the most luxurious woods of today, its first recording in the western world was not until 1510 when it was written as Manga. The actual origin of the "o" as we know it today is unclear.
  • The Ash tree is one of the native trees of the United Kingdom, meaning that any furniture made from Ash Wood is one of the most traditional and natural pieces of furniture around. In fact, it was used by the Anglo-Saxons for the use of shields due to the fact that the wood is so hard and durable; luckily today, we prefer to use the material for beautiful Solid Ash Wardrobes!
  • Oak Wood is one of the most popular woods in the world and can originate from many of its subgenus' with there being over 600 species of oak; depending on where in the world the tree originates from. The most popular of which is Quercus alba, otherwise known as White Oak.
  • Recently, archaeologists have found evidence of the first carpenters with 7,000 year old water wells being found as the earliest use of wood for construction (between 5206 and 5098 BC). Although you may think that the wells would originate from Africa or the Middle East, they have in fact been found in Germany and are made from Oak Wood.
  • Many people assume that Jesus Christ, depending on what you believe, was a carpenter. This is actually up for some debate as in early Greek the word "tecton" (or tekton), is used and is in fact a little bit of a mistranslation. Although many translate it as "carpenter", it could be more aptly used to describe a handyman or labourer; possibly even by todays definition; an engineer. Legend has it that Jesus was crucified on a cross made of Dogwood though there is no biblical basis to support this.
  • Today there are approximately 82% more hardwoods than 30 years ago. In fact, there are 13.2 million acres of old growth in the United States. No less than 8 million acres of this is preserved and protected. If you were to put the 8 million acres together, they would stretch a line from New York City to San Francisco that is 5 miles in width. Despite that however, the United States has lost 30% of its trees since 1600.
  • According to the weekly magazine, Nature, the tallest possible height that a tree could grow in theory is to 400-425 feet. This is due to the force of gravity and the friction between the water and the vessels of the tree. Still, that's just over the height of the Empire State Building, which is over 400 feet in height.

Do you know any interesting tree related trivia? Share it with us in the comments box below.