It’s time to get the frying pans out of the cupboard and get your flipping skills ready as pancake day is almost upon us. Taking place on Shrove Tuesday each year, this year on February 16, just two days after Valentine’s Day, it’s a British institution and there won’t be a single household not getting stuck into the savoury treats.

They come in all shapes and sizes on pancake day, with some of us established flippers, while many of our bingo community will also be getting mixture stuck to the walls, ceilings, and most likely themselves…

Of course, it’s just a bit of fun but why not wow some of your friends and family, or indeed our bingo chat rooms, with some interesting facts about pancake day…

13 Fun Facts About Pancake Day

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ⋆ 𝒜𝓇𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒 ⋆ (@lesgourmandsdisentdarmelle)

1. Pancake day dates back over 1,000 years, with it originally designed to use up leftover fatty foods and rich ingredients before Lent gets underway on Ash Wednesday.
2. 30 million eggs are said to be used in the UK each day, but Pancake day sees that increased to 52 million eggs. That’s a lot of pancakes.
3. Guinness World Records have the largest ever pancake at 15 meters long, weighing three tones. We don’t even think Adam Richman of Man vs Food fame could get through that one.
4. It’s believed that on average a person will eat a whopping 7,300 eggs during their lifetime. We wonder how many soldiers are dipped during that time.
5. There are many traditions across Europe when it comes to pancake day. In France, hold a coin in one hand and make a wish before they do their flipping, which is said to bring good luck.
6. It’s record central when it comes to pancakes. The most ever served during an eight-hour period is 34,818. Don’t worry, that wasn’t all to one person.
7. The most anyone has eaten in one hour is a huge 73 pancakes.
8. On average, pancake day sees us eat two pancakes each. That means in total Brits enjoy upwards of 130 million on pancake day.
9. Pancakes are eaten in a number of Shakespeare plays as the great bard himself was said to be a big lover.
10. Before the invention of baking soda, fresh snow as often used as an ingredient for pancakes, with the ammonia in snow helping the tasty treats stay fluffy and soft.
11. Want to know the highest pancake toss? If you’re looking to give it a go this year, you’ll have to reach a target of 329cm high. That’s quite the toss.
12. The name Shrove Tuesday comes from Anglo-Saxon England and ‘shriving’, which means to listen to a person’s sins and forgive them. During Shrove Tuesday, people would visit church and confess their sins in order to be forgiven.
13. Back to world records, the highest number of flips in two minutes is 349. That’s some control.