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No Prime Minister, Britain didn't invent every sport in the world

 

Felicity Morse
Friday 06 September 2013 15:18 BST
Comments
Rowing might seem like the preserve of the British middle classes, from the Oxford and Cambridge boat race to the Henley regatta, but it actually has a far more exotic history. It was recorded as early as 1430 BC on a funeral inscription of the Egyptian warrior Amenhotep and was also mentioned in Virgil’s Aeneid. In the 13th century, Venetian festivals called regata included boat races. So the British really weren’t the first to this sport. Sorry David.
Rowing might seem like the preserve of the British middle classes, from the Oxford and Cambridge boat race to the Henley regatta, but it actually has a far more exotic history. It was recorded as early as 1430 BC on a funeral inscription of the Egyptian warrior Amenhotep and was also mentioned in Virgil’s Aeneid. In the 13th century, Venetian festivals called regata included boat races. So the British really weren’t the first to this sport. Sorry David.

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David Cameron launched an impassioned defence of Britain on Friday after this green and pleasant land was snubbed by the Russians as merely a 'small island that no one listens to'.

While there are many things Britain does have to be proud of, Mr Cameron's patriotic response may have been slightly overblown, with the Prime Minister claiming Britain “has invented most of the things worth inventing, including every sport currently played around the world.”

We think he might have forgotten these sports, so take a look through this gallery to see some more exotic games.

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