National melodies

10 national anthems with a curious story

The purpose of a national anthem is to foster a sense of patriotism and unity among the citizens of a nation, but there are as many ways to achieve this as there are nations. While some anthems reflect on glorious deeds of the past, others express a shared desire for peace and prosperity, or celebrate love for their country, its lands, its leaders, and, at times, even the leaders of another nation. Let’s take a look at 10 national anthems with curious stories.

We all know the story of how The Star-Spangled Banner was written after a battle, but did you know it was not officially adopted as the national anthem for over a century? Composed during the War of 1812 under the title Defence of Fort M’Henry, it quickly became popular as a patriotic song and was officially adopted by the U.S. Navy in 1889. It was not declared the national anthem until 1931.

Some critics point to references in the third stanza—particularly language interpreted as relating to slavery—as well as the documented views of its author, Francis Scott Key. However, opposition to the song’s adoption at the time was more often based on its difficult vocal range and competition from other popular patriotic songs. Despite these debates, the poem—especially its first stanza—has long been regarded as a symbol of national unity.

Composed in 1572, it is one of the oldest national anthems still in use. The lyrics are written from the perspective of William of Orange—the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Empire—and reflect his inner struggles between his loyalty to the Spanish King and his duty to his people.

Though the original text has at least 15 stanzas, only the first stanza and sometimes the sixth are sung today, which can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the historical context, as the first stanza ends by declaring undying loyalty to the king of Spain.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution, the newly formed Soviet Union adopted the socialist anthem The Internationale as its national anthem. In 1944, the Soviet government replaced it with a new anthem centered on Soviet Russia, with lyrics that emphasized the Soviet fatherland and Joseph Stalin’s leadership, though it was often performed without lyrics after Stalin’s death.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation adopted an instrumental piece known as The Patriotic Song, composed in 1833 by Mikhail Glinka. After a decade of debates, and citing the need for an anthem that people could sing, the government decided to restore the former Soviet melody, this time with newly written lyrics.

How many countries can say that they owe their national anthem to a moment of panic? At least one. Malaysia’s national anthem was adopted after its independence from the United Kingdom, using the melody of the anthem of the state of Perak. But where does that melody come from?

When the Sultan of Perak attended the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, his delegation was asked to provide their state anthem. Not having one, he improvised and adapted the melody of a popular tune from the Seychelles. This melody was later adopted as the official anthem of Perak and eventually became the basis for Malaysia’s national anthem.

Composed and adopted as the national anthem during the Argentine War of Independence, but before the formal declaration of independence from Spain, this song was initially called the Patriotic March. It was much longer than the current anthem, and its lyrics were controversial, as they portrayed Spain as a tyrannical and bloodthirsty nation.

The anthem originally contained nine stanzas—including accusations towards Spain—which were used until 1924, when improved diplomatic relations with Spain and the arrival of thousands of Spanish immigrants led the government to shorten the lyrics and omit the more controversial parts.

Famed for having lyrics in five of the twelve official languages of the country —Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English— this anthem was officially adopted after the end of apartheid, and reflects a broader desire for national unity.

The post-apartheid government initially retained the former Afrikaans anthem, while also adopting the Xhosa hymn Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), which had long been used as a song of resistance. Maintaining two anthems proved impractical, so their lyrics were combined and translated into other majority languages to create a single national anthem that could represent all South Africans.

When Czechoslovakia existed as a single state, it adopted a combined national anthem consisting of the first stanza of the Czech song Kde domov můj ("Where Is My Home?"), followed by the first stanza of the Slovak song Nad Tatrou sa blýska ("Lightning over the Tatras").

After the country’s peaceful dissolution in the Velvet Divorce (1992), Czechia retained Kde domov můj as its national anthem, while Slovakia retained Nad Tatrou sa blýska, which is typically performed with two stanzas and in its traditional form.

Though its lyrics come from a poem dating to the 8th-10th centuries, Kimigayo was not adopted as Japan's national anthem until 1888, and it's one of the world’s shortest anthems. After World War II, it was not officially designated as the national anthem due to its imperial associations, though it continued to be used. It regained formal legal status in 1999.

Often translated into English as His Majesty's Reign, its initial verse is commonly rendered as "may your reign [continue]." The word kimi has historically been used for the emperor, and the song's brief lyrics express a desire for the Imperial reign to endure for thousands of years, "until the tiny pebbles grow into massive boulders."

In a similar fashion to the Wilhelmus, the Netherlands anthem, Andorra’s anthem is also written from a first-person perspective, this time not from an individual but the country itself, remembering its glorious past.

Composed in the early 20th century, it was adopted as the national anthem in 1921. In the lyrics, Andorra presents itself as a princess, daughter of Charlemagne, and describes itself as the "only remaining daughter of the Carolingian Empire."

A relatively new anthem, _Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka_—adopted in 2007—replaced the Shriman Gambhir following the abolition of the monarchy in Nepal. It’s notable for its distinctive melody, upbeat and joyful, quite different from other solemn or martial tone anthems.

The lyrics describe Nepal as a garland woven from hundreds of flowers, stretching from one corner of the country to the other, and emphasize the diversity of its people and landscapes.

Strange scales

10 weirdest units of measurement humans actually used

Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya

Measuring the world is a human necessity, and throughout history, we’ve used some truly strange units. From the height of a monkey to the speed of beard growth, here are 10 of the weirdest—and funniest—measures ever recorded. Not the most practical, but undeniably fun!

Image: Tim Mossholder

A beard-second is the distance a beard grows in one second, roughly 5 nanometers. The unit originated in physics as a playful way to express extremely small lengths.

Although humorous, it can actually be used to illustrate minuscule distances, and some textbooks and teachers use it to make abstract concepts more relatable.

Image: Sam Carter

In medieval Scandinavia, a sheephead was a unit of weight for butter and cheese, representing roughly 30–40 pounds.

Units like this emerged from agricultural economies, where livestock products were common commodities. Though forgotten today, historical accounting records show widespread use of animal-based measures for commerce.

Image: Toomas Tartes

Another humorous velocity unit is the furlong per fortnight: a furlong equals 220 yards, and a fortnight represents 14 days. This means one furlong per fortnight is about 0.000116 meters per second.

Mostly used as a joke among scientists, it highlights the sometimes absurd combinations of units that can arise.

Image: Syed Ahmad

In 17th-century England, a "monkey" was a unit of weight for Indian textiles, equal to roughly 7.5 pounds. The name likely came from playful trade jargon rather than any connection to the weight of an actual monkey.

It facilitated commerce between Britain and its colonies, and historical trade documents preserve its use in textile contracts.

Image: Artur Solarz

An old temperature scale, where 0°R marked the freezing point of water and 80°R its boiling point. Named after René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, it was widely used in France and parts of Europe until the early 20th century.

Though now mostly obsolete, Réaumur thermometers survive in antique collections and are still occasionally referenced in traditional cheesemaking guides.

Image: Stephan Frolov

A Scottish unit of land measurement, the "sheep’s eye" was said to be based on how far a sheep could see—roughly 30 meters.

This intuitive measure allowed local farmers to discuss land informally before precise surveying tools existed.

Image: Erol Ahmed

A gross equals 144 items, or 12 dozen. Traders historically used it for bulk counting and wholesale commerce. The term comes from the Old French grosse douzaine, meaning "large dozen."

Still common in packaging and manufacturing, gross is often a practical unit when large quantities are involved.

Image: Scott Webb

A British unit of weight, the stone is standardized at 14 pounds. It was traditionally used for weighing people and animals and is still in use in parts of the UK today.

While most of the world now uses metric units (and the modern imperial system in the US), the stone persists in Britain and Ireland as a traditional measure.

Image: Bernd Dittrich

A "smoot" equals 5 feet, 7 inches—the height of Oliver Smoot, a MIT student. In 1958, MIT students used Smoot’s height to measure the Harvard Bridge in Boston.

The bridge was humorously marked in Smoots with chalk during the experiment, and the unit stuck—today, the bridge still has "Smoot" markings.

Image: fred crandon

A barrel unit that varied by region, the hogshead typically measured 63 gallons for wine or 54 gallons for beer. Used as early as the 15th century, it helped standardize liquid trade.

The term’s origin is obscure, possibly a mispronunciation of "oxhead." Hogsheads were important for commerce in both colonial America and Europe.