Never knew that.

[Paul]

I always wondered about this, was actually going to google it but the BBC beat me to it
BBC

Where Is The Centre Of London?
Ever wondered where the distance to and from London is measured? Find out here…
Whether it is the distance from Brighton, Manchester or Glasgow, the actual point for measuring the distance to and from London is located at Charing Cross, Westminster.
Why Charing Cross? Even though it is quite central it is not because of its geographical location, the real reason goes back over 700 years to the reign of Edward I.
In the year 1290 King Edward was in Scotland on an important trip awaiting the arrival of his wife, Queen Eleanor. On her journey to meet him she was taken ill with a fever and died shortly after at a manor house near Lincoln.
The Queen's body was to be taken from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey for a state burial. The grief stricken King decided that twelve memorial crosses would be installed at each stopping point of her funeral procession.
The twelve sites for memorial crosses were:
Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Albans, Waltham, Cheapside (West Cheap), Charing Cross.
The original cross was south of Trafalgar Square where the statue of King Charles I now stands. A plaque can be found on the floor behind the statue stating that mileage distances on road signage are still measured from this point.

So the question, has the Internet shown you the answer to something you had always wondered about without you actually having to look for it?

The twelve sites for memorial crosses were:
Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Albans, Waltham, Cheapside (West Cheap), Charing Cross.

Hardingstone has now been subsumed into Northampton, but the cross is there (except the top has been destroyed.) There is also a pub, The Queen Eleanor nearby.

Originally Posted by Paul

So the question, has the Internet shown you the answer to something you had always wondered about without you actually having to look for it?

Yes, quite a few times. It's usually a link off another page that I happen to follow - often not even because the link is related to what I was originally looking for, but the text of the link (or picture or w.h.y.) sparked interest.

Can't think of a recent example atm...

[lemarsh]

Always find this sitre useful

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

[me283]

I often find that I am following one link to another, to another etc... I learn a lot of things that I would never have looked up, but have found fascinating all the same. Quite often though I find I have forgotten what I was looking up in the first place!

[danielf]

Originally Posted by me283

I often find that I am following one link to another, to another etc... I learn a lot of things that I would never have looked up, but have found fascinating all the same. Quite often though I find I have forgotten what I was looking up in the first place!

Actually, that explains a lot

[me283]

Originally Posted by danielf

Actually, that explains a lot

I know, but it doesn't explain what I wanted to know in the firs t place!

[bopdude]

Mmmmmm, I always thought that the distance's between plces was measure from / to main post office's, I don't know why I thought that, must have heard it somewhere, anyone else hear of it ?????

[Scrubbs]

I thought it was ordinance survey trig points