Featured Image Credit: Confused.com
Topics: UK News, Viral, Social Media, YouTube, Reddit, Weird
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: UK News, Viral, Social Media, YouTube, Reddit, Weird
Yes, you read that right. There is indeed a UK Roundabout Appreciation Society.
Buckle up and prepare to loop-the-loop into a whole new way of looking at the world:
Although, considering we have days such as Polar Bear Plunge Day - which occurs on 1 January every year if you really wanted to know - and Spicy Guacamole Day (14 November), are you really surprised?
It may have started off as 'as a bit of a joke' but the UK's Roundabout Appreciation Society has taken off - from a 'Roundabouts of Redditch' calendar in 2003 to a worldwide appreciation and a nationwide collective of traffic circle fanatics.
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Without going round in circles, President of the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society, Kevin Beresford - whose nickname is the 'Lord of the Rings' - has since opened up about what it is about roundabouts which really gets him ticking - or turning, as it were.
Having since developed his original, 'Roundabouts of Redditch' calendar to the best in Britain and later, to include the best in the world, Kevin reveals to Confused.com how his 'passion' began.
He explains: "I ran a small printers in Redditch New Town. We wanted to come up with a calendar which was totally unique.
"It just went ballistic and sold worldwide, so I started taking an interest - a genuine interest.
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"The interest grew into - I'm not going to say an obsession - a passion. Artists have always focused on the mundane.
"People might see a roundabout as mundane, but they are blank canvases."
Essentially, Kevin doesn't think motorists 'fully appreciate' roundabouts as they drive past them and often fail to notice details such as the roundabouts 'unique' architecture.
The 'Lord of the Rings' explains: "We should all be drawn to these wonderful creations of art."
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There is even a 'mecca' of the roundabout world, a 1909 build and the UK's first ever roundabout located in Letchworth Garden City.
As well as seeing roundabouts as works of art, Kevin tells the Financial Times there is 'a serious side' to his fangirling too.
He said: "Research in Pennsylvania proved roundabouts flow more freely than traffic lights — and save up to 40 percent on fuel costs.
"They reduce accidents by 35 percent and road fatalities by 90 percent, when compared with traffic lights."
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Oh, and proving Kevin's hobby is genuine, it's also come at a price to his personal life and relationships as he ended up getting divorced from his wife after she got 'fed up' with his 'passion'.
"At least there's nobody stopping me visiting roundabouts when I like now," he resolved.
Kevin's personal favourite roundabout? One featuring a grandfather clock and wheel of cheese in Morbier, France.
The next to tick off the list? Columbus Circle in New York, believed to be the oldest roundabout in the world, which opened in 1905.
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So, scrap the school trips or historical visits to Stonehenge, because it's time to start appreciating the everyday roundabout a bit more.
Oh, and if you fancy joining the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society - particularly women, as Kevin notes the group could do with being a bit more diverse - then there's no point running round in circles, just go ahead and sign yourself up here.
