Question: What nation knighted a penguin?
Answer: King Harald V of Norway knighted a king penguin, Sir Nils Olav II, in a special ceremony at the Edinburgh Zoo in 2008, making the bird the highest-ranking animal in the world. How did it happen? The Norwegian Kings Guard first adopted a king’s penguin as an honorary lance corporal in their battalion during a 1972 visit to Edinburgh. Every time they visited, the penguin — the original Nils Olav — got a promotion. When that penguin died, the tradition continued with Nils Olav II, who reached the rank of colonel-in-chief before being knighted. After his death, Nils’ good work was carried on by yet another penguin, Sir Nils Olav III. You can see the knighting ceremony in this video.
