In 1976 the British Parliament offered to loan the U.S. a copy of the 1215 Magna Carta to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial. However, Congress rejected the proposal 219 to 167. When asked why, many congresspersons admitted they hadn't read the bill and when it came up for a second vote, it passed. Come on guys—do your homework. (Source)

The ancestry of every U.S. president (except Martin Van Buren) has been traced back to King John of England, meaning they're all distantly related to the King forced to sign the Magna Carta (and to each other). But will we ever know who President Van Buren is related to? (Source)

If you can prove that you descended from one of the twenty-five barons elected to serve under the Magna Carta's security clause, then you can join the National Society of Magna Charta Dames and Barons, which you can rub in the face of all the decedents of the loyal barons who don't have a special club. (Source)

A privately owned copy of the Magna Carta was sold at auction in 2007 for $21.3 million, the most ever paid for a single page of writing. And it wasn't even an original copy; it was from 1297. (Source)

The Magna Carta was originally written in Latin (the language of the Church) and then translated into French (the language of the nobility). So the most important document in English history wasn't translated into English for about three hundred years. That is a really long backlog. (Source)

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta the British Library gathered up the four surviving copies of the 1215 original for a really classy reunion. Over 43,000 people applied wanting to see them all together, but only 1,215 were allowed inside. Get it? Written in 1215, so 1,215 visitors. Librarians can be so cute. (Source)

In 1957 the American Bar Association (that's an important group of lawyers) built the Magna Carta Monument at Runnymede, although it's probably not in the exact location where the signing/stamping took place. But, when it really is just a swampy patch next to a river, does it matter where the monument is? (Source)