Interesting Facts

There are 64,726 electronically tagged offenders in the UK. (Tag - you're it!)

There are 220 million vegetarians in India. (That's a lot of salads.)

An average Briton will spend £1,537,380 during his or her lifetime, a survey from insurer Prudential suggests. (Who is this average Brit, and where does he/she get all his/her money from?)

The millipede with the most legs is thought to have only 750. (A few legs fewer than the 1,000 than its name would suggest.)

About 95% of the annual British crop of blackcurrants is bought by GlaxoSmithKline for Ribena. (I wonder if they'd like to buy some of mine?)

More than 17 billion plastic bags are handed out at supermarkets and shops in the UK every year. (Many of them end up in my front garden.)

Thanatology is the study of death. (I guess you graduate when you die.)

A nut can sit in the lung for 18 months without doing any harm. (What happens after 18 months?)

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobiacs is the term for people who fear the number 666. (Of course now there is nothing to fear because the number of the beast has been reassigned to 616.)

The more panels a football has - and therefore the more seams - the easier it is to control in the air. (So a Terry's chocolate orange would make a great football.)

Religious and gospel music makes up 7% of all CD sales in the US. (Why am I not surprised.)

34% of the UK have a surname that is ranked as "posher" than the Royal Family's given name, Windsor. (Mine's not one of them.)

The average guest at a Buckingham Palace garden party scoffs 14 cakes, sandwiches, scones and ice-cream, according to royal accounts. (They obviously have never invited me!)

The power consumed in Britain while electrical devices are on "stand-by" produces a million tons of carbon dioxide a years, according to the Independent. (The worst culprit has to be the Sky Digibox, which cannot be turned off without removing all sources of power. The "off" control disables video and sound output and changes the colour of the front LED but leaves all other hardware running, amounting in as little as a 1w power saving over the box being fully on. My solution? Switch it off at the plug.)

In the UK motorcyclists and their passengers must wear crash helmets, but the rule does not apply to Sikhs wearing turbans. (I see a marketing niche.)

The Queen is the only over-75 in the UK who is not legally required to have a driver's licence in order to drive. (But, like others, she does have to fill out a form every three years declaring any medical conditions. I shouldn't think she does much driving though.)

The Pipistrelle bat is only 4cm long and weighs less than a 2p coin! (How could anyone be scared of that?)

There are about 4,500 different species of mammal in the world. (I'm just one of them.)

The vaults beneath the Bank of England, which include three disused wells, have more floorspace than the City of London's tallest building, Tower 42 (formerly the NatWest Tower). (Very enlightening.)

Music can help reduce chronic pain by more than 20% and can alleviate depression by up to 25%. (If music be the food of love, play on.)

There are about two million cohabiting couples in the UK. (Now does that mean four million people or two million people living together?)

Professional football referees can run 13km in a match. (I guess it depends on who's chasing them.)

About 7% of England's land - equivalent to 1.6 million football pitches - is open to the public. (The most common phrase amongst the land owners is "Git orf moi land!")

Children in the UK are smuggling junk food such as crisps and sweets into schools which have banned unhealthy food. (They will be the future billionaires.)

In the UK you can be prosecuted and fined for putting non-recyclable rubbish into your household recycling bin. (Yes folks. We recycle!)

Cloud seeding - putting chemicals into clouds - was reportedly used during the UK's 1976 drought in an effort to make it rain. (Yes folks. We have droughts in the UK!)

The Japanese get through 25 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year. (How many trees is that?)

There are 275,000 overseas students currently studying at UK universities. (Just remember, you are not alone.)

Rule 2.25 of the Chelsea Flower Show regulations bans entrants from including garden gnomes in their displays. Bunting, balloons and flags are also banned. (Spoilsports.)

Australians host barbecues at polling stations on general election days. (That's one way of getting people to vote. Give them a burnt sausage!)