Interesting Facts

According to a survey by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) 1 in 10 Brits are walking from home - in bed! (19% work from the sofa on their laptop, but now chiropractors are warning against the impact this could be having on the health of their back. Now, as some of you know, I work from home, but I get up and go into the office when I'm running sessions.  PS - I am writing this on the sofa.) The BCA have put together a video on computer posture: http://www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk/For-You-89-Computer-Posture-119-ms.aspx

The odds of Leicester City winning the Premier League at the start of the 2015/16 football season were 5000:1. This means that gamblers thought the following things were more likely to happen:- 2,500:1 - David Moyes to be an X Factor judge 2,500:1 - Arsenal would sack Arsene Wenger and install Piers Morgan as boss 2,000:1 - Kim Kardashian will become US President by 2020 1,000:1 - Sir Alex Ferguson would win Strictly Come Dancing 1,000:1 - Hugh Hefner would admit he's a virgin 1,000:1 - Robbie Savage will be named the next James Bond 1,000:1 - Bono will become the next Pope 500:1 - Simon Cowell will become the next Prime Minister of the UK 500:1 - Andy Murray would name his first born Novak You might need to look up some of these names to see how unlikely they are, apart from Kim Kardasian: As Trump is a contender, I don't see why this couldn't happen.) Update -  The people of Leicester must be very, very happy today.

When Queen Elizabeth was born she stood third in line of succession to the throne after Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), and her father, The Duke of York. (She has 9 royal thrones - 1 at the House of Lords, 2 at Westminster Abbey, and 6 in the throne room at Buckingham Palace. It was never expected that she would become Queen.) 90 pictures

According to a study conducted by TopCashback website, on average, in 2015 pedestrians in the UK picked up £5.45 each in dropped change, and one in 20 managed to find £20. (However, millions of Brits would not stoop to pick up anything less than 50p dropped on the floor: only 4 in 10 people would bother to bend down to pick up a penny, and most would ignore anything that wasn't silver.  1 in 3 people said they would not pick up any cash dropped as in their eyes it would be stealing, however 8 in 10 Brits applied the finders-keepers rule, but they were unsur about how much they would pocket if no-one was around.  Most agreed that anything over £10 and they would hand it into the police, or give the cash to charity or a homeless person. 6 in 10 would hand in money left at a cash point by mistake, but only a fifth would run after the person who absent mindedly walked off without it.  Scarily 1 in 10 would quietly pop it into their purse or wallet. I will admit, I pi...

David Bowie's album Blackstar has reached number 1 in the American album charts. It is his first number 1 album in the US, and the first posthumous number one album in the US since Michael Jackson's This Is It soundtrack, which topped the chart in November 2009. (He had managed to reach number 2 spot with his 2013 album, The Next Day. Meanwhile, in the UK, 19 of his albums entered the UK album charts last week, after fans sought out his classic hits.

According to website LatestinBeauty.com, 1 in 3 three women are disappointed when they open the present from their partner on Christmas Day. (25% of men were branded “clueless” when it came to buying gifts, and 50% of women admitted they were unlikely to get their dream present as their partners had good intentions but were hopeless at getting it right. The worst gifts ever received were:- a Shewee (A reusable plastic contraption for those caught short while out and about.) a fishing rod cellulite cream intimate bodywash a windscreen wash kit (Spot who went to the all night garage.) a fossil a dustpan and brush a chainsaw weighing scales a high visibility jacket for dog walking a lurid green jumper with an embroidered alien In reality most women’s wish lists are fairly straightforward: a designer handbag, a romantic break or a watch were amongst the longed for items. Hubby gave me a Swiss Army knife once, but I asked him to.)

According to a survey commissioned by broadband provider Plusnet, 1 in 10 people believe that it only takes a small thing to salvage a bad day. (The top 10 things that make us cheerful are:- Doing a good deed for somebody (47 per cent)  Random acts of kindness from strangers (44 per cent)  Stumbling across a bargain (42 per cent) Spontaneous hug (40 per cent) A compliment from a stranger (39 per cent) A car stopping so you can cross the road (36 per cent) Being greeted by a pet (35 per cent) Getting a hand written letter in the post (31 per cent) Your favourite song coming on the radio (31 per cent) A stranger saying hello (30 per cent) Make my day. Try to do / experience at least 5 of these things today.)

According to women’s car insurance specialist, Diamond, men are more likely to lie about their age than women. (1 in 10 of the men questioned said they have lied about how old they are on their birthday, compared to 1 in 14 women. However, we are less likely to lie about our age the older we get. Men and women aged over 45 are the least likely to lie about their age, whilst those aged 25 to 35 are the most likely to. I don't lie about my age, "I'm as old as my tongue, and a little bit older than my teeth.")

According to figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, in 2014, 1 in 4 British nurses had to be recruited from abroad. (Seemingly there aren't enough nurses coming out of training because of cuts in training budgets. The good news is that agencies are making a fortune, and hospital trusts get to go on recruitment trips around the world.)

According to a survey by recruitment firm Portfolio Payroll, only 1 in 10 workers in the UK is happy with their job. (Nearly 40% of respondents were looking for a new post while 54%  were considering a move.   They also found that 70% would leave 'without hesitation' for a pay rise regardless of the job. The reasons for such unhappiness were poor wages, stress and long hours.)

40 is the only number in English that, when written out as a word, has its letters in alphabetical order. Forty (1 has its letters in alphabetical order - backwards.  Try it!)

We were talking about maternity and paternity / maternal and paternal in today's session, so this little factlet is very fitting. According to a survey carried out by the Family Matters Institute, 12% of fathers in the UK aspire to be like Homer Simpson. A good role-model? (The following "father figures" were most popular:- David Beckham - 21% Jamie Oliver - 14% Homer Simpson - 12% Prince William - 9% David Walliams - 7% Simon Cowell - 5% David Cameron - 4% Wayne Rooney - 1% The typical, modern UK dad was described as a food-loving, health-conscious, house proud family man, but their choices of role models leaves a lot to be desired.  For goodness sake! David Cameron left his 8 year-old daughter in the pub!)

According to a survey conducted by Sky Rainforest Rescue, 9 out of 10 Brits are unable to identify 5 common trees. Most were able to name 5 trees, but they couldn't recognise them when shown a picture. (The survey found that many adults couldn't tell a maple tree from an oak or a fir, and nine out of ten people struggled to identify the pointed leaves and red berries of a holly tree. Many didn't even know where conkers come from, or that acorns grow on oaks. Horse chestnut, maple oak tree? Never heard of them. And the worst of all the fir tree, traditionally put up in our homes for Christmas, caused confusion with more than 1 in 10 unable to name a picture of one. I guess it was unrecognisable without its clothes on. )

More than 209,000 young people were detained by police in England and Wales in 2010. (2,117 of those arrested were under the age of 11.  T he police have even arrested some children for throwing sticks at a horse chestnut tree (we do that to get the conkers, and yes, I have done it - even as an adult), but b elieve it or not, t he number of children actually arrested has fallen in recent years .  I have the sneaking suspicion that children are easy targets, whilst hardened criminals may be dangerous. I know who I'd rather go after.)

According to the Institute of Medicine, by the year 2010, 1 in 5 children in the US will be obese. (You can imagine the odd kid out at school - everyone will be shouting "Hey skinny!

The first Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley and commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant and inventor, in 1843. (It featured a design showing three generations of a family raising a toast to the recipient, and cost 1 shilling (that's 10p in new money). The average price of a Christmas card in the UK now (in 2005) is 71p, which might sound expensive in comparison, but it's actually much cheaper. A shilling could have bought you a meal back in the 1800s, so its buying power today is probably around £10.)