Interesting Facts

A teacher has become the first person in the UK to be turned away from MacDonald's for failing a breathalyser test. (The tipsy 25-year-old teacher was refused entry to the fast food outlet in the early hours of a Sunday after failing a breathalyser test at the door. This is all part of a scheme funded by Cambridgeshire Police. I would think they'll be turning away a lot of people.)

Since the first Women's Boat Race, in 1927, the women's rowing teams from Oxford and Cambridge universities have never been permitted to race on the same course, on the same day, as the men. (That will all change today, when for the first time ever female crews representing Oxford and Cambridge will row the four miles, 374 yards from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge, the Tideway, on the same day as the men, in front of a live TV audience. The tide has changed, and another bastion of gender inequality in sport bites the dust. )

Young children really believe they become invisible if other people can't see their eyes. (Studies carried out by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that when children aged between 3 and 4 had their eyes covered with masks, they really believed they could not be seen by the researchers. On being asked to explain how they were made invisible by simply hiding their eyes, many knew that their bodies remained visible, suggesting a childhood distinction between their physical bodies and the 'self' they connect to their eyes. Peekaboo! The eyes really are the window to the soul.)

Researchers from Cambridge University have developed a saliva test that can indicate the risk of depression in teenage boys. (Most mental health disorders start before age 24 and about one in six people will suffer from clinical depression, in the UK 10 million people will suffer at some point in their lives. The research found that teenage boys who felt down and had high levels of the "stress hormone" cortisol were 14 times more likely to go on to suffer clinical depression than boys who didn't . The test was tried on teenage boys and girls, but found to be most effective with boys.) Source

According to scientists at the University of Cambridge, abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts. (Experts have always been unsure whether drugs changed the wiring of the brain or if drug addicts' brains were wired differently in the first place and this study has shown the same differences in the brains of addicts and their non-addicted brothers and sisters. So you really can blame it on  your parents.) Source

Researchers from Cambridge University have found that the buttercup's unique anatomical structure is why they glow yellow under people's chins. (The plant has evolved an epidermal layer on its petals that reflects a significant amount of UV light with an intensity that is comparable to glass, the plant has developed this to attract pollinating insects, but of course it is also used to tell if you like butter or not. In the UK a children's game involves placing a buttercup under your chin, and if your chin glows yellow, it proves you like butter.)

According to research carried out at the University of Cambridge the time children spend outdoors could be linked to a reduced risk of being short-sighted, research suggests. (Researchers found that for each additional hour spent outside each week, the risk of myopia reduced by 2%. I am long sighted, so maybe I spent too much time outdoors.)

A 15-year-old mathematics prodigy is set to become the youngest undergraduate at the University of Cambridge since 1773. (Arran Fernandez was home-educated in Surrey, and now he's going to start studying at Cambridge at the tender age of just 15. Cambridge has not accepted anyone his age since the 14-year-old William Pitt the Younger was offered a place in 1773. So, 15 years old and home-schooled - good luck young man, be nice to him all you Cambridge dons and no ragging!)