Interesting Facts

According to researchers from Vrije University in Amsterdam,  Facebook is as addictive as (if not more addictive than) cigarettes and chocolate. (Seemingly just seeing the blue and white Facebook logo is enough to give an addict a buzz, making it impossible for them to resist logging on.  I'm sure Mr Zuckerberg is glad to hear that, but "impossible".  Really? Check yourself, and if you find it irresistible, switch your device off and go for a walk.)

According to doctors, James Bond is a functioning alcoholic. (Doctors analysing the Ian Fleming novels say that 007 polishes off the equivalent of one and a half bottles of wine every day. Excluding the 36 days Bond was in prison, hospital or rehab, the spy downed 1,150 units of alcohol in 88 days, which works out at 92 units a week - about five vodka martinis a day and four times the recommended maximum intake for men in the UK. He is also a drink driver. He certainly mixes it up in the films too.  According to recent research Daniel Craig is the booziest Bond yet; knocking back around 20 units in the film. 

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.)

English football fans face being breathalysed before being allowed into matches. (Trying to enter a sports ground while drunk is actually a criminal offence, and only fans who appear to be drunk will be tested. The project, which will run indefinitely, was launched at Cambridge United's match against Burton Albion, and if successful, may be roled out to other venues. Anyone found to be over the limit will be given the boot (sorry).)

According to a study published  in the journal BMJ Open, most people get little or no protection against disease from alcohol, even at moderate drinking levels. (The rather sobering study found that the only exception seems to be women over 65, but even for them the health benefits of alcohol are not enormous. Sigh. I'll still stick with my weekend tipple, because even if it isn't great for my body, I'm sure it's good for my psychological well-being.) If you want to know why you should drink less, watch this:-

In the UK, in order to be legally permitted to sell certain age restricted products, you need a licence or registration.  (Licenses and/or registrations apply to the following products:- Alcohol Fireworks and explosives Firearms  Gambling Knives (non domestic) Pet animals Petroleum Tattooing and skin piercing Tobacco There is an age limit of 18 for using a sunbed, but no legal requirement to be licensed to operate one. There is no age limit for using or purchasing hair dye.)

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , humans started drinking alcohol about 10 million years ago. (They discovered that a single genetic mutation 10 million years ago endowed our human ancestors with an enhanced ability to break down ethanol, probably from eating fermenting fruit. I guess it was their superpower.) 

According to figures released by Alcohol Concern, around 10 million NHS admissions in England between 2012 and 2013 were related to alcohol. (They have produced an " alcohol harm map " to highlight the problem of alcohol misuse, which is estimated to cost society around £21 billion.)

This is more an interesting abbreviation, but I hope you will forgive me.  BYO is an abbreviation that's been in use for some time, usually seen in restaurants, it stands for 'Bring Your Own', and it usually applies to wine or alcoholic drinks. BYOD means Bring Your Own Device. (Seemingly more and more companies are asking employees to provide their own electronic devices, at their own cost. This means employees have the freedom to use a device that they prefer over one issued by their employer and employers don't carry the burden of providing computers, smart phones and other mobile devices. Of course I have no choice but to BMOD.)

According to experts at the London Wine Academy, Britons prefer cheaper wine. (In blind tests where tasters tried two wines, each from the same grape variety but at different prices, 8 out of 10 people preferred a bottle of wine costing £4.99 to a bottle that cost £19.99, and 6 people in 10 thought the £4.99 version was the more expensive of the two. The academy said that an amateur’s perception of a good wine is based on the notion of ‘smoothness’, and cheaper wines from warm climates have lower acidity, a simpler flavour, and higher alcohol content. Aha! I think the last point explains much.)

According to research into adolescent health, published in the Lancet, our brains are not fully developed until the age of 24. (In the UK, young people can legally smoke and have sex at 16, drive at 17, drink alcohol, vote and are deemed adults at 18, but the brain is ill-equipped before the age of 24 to deal with the effects of all the drinking they do and less able to assess risk. I wish I had known this when I was a bit younger. I'd have had a good excuse for all the crazy things I did: "Hey, give me a break, my brain isn't fully developed yet.")

20th September is International Punch Day. What it isn't:- It is not about Punch and Judy. It is not an excuse to punch someone. What it is:- It is a day to celebrate the traditional drink, punch.

Until 2012, beer was considered a soft drink in Russia. (O n New Year's Day 2012, beer in Russia becomes classified as an alcoholic drink for the very first time. A Russian saying goes: "Beer without vodka is like throwing money to the wind." Thanks to  +Luke Pettit  for bringing this interesting fact to my attention.) 

According to a study, commissioned by the alcohol-free bar movement in London, hangovers hit you harder when you are 29 years old. (The reason is that 29-year-olds think they can hit the bottle as they did when they were younger but end up with hangovers that last an average of 10 hours and 24 minutes instead of the usual 9 hours 45 minutes. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.)

According to the 2012 league table of food and drink costs, Britain pays more for food and alcohol than most of Europe. ( The staples, milk, cheese and eggs are 7% more expensive and across all food and non-alcoholic drinks, the UK pays 4% above the EU27. In the same study, Norway came out as the most expensive for food and drink and Macedonia the cheapest. All this came as no surprise to me; doing a food shop in the UK is always more expensive than Germany, but the biggest surprise is alcohol in the UK is around 43% above the European Union average, in France alcohol costs are 12% below the average and Germany 18%  lower. However, this is not why I moved to Germany.)

The very first sip of beer releases a chemical that makes you want another one. (According to a study carried out at Indiana’s Alcohol Research Centre, that first sip releases dopamine into the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to the brain’s pleasure centres. That must be why my photos are always 2 beers .) Source

According to UK government figures, the cost to the National Health Service of treating drink-related problems  has reached almost £3bn a year. (That's a lot of money.  Seemingly, in 2011 there were around 200,000 hospital admissions with patients suffering alcohol-related conditions – 40 per cent more than in 2003 – while the number of people treated for extreme drunkenness more than doubled to 18,500.   I'm happy to say that the worst thing that has ever happened to me under the influence, is a, well deserved, hangover.)

Pheasants love rum-soaked raisins. (After villagers and the postman, in Wootton, Staffordshire, were being terrorised by a pheasant, called George, a pheasant expert, Mike Gadsby recommended a seemingly tried and tested way of pacifying George - by feeding him raisins that have been soaked in rum. If you look up the number of recipes for cooking pheasant with raisins soaked in alcohol, it seems a bit stupid of the birds.)

Russia has officially recognised beer as an alcoholic drink. (Yes, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a bill on 21st July 2011, that officially classifies beer as an alcoholic drink. This means that beer will no longer be sold in unlicensed kiosks, and its sale will be banned from stores between certain hours, and advertising will be restricted, but don't worry, this won't happen until 2013. So, why has this blindingly obvious fact escaped the Russians until now? Well, anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia had been considered a foodstuff. OMG! I should have been born a Russian.)

According to a report in the Royal Society of Chemistry, the best hangover cure is toast with a large dollop of honey. (Hangovers are caused when the body converts alcohol into the toxic chemical acetaldehyde. Other hangover cures exist:  Hair of the dog, a fry-up, and coffee are all popular cures for a New Year's hangover, and there are lots more disgusting suggestions and concoctions that you can find on the net, but a plate of toast and honey provides the body with the sodium, potassium and fructose it needs."  The report added that the best way to avoid a hangover in the first place is to have a glass of milk before you start drinking, stick to gin or vodka with a few soft drinks throughout the night, and then have a pint of water before you go to bed, but let's be honest, the best way to avoid a hangover is to not get drunk in the first place.)