Interesting Facts

According to a Freedom of Information request from the BBC, since the introduction of UK legislation in October 2015 that bans anyone from smoking in cars with children present, no fines have been issued. (Of course this does not mean that people have suddenly stopped blowing smoke into their children's lungs, it simply means this is yet another unenforceable piece of legislation.)

According to a survey run by Age Partnership, to find out what key lifestyle changes can best improve your mood, women are made happier by getting a dog or cat, while men’s positivity is boosted by joining a club or buying a new car. (For Brits over 55 a pub lunch was viewed as an easy way of improving your mood. The three most affordable options were eating out once a month, going on a monthly organised day trip and being in a club. The three least affordable lifestyle changes are getting a conservatory, buying a new car or buying a campervan – all of which are impossible to afford on the state pension alone, and if money were no object, the most effective happiness promoter for the over-55s would be to go on holiday.) Source

Car maker Volkswagen also own Audi, Bentley, Ducatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, and  Skoda. (They should keep buying companies until they have a complete A to Z.)

According to Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, human beings are not genetically programmed to go backwards, so reversing in general is really quite difficult when you're learning to drive. (This statement was prompted by the internet video doing the rounds of a woman trying to parallel park (see below). Mr Delaney said, "There are some people who will not parallel park - they would sooner drive the extra half mile to use the supermarket car park." What about you?)

According to Dr Charles Brown, of the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, swallows are evolving to avoid getting hit by cars. (A study carried out over several years  in Keith County, Nebraska, has shown a  sharp reduction in the number of swallows killed on the roads, and the results seem to show that n atural selection has favoured birds that are better able to get out of the way of oncoming cars and trucks.  Now if only hedgehogs would evolve too.)

A load of old bones found under a council car park in Leicestershire, belonged to King Richard III. (Archeologists, from the University of Leicester, have confirmed that DNA evidence proves the discovery of the body of Richard, who was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.) Update - The University of Leicester, which led the project to find and exhume Richard, was given permission to reinter the king's remains at the cathedral in Leicester, which is close to Bosworth in central England, but descendants of the monarch, who was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty, are seeking a legal challenge to have his body laid to rest instead in York, the northern English city with which he had close links during his life. They should be grateful Laika didn't find them, or they really would be - history.

The original Batmobile car, used by actor Adam West in the TV series of Batman, has been bought for £2.6m ($4.2m) at a US auction. (56-year-old, Rick Champagne, who bought the car, said it "was a dream come true". Funny that, my dreams are a lot cheaper.)

The world's first road-worthy flying car is up for sale. (The 1954 Aerocar is one of only five known to still exist today, and it will cost you a mere £800,000, but just think of all those traffic jams you'll be able to avoid. That said, I'm still waiting for my jetpack.) Source

The first ever number plate in the UK, A1, was issued in 1903. (A guy called Earl Russell is said to have camped outside the vehicle registration office to get the prestigious plate.)