Interesting Facts

According to data from hitched.co.uk, more and more Brits are getting married on a Thursday. (Is this because of tradition, or for religious reasons?  No.  It's because it's cheaper.  Seemingly, tying the knot at weekends can cost thousands of pounds more for the cost of venues, catering and entertainers. Caroline Hendry, editor of hitched.co.uk, said that Thursdays are popular as many venues charge the same high prices on a Friday as they do on the weekend. She added: ‘With many venues and wedding suppliers booking up months or even years in advance, a Thursday wedding can also give couples a better chance of booking their first choice vendors.’ At a time when everyone is struggling with debts and rising house prices, around 21,700 couples chose to marry on a Thursday in 2015 – about 6,000 more than in 2008. According to figures compiled by the Daily Mail, the Achnagairn Estate in the Highlands, where castle hire, including use of the ballroom and a two-night...

According to Government data, a single 11.7 minute trip to a GP costs the NHS £45. (The 2013 Health and Social Care report from the Personal Social Services Research Unit states: It costs £27 for a 7.1 minute telephone consultation with a GP. Home visits from a GP lasting 23.4 minutes cost the NHS £114. One prescription from your GP costs £41.35, including the cost of the drug. A 15 minute appointment with your nurse in a GP practice costs £13. Cheap at half the price. The NHS is one of the things Britain should be most proud of.)

According to a freedom of information request, the Metropolitan Police in London spend up to £100 every time a light-bulb needs changing. (A maintenance firm is paid this amount if a light-bulb " urgently " needs replacing. In "non-urgent" cases it costs a mere £26. I think I have found my new calling. I've always wanted to bring more light into the world.)

According to research published by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), smoking breaks and additional sick leave are costing UK businesses £8.7 billion in lost productivity every year. (Their research showed that the average smoker takes four smoking breaks a day, lasting for around ten minutes. Smokers also take nearly a day more of sick leave a year on average compared to their non-smoking colleagues. The BHF is calling on employers to join thousands of organisations in running No Smoking Day events today, March 12.)

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.)

A survey carried out by UK retailer John Lewis shows that parents have to spend around £550 to equip their child to go back to school. (The reason is that on top of the usual expenses, such as clothing, sports equipment, bags, books, stationery and lunch boxes, gadgets are making their way into the satchel.  One of the main differences between today’s school bag and those in my day is the inclusion of electronic gadgets, with almost half of all secondary school children taking a smart phone to lessons and around 35 per cent carrying headphones. Nearly a fifth of kids take an MP3 player into school, 5 per cent take a tablet and 2 per cent an ereader. The saddest thing is thought that schools still don't utilise these items with their lessons, teachers even have the right to search for and confiscate mobile phones in school.)  

Today it costs around £1 billion to bring a new drug to market. (The pharmaceutical industry has to jump through so many hoops to follow regulations, test and ensure the safety of drugs, and when you think about the thalidomide scandal, rightly so.  However, it does mean that drug development is very expensive and extremely slow. Now in the UK there is a "Right to Try" campaign, pushing to give the terminally ill the right to try untested drugs. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/45928 )

According to a study commissioned by Escentual.com, the average value of the contents of a woman's make-up bag is £172. (This valuation doesn't even take into account the cost of the make-up bag, just the contents. It was worked out using the following:- lipstick, £14 eyeliner, £11 mascara, £23 foundation £27 concealer £11 eye-shadow £16 blusher £11 bronzer £11 eyelash curler £5 eyebrow pencil £5 lip-liner £5 lip-gloss £11 Funnily enough, the women surveyed admitted having quite a few products in their bag that they rarely used, but they took them out just so they could be ready for every eventuality. The only make-up in my handbag is lip salve.  Cost? 1 pound.)

Black Gold caviar costs £20,000 per kilo. (Umm has anyone ever told them it's fish eggs?)