Interesting Facts

Varndean College, a sixth-form college in Brighton, offered sociology students a trip to watch a football match at Millwall Football Club. (Sounds fine so far, but the field trip was for them to "observe working-class culture". A poster for the trip promised participants would be able to see “gender performance” in action, including types such as “the new lad” on show, and the chance to observe “issues around sexuality, race and ethnicity,” “women challenging gender norms” and to “even talk to football fans”.  Wow! So, if anyone tells you the class system in the UK is dead, redirect them here.)

May 21st is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. It's also National Waiting Staff Day. So make sure you tip your waiter or waitress toda y.

According to a survey conducted by Travelodge, a third of British children think that Easter, one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, is a celebration of the Easter Bunny's birthday. (Bless.  Maybe they should read our culture page on  Easter . The real problem is that the average child in the UK will clock up 10,000 calories whilst binging on chocolate Easter eggs and sweeties over the Easter weekend.)

The final quarterly economic report published by the UK government's Department for Culture Media and Sport has revealed that the overall cost of delivering the Games was £8.92 billion. (That works out at £142 per head for every man, woman and child in the UK. They were very proud of the fact that it was lower than the £9.3bn they eventually set aside, but no one should forget that the original budget, put forward at the Olympic bid was a mere £2.4bn. Only governments get away with this kind of thing, if I did it I would be sacked, or jailed.)

The handshake is thought to have been introduced to the UK by Sir Walter Raleigh in British Court during the late 16th century. (The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon. There are various customs surrounding handshakes, both generically and specific to certain cultures:- The handshake is commonly used when meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, expressing gratitude, or completing an agreement. In sports or other competitive activities, it is also done as a sign of good sportsmanship. Its purpose is to convey trust, balance, and equality. In Anglophone countries, in business situations. In casual non-business situations, men are more likely to shake hands than women. In Belgium, handshakes are done more often, especially on meetings. In Switzerland, it may be expected to shake the women's hands first. Austrians shake hands when meeting, often including with children. In so...

Devon sculptor Alex Hartley and a team of artists are going to drag a small island around the coast of the UK, from Weymouth to Bristol, as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012. (The land mass,which is the size of a football pitch, has been called Nowhereisland and it was discovered in 2004 off the coast of Svalbard. You can become a citizen of Nowhereisland on their website - http://nowhereisland.org/ . Something the millions of stateless people round the world might be interested in.)

A neon artwork sign by British artist Tracey Emin has been installed inside Prime Minister David Cameron's official residence. (The sign reads, "More Passion". I wonder if his wife asked her to put it up in the bedroom?)

The Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,500-year-old clay cylinder covered with cuneiform lettering is thought to be the world's first declaration of human rights. (The cylinder is from Persia, now known as Iran, and was ordered by the Persian king Cyrus following the conquest of Babylon. In Babylonian.  It states how every man, woman and child should be free to practise their culture and religion.)