Interesting Facts

Roughly 1.1m people work in Britain’s gig economy, and according to a survey carried out by Ipsos Mori and the RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), 69 per cent of them are male. (In recent years, the word gig was used to refer to a live performance by or engagement for a musician or group , but “Gig economy” work is used to describe part-time self-employed work, often office work, short tasks and ‘click work’ done online.  In Britain that kind of work has tended to attract women in the past.  Nowadays there is a real gender imbalance in some sectors: For example men account for 95 per cent of Uber drivers and 94 per cent of Deliveroo couriers.)

According to a report by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Britons spend two-and-a-half months a year sitting down. (The study revealed that most Brits only walk half a mile a day and nearly half of women and a third of men are inactive. The average man is sitting for 78 days of the year - a fifth of his lifetime, and although women tend to me more on their feet than men we do far less exercise.)

If we ever needed proof that Brits are getting bigger, here it is:  High street retailer Debenhams is now stocking clothing in sizes up to XXXXXL. (Debenhams say they have begun to stock the 5XL size in male ranges to meet demand.  The new big and tall range goes up to a 64-inch chest and a 20-inch collar. The previous largest size was 3XL, but demand for larger sizes of shirts, suits, tops, casual jackets and trousers has soared by 170% over the last 2 years. If you go to their Big and Tall website, they even list XXXXXXL - 6XL! Now all I can think about is what clothing size the Hulk is.  Does anyone know?)

According to research carried out by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, half of Western European men are descended from one Bronze Age ‘king’. (The unamed monarch, who lived around 4,000 years ago, sired a dynasty of elite nobles which spread throughout Europe. Previous genetic research has found that 16 million men across the world could be related to Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who died in 1227. So, who's your daddy?) Source

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics, we Brits are ill for one fifth of our lives. (Women suffer the most, being sick for 19 years on average, compared with men who are poorly for 16 years. The most worrying aspect is that healthy life expectancy — the time spent feeling well — is growing at a slower rate than actual life expectancy, which means we are facing old age and ill health. )

The balls used in men's and women's tennis are different. (They are the same size, weight and pressure: between 2½ and 2 5/8 inches (6.35 and 6.67 cm) in diameter and weighing between 2 and 2 1/16 ounces (57.7 and 58.5 grams) but balls used by men have an extra-duty felt covering, which increases air resistance and slows the overall speed. Women players use regular-duty felt. Professional tennis player Bob Bryan, who uses both kinds of balls on the men's and mixed doubles circuit, believes he can add around six mph to his serve when playing with the women's regular balls. It is very difficult to write about this without sounding silly.)

According to research company Mintel, in the UK sons spend more on their mothers on Mother's Day than daughters.  Over 40% more! (Men spend an average of 41.15 on Mother's Day gift, whilst women send just 28.97. Sons spend more on flowers for their mums than they do for their partners on Valentine's Day. The only catch to all this benficance is, they have to remember.  Only 57% of men remembered to buy a gift, compared with 62% of women. In addition 24% of men chose a present at the last minute, compared with just 18% of women.  Guys, if you are reading this now, if you hurry you might find a garage open. I wonder what Laika has got me.) Source

According to linguists Carmen Fought and Karen Eisenhauer Disney films are dominated by men when it comes to dialogue. (Pocahontas, Mulan and The Little Mermaid were all named after the main female character, but that didn't help: In Pocahontas 76% of the dialogue was from the men, it was 77% in Mulan  and 68% in The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast had male characters speaking 71% of the time, while in Aladdin it was 90%. Early Disney films such as Snow White had fewer speaking roles but spread them equally between male and female characters, and in Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty women seemingly had more dialogue than men. To be fair it's not just Disney. In the film The Avengers, none of the female characters talked to each other at any point.)

According to website LatestinBeauty.com, 1 in 3 three women are disappointed when they open the present from their partner on Christmas Day. (25% of men were branded “clueless” when it came to buying gifts, and 50% of women admitted they were unlikely to get their dream present as their partners had good intentions but were hopeless at getting it right. The worst gifts ever received were:- a Shewee (A reusable plastic contraption for those caught short while out and about.) a fishing rod cellulite cream intimate bodywash a windscreen wash kit (Spot who went to the all night garage.) a fossil a dustpan and brush a chainsaw weighing scales a high visibility jacket for dog walking a lurid green jumper with an embroidered alien In reality most women’s wish lists are fairly straightforward: a designer handbag, a romantic break or a watch were amongst the longed for items. Hubby gave me a Swiss Army knife once, but I asked him to.)

Seemingly the smell of garlic on a man is irresistible to women. Not garlic breath though, it's the smell that comes from a man's armpits after chewing raw garlic. Eew! (Scientists believe that the sweat of men who had eaten a bulb of garlic was more attractive to women because it suggested the man is healthy. Garlic is a bit of a superfood, it has antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal properties. So, throw away the Lynx on Friday night, and get chomping.)

According to a survey conducted by money saving website VoucherCodesPro, the average British man doesn't learn to cook until he's 27, and is 22 before he figures out how to make the bed. (It doesn't stop at cooking either; over 50% said they had not bothered learning as they did not need to know how to do the housework, and 39% said they had someone to do it for them.  It looks as if men are turning into Tamagotchis.)

According to a survey run by GoEuro, women in France and Belgium ranked British men as the most desirable in Europe. (The European survey found that the typical British gentleman is now perceived to be the third most attractive nationality, ahead of the French (in fourth place). Go Euro said, the change in fortunes could be down to English now being the most widely-spoken language. I like to think I've done my bit for the men of Britain.)

According to a survey conducted by Asda, the best time to have a conversation with a man is 8:15pm. (Unfortunately the women in the survey said they would probably bring up a tricky topic at 8:20am We might not be from different planets, but it looks as if we run on different time-zones.)

According to women’s car insurance specialist, Diamond, men are more likely to lie about their age than women. (1 in 10 of the men questioned said they have lied about how old they are on their birthday, compared to 1 in 14 women. However, we are less likely to lie about our age the older we get. Men and women aged over 45 are the least likely to lie about their age, whilst those aged 25 to 35 are the most likely to. I don't lie about my age, "I'm as old as my tongue, and a little bit older than my teeth.")

According to a report by the WHO (World Health Organisation) 74% of men and 64% of women in the UK will be overweight by 2030. ( That's almost three-quarters of men and two-thirds of women in the UK are on their way to being overweight within 15 years. Medically speaking, b eing “overweight” is defined as having a BMI ( Body Mass Index ) of between 25 and 29.9.  Being  “obese” is defined by a BMI of 30 and above. Worryingly  other European countries are facing growing obesity problems including Greece, Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic and even Sweden.   The only European country to escape is the Netherlands.  Must be all those bikes.) Source

According to a documentary by Channel 4,  when they go to the pub together men are more likely to talk about their children and relationship issues, than football and women. (I would imagine the topics might change if they know there's someone filming them.)

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, on average British mums spend 3 hours a day on housework and cooking, whereas fathers spend an average of three quarters of an hour. (In 8 out of 10 couples, women do all the washing and ironing, but things are changing, a magazine survey in 1999 revealed that among the over-60s age group, none of the men surveyed ever did the washing! Of course in 1980 only 31% of women had a full-time or part-time job compared to 55% today. According to therapist Julia Cole, most men still expect women to do the housework, and if men do it, they act as though they are doing their partner a favour; saying things like: 'I've done the washing up for you' instead of regarding it as something which benefits both of them.)

Jessie Gallan, who recently celebrated her 109th birthday in the UK, has put her long life down to plenty of porridge, and no men. Image - CC 3 - Source http://www.vectorgoods.com  (Jessie, who lives in Aberdeen, told a Daily Mail reporter: “My secret to a long life has been staying away from men. They're just more trouble than they're worth." She also made sure that she got plenty of exercise, and she still eats a bowl of porridge every morning. I guess Goldilocks was onto something.)

According to a  study by the Energy Saving Trust, women like it hotter - in the home.  ( Women prefer the home to be 24°C on average, while men prefer a cooler 19°C, but each extra degree costs around £85 a year for a three-bed semi. However, it's women who win the “thermostat war".  Guys!  It's not a war, you just want to keep us happy!)

On average, New Year's resolutions only last 23 days. (According to a study carried out by the University of Hertfordshire most of us scrap any good intentions as early as January 23rd. Only 30 per cent of women in the UK stuck to their guns, compared with 37 per cent of men. Of course, it depends on the resolution.)