- Over the next two decades, China is likely to construct as many new buildings as Europe's total current stock. (Speech by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General, 16th September 2008; sent in by Toby Procter)
- Between 1997 and 2007, the rise in British property values exceeded the gross earnings of all British female employees over the same period. (Office of national statistics; sent in by Peter Hird)
- In 2005, Baltimore averaged a higher per capita homicide rate than Darfur. (UN field reports and infoplease.com; sent in by Alex de Waal)
- Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, stopped Elvis from touring abroad, as he was an illegal immigrant and believed he would not be allowed back in to the US. (BBC online; sent in by Nigel Springhall)
- In 1974, Leicestershire golfer Bob Taylor achieved three holes-in-one in competition on the same hole over three successive days. (Hole in one, by Chris Rodell; sent in by Charles Stonehill)
- 35,000 people die of rabies in India every year. (The Times, 26th August 2008)
- In the US, a poll of 10,000 married couples in 2006-07 found that 19 per cent met online, compared with 17 per cent who got together at work and 17 per cent who met through friends. (Daily Mirror, 14th August 2008)
- Atlanta airport is the world's busiest. (The Economist, 30th August 2008)
- Only 245 male tennis players have won more than £1m in total career prize money. Of these, Tim Henman is the 22nd highest earning player of all time, Greg Rusedski 35th and Andy Murray 101st. (ATP online)
- Exports make up 13.5 per cent of US GDP—the highest figure since the second world war. (Wall Street Journal, 11th September 2008)
- China's biggest single oil supplier is Angola. (The Economist, 30th August 2008)
- 23 per cent of Germans believe the US government was behind 9/11. The figures in Britain, France and Italy are 5, 8 and 15 per cent respectively. In Egypt, just 12 per cent blame the US, although 43 per cent point the finger at Israel. (worldpublicopinion.org)
- Buckingham Palace was recently valued at £935m. (The Telegraph, 1st September 2008)
- A pound of gold is worth $12,000. The following are all worth more than their weight in gold, in terms of price per pound: platinum ($20,679), $50 notes ($22,680), cocaine ($22,680), rhodium ($77,292), good-quality 1-carat diamonds ($11.4m), LSD ($55m) and antimatter ($26 quadrillion). (Marginal revolution, 28th August 2008)
- British manufacturing exports are worth six times as much as financial services exports. (Prospect manufacturing survey)
- The Greater London Authority Act 1999, which established the office of London mayor, was the longest piece of legislation passed by parliament since the Government of India Act in 1935. (The Times, 21st August 2008)
- One in four adults in New York City have herpes. (USA Today, 9th June 2008)
- This year, over 5 per cent of the Egyptian government budget will go on bread subsidies. Subsidies as a whole cost more than the health and education budgets combined. (Prospect, October 2008)
