Out of 187 mammal species thought to have become extinct since 1500, 67—or one third—have since been rediscovered. Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Ed Miliband can solve the Rubik’s Cube in one minute 20 seconds—with one hand. BBC News website, 28th September 2010
New Yorkers were nearly twice as likely to die from a horse accident in 1900 (1 out of every 17,000 people) than they were from a car accident in 2007 (1 out of every 30,000.) Superfreakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner (Penguin)
One in three British call centre workers is a graduate; a rise from one in four in 2009. Daily Mail, 22nd September 2010
Cashpoint machines in the Vatican allow you to perform your transaction in Latin. Reuters, 21st September 2010
People who have smoked for 30 years are almost 50 per cent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than non-smokers. California Institute of Technology
In Britain alone, 800 people still work on the administration of Lehman Brothers. Guardian, 15th September 2010
America’s original motto, e pluribus unum, (out of many, one) first appeared in Virgil’s poem Moretum to describe salad dressing. Mental Floss, April/May 2009
On 3rd October, Germany made its last reparations payment for the first world war. Der Spiegel online, 28th September 2010
Elgar was a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan and wrote one of the first football chants, “He Banged The Leather For Goal,” in honour of 1890s striker Billy Malpass. Daily Telegraph, 26th September 2010
In fact
October 20, 2010
