Eighty per cent of fathers think of Christmas as a "relaxing holiday break"; only 35 per cent of mothers share this view. [Having None of It, Suzanne Franks]
Only 1.5 per cent of the 1,130 graduates of media studies programmes in Britain last year, got jobs as journalists. [Higher Education Careers Service Unit]
The length of time from invention to application of the ball-point pen was 58 years; for the zip fastener it was 32 years. [DTI]
One in 60 men born in Britain in 1953 had a conviction for a sex offence by the time he was 40. [Taking Stock: What do we know about Violence? ESRC]
In 1990, 63 per cent of Britons wanted the state to do more about the environment, compared to 45 per cent today. In Germany, the fall was from 90 per cent to 58 per cent today. [British-and European-Social Attitudes]
In the US, adult bookshops outnumber McDonald's restaurants three to one. [Effect of Pornography on Women and Children, US Senate Judiciary Committee]
Fewer than 30 per cent of Britons or Spaniards are likely to blame rising crime on immigrants, compared with more than 50 per cent of Germans or Swedes. [British-and European-Social Attitudes]
European business websites generated $110m in revenue during 1997. The cost of setting up and running these sites over that period was over $250m. [Reuters Business Insight]
Average life expectancy in Zimbabwe has gone down from 61 years in 1993 to 39 years today, partly because of Aids. [The Globe and Mail]
The civil aviation industry estimates that 8,000 bags are misrouted on the world's airways every day. [Aviation, Terrorism and Security, ed. by Paul Wilkinson and Brian M Jenkins]
One in six Irishmen in Britain earns £30,000 or more, compared to one in nine native British. [Catholic Herald, Patrick West]
More than 70 per cent of Chinese men smoke and by 2050, 3m will die from it each year. [Far Eastern Economic Review]
