In fact

Poor regions in France receive more money from the EU's structural assistance funds than poor regions in Poland. [Financial Times, 14th June 2005]

Casanova spent the last 13 years of his life working as a librarian. [Sunday Times Magazine, 23rd April 2005]

By 15, only half of American children live with both biological parents, compared with roughly two thirds of Swedish, German and French children, and 90 per cent of children in Spain and Italy. [American Prospect, June 2005]

There are more people called Chang in China than the total population of Germany. [Stephen Green, chairman HSBC]

Three quarters of those who have given more than £50,000 to Labour since 2001 have received an honour, and every single donor who has given over £1m has been rewarded with a peerage or knighthood. [Daily Mail, 7th June 2005]

Queen Victoria spoke Urdu and Hindi. [The Guardian, 9th November 2004]

There are more African scientists and engineers working in the US than in the whole of Africa. [Commission for Africa report]

One in every 3,400 Americans is an Elvis impersonator. [Financial Times, 7th June 2005]

In the UK in 1966, there were 86,700 births to women under 20; in 2003, this number had fallen to 44,200. [Spiked, 26th May 2005]

31 per cent of practising doctors in Britain were trained abroad, compared to 5 per cent in France and Germany. [The Lancet, 27th May 2005]

Not a single enterprise founded in France in the past 40 years has managed to break into the ranks of the 25 biggest French companies. By comparison, 19 of today's 25 largest US companies didn't exist four decades ago. [Washington Post, 5th June 2005]