In fact

April 22, 2006
  • In Britain, about 30 per cent of graduate women born in the early 1960s entered their forties childless. For graduate women born in 1970, the expected figure is 40 per cent. [Prospect, page 32]



  • Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair. [Houston Chronicle, 18th February 2006]



  • Per capita, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each week in Scotland than in Australia. [The Guardian, 24th February 2006]



  • Senegal's only athlete at the Winter Olympics, competing as an alpine skier, has never been to Senegal. [Reuters]



  • 82 per cent of British people think "community involvement" is a good idea, 26 per cent say they would like to do it, but only 2 per cent actually have. [ODPM]



  • The words tomato, coyote, avocado, and chocolate all come from the Aztec language Nahuatl. [Marginal Revolution, 27th February 2006]



  • One in four British households owns a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. [The Guardian, 3rd March 2006]



  • In Britain, those born in September have a 20 per cent better chance of entering higher education aged 18 than those born in August. [HEFCE]



  • There are half a million semi-automatic machine guns in Swiss homes. [50 Facts you Need to Know: Europe by Emma Hartley]



  • 80 per cent of British companies have a website—more than any other country in the world. [RTC North Foresight]



  • 62 per cent of Norwich residents are registered eBay users. [The Times, 20th February 2006]



  • In Britain, only one of the last 16 months had average rainfall. [The Observer, 12th March 2006]



  • Per capita, there are more psychoanalysts in Buenos Aires than anywhere in the world. [Daily Telegraph, 14th January 2006]