In fact

November 19, 2006
  • In the US there are more Mormons than Jews aged under 45. [Prospect, p22]


  • The French consume more tranquillisers per head than any other nation. [Georges Calvet]


  • Without the black vote, the Democrats would have won the US presidency only once, in 1964. [The Guardian, 18th September 2006]


  • The richest person in mainland China is Zhang Yin, a paper recycling entrepreneur worth $3.4bn. Zhang, the world's richest self-made woman, is one of 15 billionaires in China. [Financial Times, 10th October 2006]


  • Walt Disney was a direct 22nd-generation descendant of Edward I. [On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman, Viking]


  • There are three members of the Iraqi cabinet with PhDs from British universities—but only two members of the British cabinet: John Reid and Gordon Brown. [The Spectator, 6th October 2006]


  • Britain has 13 times as many chartered accountants per capita as Germany. [Prospect research]


  • Over 90 per cent of aeroplane crashes have survivors. [BBC News Online, 3rd October 2006]


  • Mozambique's flag features a Kalashnikov—the only gun to appear on a national flag. [The Gun that Changed the World by Mikhail Kalashnikov]


  • The address of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in every Australian state capital city is PO Box 9994, after Don Bradman's test batting average of 99.94. [Australia by Phillip Knightley]


  • Winston Churchill never visited Australia. [The Observer "Review," 1st October 2006]


  • Although more than 70 per cent of British imports enter the country by water, less than 1 per cent of British freight is carried on the inland waterway system, compared to over 20 per cent in Germany. [Sunday Times, 8th October 2006]