- A garden worm has five pairs of hearts. [Cornell University]
- More than 10m people in the UK suffer from constipation - a third of them permanently. [The Independent "Review," 15th September 2003]
- The annual budget for the UN's core functions is about $1.25bn - roughly what the Pentagon spends in 32 hours. [Foreign Policy, September/October 2003]
- In April 1978, 77 per cent of people said they were satisfied with the way Denis Healey was doing his job as chancellor - more than 20 per cent more than any chancellor since. [Mori British Public Opinion Newsletter, spring 2003]
- In 2002, Britain received 7 per cent of all inward investment into the EU - only half France's amount. [Financial Times, 11th September 2003]
- At one time, four fifths of the world's Jews spoke Yiddish. [Boston Globe, 14th September 2003]
- The collective noun for owls is "parliament." [Wikipedia]
- Of the 188 suicide bomb attacks since 1980, 75 have been committed by Sri Lanka's secular Hindu Tamil Tigers - more than any other group. [New York Times, 22nd September 2003]
- In 2000, for the first time in more than 200 years, more babies were born in France than in any other European country. ["Old Europe? Demographic change and pension reform" by David Willetts, Centre for European Reform]
- A typical Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer cartridge costs ?29 for 17ml, or ?1.70 per ml, compared with Dom Perignon 1985 vintage champagne, which costs 23p per ml. [Which?]
- Out of 190,000 serving men and women in the British armed forces, fewer than 300 - 0.16 per cent-are Muslim. 3 per cent of the population is Muslim, so the proportion of Muslims in Britain is about 20 times as high as it is in the armed forces. [Prospect research]
