- 500 people were trampled to death in Moscow on the day of Stalin's funeral. (Russia: A History, ed Gregory Freeze)
- 62 of the world's 100 richest men are married to brunettes, 22 to blondes, 16 to "raven-haired" women, and none to a redhead. (Lycos)
- 35 ministers in Harold Macmillan's government, including seven cabinet ministers, were related to him by marriage. (A History of Modern Britain, by Andrew Marr)
- In 1968, France had 605,000 university students—as many as Britain, West Germany and Belgium combined. (The Independent Magazine, 23rd February 2008)
- Islam has overtaken Catholicism as the biggest religious denomination in the world. Muslims make up 19.2 per cent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 per cent. (Reuters, 30th March 2008)
- There are 121 postcode areas in Britain. Come May, when Tesco opens branches in the Western Isles, the Orkneys and Shetlands, the only one of these areas without a Tesco will be Harrogate. (Daily Telegraph, 28th March 2008)
- In Britain, half of all appeals against parking tickets are successful, yet only 1 per cent of tickets are appealed against. (The Times, 27th March 2008)
- Across the OECD, green taxes made up an average of 5.6 per cent of the total tax take in 2005—down from 5.9 per cent in 1996. (Economist.com, 31st March 2008)
- No English manager has ever won the Premier League. (Wikipedia)
- China absorbs 13 per cent of world milk output, a figure rising at 25 per cent annually. At this rate, by 2017 Chinese consumption will exceed world output. (Harvey Cole)
- By the late 1970s, Kingsley Amis was spending £1,000 a month on scotch. (Bookforum, Feb/March 2008)
- In the US, from 1960 to 1974, 128 instrumental pieces of music reached the top 20, while only 30 did from 1975 to 1990. Since then, there have been just five. (Slate, 11th March 2008)
- Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas fluorescens can go from a population of just 500 to 200m over the course of one night. (The Wild Side, 25th March 2008)
- Sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury avoids computers and ATMs and claims he has never driven a car. Isaac Asimov refused to board an aeroplane. (Discover, 30th January 2008)
- More than 13,000 people have passes giving them unrestricted access to Westminster. (Alistair Burt MP)
- The proportion of exports to Britain from Ireland halved between 1956 and 1981. (Luck and the Irish, by RF Foster)
- Britain spends £33bn a year on defence—significantly more than China's £23bn. (Prospect research)
- The US delivery company UPS has redesigned its routes to reduce left-hand turns. As a result, the company shaved 30m miles off its deliveries in 2007 and saved 3m gallons of petrol. (Parade, 6th April 2008)
- India tops the table for migrant remittances. In 2007, Indian workers sent back $27bn (£13.6bn). (BBC News Online)
- A survey in Melbourne found that mild to moderately depressed women enjoy a third more sexual activity than the non-depressed. (Herald Sun, 20th March 2008)
- Every year 1.2m people die in road accidents around the world. (The Observer, 23rd March 2008)
