10 things we didn't know last week
17:01 UK time, Friday, 16 March 2007
Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.
1. Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister were written not only to entertain but to promote the idea that working for a unified public interest was a myth - as argued by Margaret Thatcher's favourite theorist, James Buchanan.
2. Mobile phones in large part have little effect on medical equipment, despite bans on their use in most hospitals.
3. Comic Relief has raised £425m since it started 21 years ago up until Friday's extravaganza.
4. Parting hair on the left is said to emphasise masculine traits as it draws attention to left-brain activities; similarly, parting on the right is said to emphasise feminine traits.
5. About 200 million light bulbs - of the common or garden incandescent tungsten filament variety - are sold each year in the UK; there are plans to phase these out by 2011.
6. The brief flowering of the cherry blossom tree is taken so seriously in Japan that forecasts are used to plan festivals, and travel agents use them to plan tours.
7. The woman who invented the modern incarnation of Mother's Day was so distressed by its commercialisation that she tried to copyright the date to protect her idea. She failed.
8. Four out of every 10 children are born out of wedlock.
9. To be found attractive, women should sway their hips and men their shoulders (although researchers call this a "shoulder swagger").
10. There are 1.3 billion £20 notes in circulation.
Sources, where not linked - 1: The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom? Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Two, 11 March. 3: Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Breakfast, 15 Mar. 4 - Times, 14 Mar. 8: C4's Unmarried Parent Scandal, 16 Mar. 10: The Guardian, 13 Mar.
Seen 10 things? . Thanks this week to Lester Mak.
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