An Hachette Livre UK Company www.hachettelivre.co.

uk

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Hamlyn, a division of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2-4 Heron Quays, London E14 4JP www.octopusbooks.co.uk

Copyright Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2008 Text copyright Russell Ash 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Russell Ash asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

ISBN 978-0-600-61817-1

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed and bound in Dubai 1098765432

Executive Editor Trevor Davies Managing Editor Clare Churly Executive Art Editor Darren Southern Illustrator Peter Liddiard, Sudden Impact Media Page make-up Dorchester Typesetting Group Ltd Senior Production Controller Martin Croshaw

CONTENTS
Introduction 14

Man's world 18 Top 10 highest mountains climbed since the conquest of Everest 18 Top 10 deepest caves 19 The 10 worst earthquakes 20 The 10 worst epidemics 21 The 10 worst volcanic eruptions 22 The 10 worst floods 24 The 10 first expeditions to reach the North Pole overland 25 Man and beast 26 Top 10 deadliest snakes 26 Top 10 deadly creatures 27 Top 10 most common animal phobias 28 The 10 types of shark that have killed the most humans 29 Top 10 heaviest saltwater fish caught 30 Top 10 heaviest freshwater fish caught 32 Top 10 pedigree dog breeds in the UK 34 Top 10 dogs' names in the UK 35 Top 10 deadliest spiders 36 Extreme nature 37
Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top 10 fastest mammals 37 10 slowest mammals 38 10 sleepiest mammals 39 10 heaviest dinosaurs ever discovered 40 10 longest snakes 42 10 fastest flying insects 43 10 largest spiders 44 10 mammals with the highest sperm count 45

Health and fitness 46

Top Top Top Top 10 10 10 10 highest calorie-consuming countries 46 lowest calorie-consuming countries 47 highest fat-consuming countries 48 lowest fat-consuming countries 49

Top 10 most obese countries 50 Top 10 most effective keep-fit activities 51 The 10 DIY tools most often involved in accidents in UK homes 52

The human body 53

Top 10 most common elements in the human body 53 Top 10 most common phobias 54 Top 10 most common male hospital operations in England 56 Top 10 over-the-counter health-care products in the UK 57 Top 10 cosmetic surgery procedures in the UK 58 10 preserved British bodies and body parts 59

Matters of life and death 60 Top 10 professions for a long life 60 The 10 worst professions for a long life 61 Top 10 countries with highest male life expectancy 62 The 10 countries with lowest male life expectancy 63 The 10 most common causes of death by infections and parasitic diseases 64 The 10 most common causes of death by non-communicable disorders 65 The 10 most common suicide methods in the UK 66 10 famous people who died while performing 67 10 unusual deaths 68 The 10 last British monarchs to die violently 69 The 10 shortest-reigning popes 70 Man and wife 71 The 10 countries with the highest divorce rate 71 Top 10 countries where women marry the youngest 72 Top 10 countries with highest proportion of teenage husbands 73 Top 10 countries with highest proportion of teenage brides 74 Top 10 overseas honeymoon destinations for UK couples 75 The 10 most common causes of marital discord and breakdown in the UK 76 Top 10 professions of UK computer daters 77 The fairer sex 78
Top Top The Top 10 Miss World countries 78 10 most common first names of Playboy Playmates 79 10 latest winners of the Rear of the Year award 80 10 terms of endearment used in the USA 81

FHM's 10 sexiest women, 2007 82 Top 10 women searched for by UK internet users 83
Names to conjure with 84 Top 10 first names in England and Wales, 2007 84 Top 10 first names in Scotland, 2007 85 Top 10 first names in Northern Ireland, 2007 86 The 10 most and least popular boys' names 87 Crime and punishment 88 The 10 countries with the highest reported crime rates 88 The 10 most common crimes in England and Wales 89 The 10 countries with the highest prison populations 90 Top 10 most common reasons for hiring private detectives in the UK 91 The 10 criminals longest on the FBI's '10 Most Wanted' list 92 Top 10 embassies in the UK with the most unpaid parking fines 94 The 10 last people to be beheaded in England 95 The 10 last public hangings in the UK 96 The 10 last men to be hanged in the UK 97 Top 10 most common common mototoring offences in England and Wales 98 Top 10 most stolen cars in the UK 99 10 famous people jailed in the UK"100 Murder 101 The 10 countries with the highest murder rates 101 The 10 worst gun massacres 102 The 10 most prolific murderesses 104 The 10 most prolific serial killers in the UK 106 The 10 most common murder weapons and methods in England and Wales 108 Men at war 109 Top 10 largest armed forces 109 Top 10 largest armed forces of the First World War 110 The 10 countries suffering the greatest military losses in the First World War 111 Top 10 youngest recipients of the Victoria Cross 112 Top 10 British and Commonwealth air aces of the First World War 113 Top 10 German air aces of the First World War 114 Top 10 largest armed forces of the Second World War 115 Top 10 British and Commonwealth air aces of the Second World War 116

Top 10 German air aces of the Second World War 117 The 10 most heavily blitzed cities in the UK 118 The 10 cities most bombed by the RAF and USAF, 1939-45 119 The 10 countries suffering the greatest military losses in the Second World War 120 The 10 Nazi war criminals hanged at Nuremberg 121

Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top

Countries and place names 122 10 most populated countries 122 10 least populated countries 123 10 countries in which men outnumber women 124 10 countries in which women outnumber men 125 10 largest countries 126 10 smallest countries 127 10 longest place names 128 10 longest place names in the UK 130 10 most common street names in the UK 132

Extreme construction 133 Top 10 tallest habitable buildings 133 Top 10 tallest habitable buildings in the UK 134 Top 10 longest suspension bridges 135 Top 10 longest rail tunnels 136 Top 10 longest road tunnels 137 A little learning 138 Top 10 online languages 138 Top 10 most-spoken languages 139 Top 10 longest words in the Oxford English Dictionary 140 Top 10 oldest universities in the UK 141 Top 10 bestselling novels 142 The 10 latest 'Oddest Title of the Year' competition winners 143 Top 10 Internet search words 144 Top 10 Internet search subjects 145 Print media 146
Top 10 oldest newspapers 146 Top 10 daily newspapers in the UK 147 Top 10 Sunday newspapers in the UK 148

Top Top Top Top Top

10 10 10 10 10

magazines 149 magazines in the UK 150 men's magazines in the UK 151 most valuable British comics 152 most valuable American comics 153

Collectables 154
Top Top Top Top Top 10 10 10 10 10 most most most most most expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive items of rock memorabilia sold at auction 154 items of film memorabilia sold at auction 156 paintings by British artists sold at auction 158 paintings sold at auction 159 cars sold at auction 160

Music 161
Top Top Top Top Top Top 10 singles of all time 161 10 singles of all time in the UK 162 10 albums of all time 163 10 albums in the UK 164 10 first dance song requests at weddings in the UK 165 10 songs requested at funerals 166

Films - general 167 Top 10 highest-earning films in the world 167 Top 10 most profitable films of all time168 The 10 biggest film flops of all time 169 Top 10 films in the UK 170 Top 10 directorial debut films 171 Top 10 film-producing countries 172 Top 10 countries by box-office revenue 173 Top 10 bestselling DVDs in the UK 174 Top 10 most-rented DVDs in the UK 175 Films - genres 176
The Top Top Top Top The 10 first Carry On films 176 10 comedy films 177 10 highest-grossing horror films 178 10 horror spoof films 179 10 James Bond films 180 10 first Bond girls 181

Top Top Top Top

10 superhero films 182 10 war films 183 lOX-rated films of all time 184 10 animated films 185

Films - award winners 186 Top 10 films to win the most Oscars 186 Top 10 actors and actresses with the most Oscar nominations 187 Top 10 British actors and actresses with the most Oscar nominations 188 The 10 latest winners of Adult Video News Best Performers of the Year 189 The 10 latest Golden Raspberries 'worst' awards 190
TV and radio 191 Top 10 longest-running programmes on BBe radio 191 Top 10 television-watching countries 192 Top 10 television audiences in the UK 193 Top 10 longest-running programmes on British television 194

Working world 195 Top 10 countries with the highest proportion of female workers 195 Top 10 countries with the lowest proportion of female workers 196 The 10 most stressful jobs in the UK 197 The 10 least stressful jobs in the UK 198 Top 10 oldest-established businesses in the UK 199 Top 10 retailers in the UK 200 Top 10 mobile phone-using countries 201 The 10 most dangerous jobs in the UK 202 The 10 worst industrial disasters 203 The 10 worst explosions 204
Rich lists 205
Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top 10 most valuable traded metallic elements 205 10 richest countries 206 10 gold-producing countries 207 10 countries with the most gold 208 10 most valuable global brands 209 10 richest men 210 10 highest-earning celebrities 211 10 highest-earning dead celebrities 212

Top 10 richest British-born people 213 Top 10 largest yachts 214

One man's meat 215

Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 hottest chillies 215 smelliest French cheeses 216 bean consumers 217 meat consumers 218 foods consumed in the UK 219 Pizza Express pizzas 220 fast-food chains in the UK [by market sharel 221 confectionery brands in the UK 222

Booze 223
Top Top Top Top Top Top The Top 10 alcohol-consuming countries 223 10 drink brands in the UK 224 10 beer-drinking countries 225 10 beer brands in the UK 226 10 wine-drinking countries 227 10 most common pub names in the UK 228 10 latest pubs of the year 229 10 most popular cocktails at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar 230

Cars 231
The 10 latest holders of the land speed record 231 Top 10 fastest production cars 232 Top 10 most expensive car registration numbers sold at auction in the UK 233 The 10 latest Car of the Year winners 234 Top 10 fastest production motorcycles 235 Top 10 motor vehicle-owning countries 236 Top 10 car manufacturers 237 Top 10 bestselling cars of all time 238 Top 10 car-producing countries 239

Transport 240
The Top Top Top 10 worst air disasters in the world 240 10 longest motorways in the UK 242 10 busiest London Underground stations 243 10 most common types of property lost on London Transport 244

Tourism 245 Top 10 tourist destinations 245 Top 10 fastest roller-coasters 246 Top 10 tourist destinations of UK residents 247 Top 10 tourist attractions in the UK 248 Football 249 Top 10 goalscorers in the FIFA World Cup 249 Top 10 British football teams in Europe 250 Top 10 FA Premiership goalscorers 251 Top 10 most points in a Barclays Premier League season 252 Top 10 Barclays Premier League goalscorers in one season 253 Top 10 clubs with the most British titles 254 Top 10 goalscorers for UK international teams 255 The 10 latest Footballers of the Year 256 Sport - general 257 Top 10 medal-winning countries at the Summer Olympics 257 Top 10 medal-winning countries at the Winter Olympics 258 The 10 latest winners of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award 259 Top 10 highest-earning British sportsmen 260 Top 10 highest-earning World sportspeople 261 Top 10 largest sports stadiums 262 Team sports 263 Top 10 most Superbowl wins 263 Top 10 most World Series wins 264 Top 10 most points in a single NBA game 265 Top 10 most wickets in Test cricket 266 Top 10 most runs in a Test cricket career 267 Top 10 most Stanley Cup wins 268 Top 10 most Rugby League Challenge Cup final wins at Wembley 269 Top 10 biggest wins in the Six Nations Championship 270 Top 10 most points in a Rugby Union World Cup career 272 Motorsport 272 Top 10 most race wins in a Formula One career by a driver 272 The 10 first Formula One Grand Prix races of Lewis Hamilton 273 Top 10 drivers with the most Formula One world titles 274

Top 10 constructors with the most Formula One world titles 275 Top 10 most world motorcycling Grand Prix titles 276

Tennis 278
Top Top Top Top 10 10 10 10 most men's Grand Slam titles 278 most women's Grand Slam titles 279 most men's singles titles 280 most women's singles titles 281

Individual sports 282

Top Top Top Top Top 10 fastest men over 100 metres 282 10 most men's Majors in a career 283 10 oldest golf clubs in Britain 284 10 champion jockeys in the UK with the most wins in a season 285 10 most world professional snooker titles 286

Acknowledgements 287

It's different for men

A number of books try to explain the differences - aside from the obvious ones - between the sexes, hence Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps [no problem, now we all have SatNav) and Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus [what's that all about?J. This book has no such pretensions: it simply accepts the fact that men like lists, so here's a selection of over 250 lists that you - assuming you are a man - may enjoy. They encompass themes ranging from music to sport and from the fastest - and the most stolen - cars to the hottest chillies and the leading baked bean consumers, in which category Britain proudly leads the world. There are many even more offbeat ones: the strangest book titles, the biggest film flops and the highest-earning X-rated films, the most dangerous snakes, sharks and do-it-yourself equipment, the mammals with the highest sperm count [sorry to have to break it to you, but we don't feature!' plus lists of preserved bodies and body parts, people who died on the job, as it were, and winners of 'Rear of the Year'.

Nothing like a Dame

OK, plenty of women make lists [I am married to one of them!. but they are shopping lists, lists of tasks for themselves or their partners to do around the house and suchlike, not the sort of lists we blokes like. As the compiler of Top 10 of Everything, 1was once invited to appear on Woman:S Hour along with Dame Judi Dench,

who a researcher had spotted was an inveterate list compiler. The perfect team, she assumed - except my lists tend to be things like '10 tallest buildings' and '10 fastest jets', while Dame Judi's consisted of 'buy tights' and' go to theatre'. And was it not Bridget Jones whose list of New Year's resolutions ends with 'Stop making lists'? The defence rests ...

Men of influence
The are slightly more men on the planet (3,362,269,511 of us, in 2008, compared with 3,317,224,382 women), but, for better or for worse, men are hugely disproportionate in terms of influence and hence prominence in Top 10 lists. As they reveal, the richest people are all men, as are the highest-earning sportsmen - obviously, as they are men, but I gave up trying to compile a Top 10 of richest sportswomen since, after Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam, you are struggling. Every land, air and water speed record has been held by a man. All the most expensive paintings are by men and the Top 10 items of rock memorabilia relate to male stars - it's not quite the same with film memorabilia, but we can guess what sort of men would pay serious money for Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. No parliament has more women than men - Rwanda with 48.8 per cent and Sweden with 47.3 per cent come closest, but the UK is way down, at 19.7 per cent. Throwing a discus is the only notable sport in which the woman's record is greater than a man's - but then a woman's discus is half the weight of the mans. We are also the guys who brought you the wars, the mass murders and other stuff like this: hence the lists of air aces (not a girl among them) and worst serial killers (all men) - although, to redress the balance, there's a list of the 10 worst murderesses.

Trivia, not trivial

When I was a lad (I never thought I'd say that, but there comes a point in a chap's life when he's entitled to do sol. we used to call our expansive knowledge of the world around us 'general knowledge'. Somehow, in recent years, this has been subverted and is now known as 'trivia', as though it's somehow trivial. Well, it isn't: either you are interested in what's happening, or you aren't, and if you are not you are the less for it. Fortunately, most men - not just nerds are deeply interested in everything; it's just that we don't want to waste our time discriminating between crucial information, like what are the world's largest countries and even more crucial stuff, such as the most popular types of pizza. Without this data at our fingertips, we couldn't polish off crosswords, hold our own in pub quizzes or sweep the board at University Challenge (actually, bad choice - been there, done that, failed miserably).

Size is everything
... at least when it comes to Top 10 lists. When I started compiling Top 70 of Everything, back in the mists of time (OK, 19891. I set myself the task of including only quantifiable lists. I figured that if I could measure it (biggest, fastest, oldest, or whateverl. and I did my research correctly, the lists could not be challenged - unlike a list of 10 favourites or bests, where my authority to make such a claim might reasonably be questioned. So, aside from an occasional lapse (it's allowed, I wrote itl. all the lists here are of things that can be measured and hence ranked - film lists are mostly ordered by global box office earnings, death and destruction lists by fatalities. So, unlike certain other books, instead of just being told what's top of the tree, you get to explore its lower branches. And didn't you always want to know who came second?

Who says so?

I use a diverse range of international organizations, commercial companies and research bodies, specialized pUblications and a number of experts around the world, who I thank collectively [see pages 287-288 for a full list of credits).

R
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Please send me any comments [or corrections, if you must] and ideas for lists to the official Top 10 site - www.topl0ofeverything.com or to my website www.RussellAsh.com

HIGHEST MOUNTAINS CLIMBED SINCE THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST*

Mountain First ascent Height

K2

31 Jul 1954 25 May 1955 18May1956 15 May 1955 19 Oct 1954 13 May 1960 9 May 1956 3 Jul 1953 5 Jul 1958 9 Jun 1957

2 3 4

Kangchenjunga Lhotse Makalu Cho Oyu Dhaulagri Manaslu Nanga Parbat Gasherbrum I Broad Peak

ttl 8,586 m (28,169 ttl 8,516 m (27,940 ttl 8,462 m (27,762 ttl 8,201 m (29,906 ttl 8,167 m (26,794 ttl 8,156 m (26,759 ttl 8,126 m (26,660 ttl 8,080 m (26,509 ttl 8,047 m (26,400 ttl
8,611 m (28,251

en

ftl:

c;

Cave system/location

Depth

Krubera [Voronjal. Georgia

2,191 m [7,188 ttl 1,753 m [5,751 ttl 1,632 m (5,354 ttl 1,626 m (5,335 ttl 1,602 m (5,256 ttl 1,589 m (5,213 ttl 1,543 m (5,062 ttl 1,508 m (4,948 ttl 1,507 m (4,944 ttl 1,502 m (4,928 ttl

Illyuzia-MezhonnogoSnezhnaya, Georgia Lamprechtsofen Vogelschacht Weg Schacht, Austria Gouffre Mirolda, France Reseau Jean Bernard, France Torca del Cerro del Cuevon/ Torca de las Saxifragas, Spain Sarma, Georgia Shakta Vjacheslav Pantjukhina, Georgia Sima de la Conisa/Torca Magali, Spain Cehi 2, Slovenia

5 6

WORST EARTHQUAKES
Location Date Estimated number killed

Near East/Mediterranean Shenshi, China Calcutta, India Antioch, Syria Tang-shan, China Nan-Shan, China Yeddo, Japan Kansu, China Messina, Italy Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan

20 May 1202 2 Feb 1556 11 Oct 1737 20 May 526 28Jul1976 22 May 1927 30 Dec 1703 16 Dec 1920 28 Dec 1908 1 Sep 1923

1,100,000 820,000 300,000 250,000 242,419 200,000 190,000 180,000 160,000 142,807

2 3 4
5 6 7

8
9 10

There are often discrepancies between 'official' death tolls and the estimates given by other authorities: for example, a figure of 750,000 is sometimes quoted for the Tang-shan earthquake of 1976. Several other earthquakes in China and Turkey resulted in the deaths of 100,000 or more. In recent times, the Armenian earthquake of 7 December 1988 and that which struck north-west Iran on 21 June 1990 caused the deaths of more than 55,000 (official estimate: 28,854) and 50,000 respectively. The famous earthquake that destroyed San Francisco on 18 April 1906 killed between 500 and 1,000, mostly in the fires that followed the shock. The earthquake that struck Kobe, Japan (now officially known as the Hyougo-ken Nanbu earthquakel. at 5.46 a.m. on 17 January 1995 was exceptionally precisely monitored by the rescue authorities and indicates the severity of an earthquake affecting a densely populated urban area. It left 3,842 dead and 14,679 injured. A further 114,679 people were immediately evacuated, the total rising by 26 January to 232,403. Reaching 7.2 on the Richter scale, the initial shock completely destroyed 54,949 buildings and damaged a further 31,783, while the fires that followed devastated an area of 65.85 hectares (162.72 acresl. including 7,377 buildings.

Epidemic

Location

Date

Estimated number killed

Black Death Influenza AIDS Plague of Justinian Bubonic plague Antonine plague (probably smallpox! Typhus Smallpox Cholera 'Plague of Orosi us'

Europe/ Asia Worldwide Worldwide Europe/ Asia India Roman Empire

1347-805 1918-20 1981541-90 1896-1948 165-80

75,000,000 20-40,000,000 >25,000,000 25,000,000 12,000,000 5,000,000

Eastern Europe Mexico Russia Roman Empire

1918-22 1530-45 1852-60 125

3,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000

Precise figures for deaths during the disruptions of epidemics are inevitably unreliable, but the Black Death or bubonic plague, probably transmitted by fleas from infected rats, swept across Asia and Europe in the 14th century, destroying entire populations, including more than half the inhabitants of London, some 25 million in Europe and 50 million in Asia.

WORST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

Location Date Estimated number killed

Tambora, Indonesia

5-12 Apr 1815

92,000

It has been calculated that between 1600 and 1982 a total of 160,783 people lost their lives as a result of volcanoes in Indonesia, the greatest number for any region in the world. The cataclysmic eruption of Tambora on the island of Sumbawa killed about 10,000 islanders immediately, with a further 82,000 dying subsequently 138,000 on Sumbawa and 44,000 on neighbouring Lombok) from disease and famine because crops were destroyed. An estimated 1.7 million tonnes of ash was hurled into the atmosphere. This blocked out the sunlight and affected the weather over large areas of the globe during the following year. One effect of this was to produce brilliantly coloured sunsets, as depicted strikingly in paintings from the period, especially in the works of J. M. W. Turner. It even influenced literary history when, kept indoors by inclement weather at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva, Lord Byron and his companions amused themselves by writing horror stories, one of which was Mary Shelley"s classic, Frankenstein.

Krakatoa, Sumatra/Java

26-27 Aug 1883

36,380

After a series of eruptions over the course of several days, the uninhabited island of Krakatoa exploded with what may have been the biggest bang ever heard by humans, audible up to 4,800 km 13,000 miles) away. Some sources put the fatalities as high as 200,000, most of them killed by subsequent tsunamis that reached 30 m 1100 ft) high. The events were portrayed in the 1969 film Krakatoa, East of Java - though purists should note that Krakatoa is actually west of Java.

Mont Pelee, Martinique

8 May 1902

27,000

After lying dormant for centuries, Mont Pelee began to erupt in April 1902. Assured that there was no danger, the residents of the main city, St Pierre, stayed in their homes and were there when, at 7.30 a.m. on 8 May, the volcano burst apart and showered the port with molten lava, ash and gas, destroying virtually all life and property. Among the survivors was Louis-Auguste Sylbaris, a prisoner in the St Pierre jail, who later joined Barnum and Baileys circus as The Amazing Survivor of Mont Pelee.

The Andean volcano gave warning signs of erupting, but by the time it was decided to evacuate the local inhabitants, it was too late. The hot steam, rocks and ash ejected from Nevado del Ruiz melted its icecap, resulting in a mudslide that completely engulfed the town of Armero.

Mount Etna, Sicily

11 Mar 1669

up to 20,000

Europes largest volcano 13,280 m/10,760 ttl has erupted frequently, but the worst instance occurred in 1669, when the lava flow engulfed the town of Catania, according to some accounts killing as many as 20,000.

Mount Etna, Sicily

1169

over 15,000

Large numbers died in Catania Cathedral, where they believed they would be safe, and more were killed when a tsunami caused by the eruption hit the port of Messina.

Unzen, Japan

1 Apr 1792

14,300

During a period of intense volcanic activity in the area, the island of Unzen lor Unsenl completely disappeared, killing all its inhabitants.

Laki, Iceland

Jan-Jun 1783

9,350

Iceland is one of the most volcanically active places on Earth, but being sparsely populated eruptions seldom result in major loss of life. The worst exception occurred at the Laki volcanic ridge, culminating on 11 June with the largest ever recorded lava flow. It engulfed many villages in a river of lava up to 80 km 150 milesllong and 30 m 1100 ftl deep, releasing poisonous gases that killed those who managed to escape.

Kelut, Indonesia

19 May 1919

5,110

Dormant since 1901, Kelut erupted without warning, ejecting a crater lake that killed inhabitants by drowning or in resultant mudslides. The volcano remains active, erupting as recently as 2007.

Galunggung, Indonesia

8 Oct 1882

4,011

Galunggung erupted suddenly, spewing boiling mud, burning sulphur, ash and rocks before finally exploding and destroying a total of 114 villages. A further eruption in 1982 killed 68 people.

Location

Date

Estimated number killed

Huang He River, China Huang He River, China Holland Kaifong, China

Aug 1931 Spring 1887 1 Nov 1530 1642 Sep-Nov 1939 1876 Aug-Sep 1931 1646 30 Aug 1971 1228 16Apr1421 Sep 1911 12 Jun 1915

3,700,000 1,500,000 400,000 300,000 >200,000 200,000 140,000 110,000 >100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000

Henan, China Bengal, India Yangtze River, China Holland

9
::::

North Vietnam Friesland, Holland Dordrecht, Holland Yangtze River, China Canton, China

Records of floods caused by China's Huang He (or Yellow) River date back to 2297 Be, Since then, it has flooded at least 1,500 times, resulting in millions of deaths and giving it the nickname 'China's Sorrow', According to some accounts, the flood of 1887 may have resulted in as many as 6 million deaths, as over 2,000 towns and villages were inundated, In modern times, an extensive programme of damming and dyke-building has reduced the danger, Nevertheless, in the 1990s almost 70 per cent of the 1,026,7 million people worldwide affected by floods were Chinese,

FIRST EXPEDITIONS TO REACH THE NORTH POLE OVERLAND*

Namet/country Date

Ralph S. Plaisted, USA

19Apr1968 5 Apr 1969 1 May 1978 31 May 1979 11 Apr 1982 1 May 1986 11 May 1986 20 Apr 1987 20 Apr 1988 14 May 1989

Wally W. Herbert, UK Naomi Uemura, Japan Dmitri Shparo, USSR Sir Ranulph Fiennes/ Charles Burton, UK Will Steger/Paul Schurke, USA Jean-Louis Etienne, France Fukashi Kazami, Japan Helen Thayer, USAf: Robert Swan, UK

3 4
5

6 7 8
9 10

, Conkrned only "r

These expeditions - which discount any that are disputed, such as those of rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert Peary in 1909 - used a variety of methods to reach the Pole. Plaisteds used snowmobiles, Herberfs sledges, Shparos was on skis. Sir Ranulph Fienness expedition, with snowmobiles, was the first to reach both the South (17 Dec 1980) and North Poles. Etiennes was the first solo, on skis, and that of Helen Thayer, aged 50, the first solo female conquest of the Pole. Kazami undertook his journey on a 250-cc motorcycle and Swan was first to reach both Poles on foot.

Potential humans Estimated lethal dose for killed per Snake/scientific name humans (mg) bite Average venom per bite (mg)

Coastal taipan [Oxyuranus scutellatusl

120 0.5 2 20 3 3 25 0.8 42 120 1,000 150 135 1,000 28 35 25 800

120 84 60 50 50 45 40 35 35 32

Common krait (Bungarus caeruleusl Philippine cobra (Naja naja philippinensisl King cobra [Ophiophagus hannah I RusseUs viper (Daboia russellil Black mamba (Dendroaspis polyepisl

Yellow-jawed tommygoff (Bothrops asperJ Multibanded krait (Bungarus multicinctusl Tiger snake (Notechis scutatusl Jararacussu (Bothrops jararacussul

Candiru
Found in South American rivers, they can enter a man's body via his penis and, unless surgically removed, cause painful death.

2 3 4

Electric eel
Freshwater electric eels can discharge up to 650 volts, enough to kill a human.

Mosquito
Mosquito-borne malaria has killed more people than any other disease.

Piranha
Living in the rivers of South America, these small but incredibly ferocious fish can strip an animal to the bone in minutes.

Golden poison frog

Used to tip arrows, the poison from this native of Colombia is sufficient to kill 10 to 20 adults.

Japanese puffer
An expensive delicacy in Japan, if they are incorrectly prepared the powerful nerve poison they contain has no known antidote.

Scorpion
Scorpions are capable of inflicting painful stings, but seldom cause death in healthy adults.

Sea wasp
Also known as box jellyfish, the sea wasp has tentacles up to 9 m (30 It) long. Its venom can cause death within three minutes.

Stingray
Although they rarely kill, Australian naturalist Steve Irwin died when one pierced his heart.

10

Tiger
In India, a tigress known as the Champawat man-eater', killed a record 436 people before she was shot in 1907 by British big-game hunter Jim Corbett.

MOST COMMON ANIMAL PHOBIAS

Animal Medical term

Spiders Snakes

Arachnephobia or arachnophobia Ophidiophobia, ophiophobia, ophiciophobia, herpetophobia or snakephobia Spheksophobia Ornithophobia Musophobia or muriphobia Ichthyophobia Apiphobia or apiophobia Cynophobia or kynophobia Entomophobia Ailurophobia, elurophobia, felinophobia, galeophobia or gatophobia

Wasps Birds

(especially pigeonsl
Mice

6 7

Fish Bees Dogs Caterpillars and other insects Cats

A phobia is a morbid fear that is out of all proportion to the object of the fear. Phobias directed at creatures that may bite, sting or carry disease, such as rabid dogs or rats during the Plague, are understandable. Such fears are so widespread that they have been readily exploited in films, including Snakes on a Plane (20061. Arachnophobia [1990), The Swarm [1978) and The Birds 11963).

TYPES OF SHARK THAT HAVE KILLED THE MOST HUMANS

Shark Unprovoked attacks Fatalitiest

Great white

2 3
4
5

Tiger Bull Requiem Blue Sand tiger Shortfin mako Blacktip Oceanic whitetip Dusky Galapagos

6=
::::

8::::
:::

=
:::

237 86 75 30 12 30 8 28 5 3

64
28 23

8 4 2 2

cidory

Out of 41 species of shark. these are the only ones on record as having actually killed humans. A total of 631 attacks resulted in 135 fatalities.

HEAVIEST SALTWATER FISH CAUGHT

Fish/scientific name Angler/location/date Weight

Great white shark

(Carcharodon carcharias)

Alfred Dean, Ceduna, South Australia, 21 Apr 1959 Kevin James Clapson, Ulladulla, Australia, 28 Mar 2004

1,208.38 kg 12,664lb)

Tiger shark
(GaLeocerdo cuvierl

809.98 kg 11,785lb 11 oz)

Greenland shark
(Somniosus MicrocephaLus)

Terje Nordtvedt, 774.99 kg (1,708 lb 9 oz) Trondheimsfjord, Norway, 18 Oct 1987 Alfred C. Glassell Jr, Cabo Blanco, Peru, 4 Aug 1953 Ken Fraser, Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, 26 Oct 1979 Paulo Amorim, Vitoria, Brazil, 29 Feb 1992
707.61 kg 11,560 lb) 678.58 kg 11,496 lb) 636.99 kg 11,402 lb 2 oz)

Black marlin
(tstiompax marlina)

Bluefin tuna
(Thunnus thynnus)

Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira

nigricans)

Pacific blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) SixgiUed shark (Hexanchus griseus) Great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) Shortfin mako shark (tsurus oxyrinchus)

Jay W. de Beaubien. 624.14 kg Kaaiwi Point. Kona. (1,376lb) Hawaii, USA. 31 May 1982 Clemens Rump. Ascension Island. 21 Nov 2002 Bucky Dennis. Boca Grande, Florida. USA. 23 May 2006 Luke Sweeney, Chatham. Massachusetts. USA, 21 July 2001

588.76 kg (1,298lb) 580.60 kg 11,280 lb) 553.84 kg 11,221 Lb)

10

HEAVIEST FRESHWATER FISH CAUGHT

Fish/scientific name Angler/location/date Weight

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Joey Pallotta III, Benicia, California, USA. 9 Jul 1983 Bill Valverde, Rio Grande, Texas, USA. 2 Dec 1951 William Toth, Lake Nasser, Egypt, 20 Dec 2000 Ms Merete Lehne, Guryev, Kazakhstan, 3 May 1993 Tim Webb, Bung Sam San Lake, Thailand, 28 Feb 2007

212.28 kg (468lb)

Alligator gar (A tractosteus spatula) Nile perch (Lates niloticus)

126.55 kg (279 lb)

104.32 kg (230 lb)

Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso)

102 kg (224 lb 13 oz)

Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) Blue catfish (lctalurus furcatus)

79.56 kg (175lb 6 oz)

Timothy E. Pruitt, Mississippi River, Alton, Illinois, USA. 21 May 2005

56.25 kg (124lb)

Flathead catfish [Pylodictis olivaris]

Ken Paulie, Elk City Reservoir, Kansas, USA, 14 May 1998

55,79 kg (123 lb)

Redtailed catfish [Phractocephalus hemioliopteru] Chinook salmon [Oncorhynchus tshawytscha] Giant tigerfish [Hydrocynus goliath]

51,51kg Jorge Masullo de Aguiar, Rio Negro, Brazil, (113lb 90z) 6 Oct 2007

Les Anderson, Kenai River, Alaska, USA, 17 May 1985 Raymond Houtmans, Za'ire River, Kinshasa, Za'ire, 9 Jul 1988

44,20 kg (97lb 4 OZ)

44 kg (97lb)

On 1 May 2005 a team of five anglers on the Mekong River, Thailand, caught a Mekong giant catfish weighing 293 kg (646 lbl, making it the largest freshwater fish ever, but it has not been ratified by the International Game Fish Association, so the entry at No.5, at a little over a third the size, is considered the official record-holder. The sturgeon caught by 21-year-old Joey Pallotta was 2.74 m (9 ttl long; as it is now illegal to keep a fish over 1.83 m (6 ttl in length, the record will probably never be broken. The largest freshwater fish caught in the UK was a 29.03-kg (64-lbl, 1.37-m (54-inl salmon hooked by 32-year-old Georgina W. Ballantine on the River Tay, Scotland on 7 October 1922. It was donated to the Perth Royal Infirmary to feed the patients.

PEDIGREE DOG BREEDS IN THE UK

Breed Number registered by the Kennel Club

Labrador retriever

45,079 20,883 14,702 12,167 12,116 11,422 9,557 8,814 8,309 8,191

2 3
4

Cocker spaniel English springer spaniel Staffordshire bull terrier German shepherd [Alsatian) Cavalier King Charles spaniel Golden retriever Border terrier West Highland white terrier

5
6 7

8
0

Boxer

DOGS' NAMES IN THE UK

2 3 4
5 6

7 8 9
10

Molly Jack Holly Max Buster Lucy Jake Barney Charlie Sam

Source: RSPCA 2006 survey

DEADLIEST SPIDERS
Spider/scientific name Range

Banana spider (Phonenutria nigriventer]

Central and South America Australia Central and South America Widespread Widespread Central Europe Neotropics Neotropics Neotropics Neotropics

2
3
4
5 6

Sydney funnel web (Atrax robustus) Wolf spider (Lycosa raptoria/erythrognatha) Black widow (Latrodectus species) Violin spider/Recluse spider (Loxesceles ree/usa) Sac spider (Cheiracanthium punctorium) Tarantula (Eurypelma rubropilosum) Tarantula (Acanthoscurria atrox) Tarantula (Lasiodora klugi) Tarantula (Pamphobeteus species)

7 8
9

10

This list ranks spiders according to their 'lethal potential' - their venom yield divided by their venom potency. The banana spider, for example, yields 6 mg of venom, with 1 mg the estimated lethal dose in man. However, few spiders are capable of killing humansthere were just 14 recorded deaths caused by black widows in the USA in the whole of the 19th century - since their venom yield is relatively low compared with that of the most dangerous snakes. The tarantula, for example, produces 1.5 mg of venom, but the lethal dose for an adult human is 12 mg. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Thailand and Sumatran black birdeaters may be equally dangerous, but there is insufficient data available.

MammaVscientific name

Maximum recorded speed*

Cheetah [Acinonyx jubatus)

114 km/h (71 mph) 95 km/h (57 mph) 80 km/h (50 mph) 80 km/h (50 mph) 80 km/h (50 mph) 77 km/h (48 mph) 77 km/h (48 mph) 76 km/h (47 mph) 76 km/h (47 mph)

2
3= =

Pronghorn antelope

(AntiLocapra americana)
Blue wildebeest [brindled gnu)

[Connochaetes taurinus)
Lion [Panthera Leo) Springbok [Antidorcas

=
6= = 8=

marsupia Lis)
Brown hare [Lepus capensis) Red fox [VuLpes vuLpes) Grant's gazelle [Gazella granti) Thomson's gazelle [Gazella

=
10

thomson iii
Horse [Equus cabaLLus)

72 km/h (45 mph)

, Of those

for which data

ava;l.able

Along with its relatively slow rivals, the cheetah can deliver its astonishing maximum speed over only fairly short distances. For comparison, the human male 100-metre record (held by Asafa Powell, Jamaica, 2007) stands at 9.74 seconds, equivalent to a speed of 37 km/h (23 mphl. so all the mammals in the Top 10, and several others, are capable of outrunning a man. If a human ran 100 metres (325 It) at the cheetah's speed, the record would fall to 3 seconds.

MammaVscientific name

Average speed*

Three-toed sloth [Bradypus variegatusl

0.1-0.3 km/h 10.06-0.19 mph) 2.2 km/h 11.4 mph) 4.2 km/h (2.6 mph) 4.2 km/h 12.6 mph) 4.4 km/h (2.7 mph) 4.5 km/h 12.8 mph) 5.3 km/h (3.3 mph) 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph) 6.6 km/h 14.1 mph) 6.8 km/h (4.2 mph)

2
3::::

Short-tailed [giant mole) shrew (BLarina brevicaudal Pine vole (Microtus pinetorum) Red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) Opossum (order Didelphimorphia) Deer mouse (order Peromyscus) Woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignisl Meadow jumping mouse [Zap us hudsonius) Meadow mouse or meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) White-footed mouse [Peromyscus leucopusl

=
5

7
8
9 10

, Of those

for whien datil are available

SLEEPIEST MAMMALS
MammaVscientific name Average hours of sleep per day

1=
=

3
4 5=

=
7

Lion [Panthera leol Three-toed sloth [Bradypus variegatusl Little brown bat [Myotis lucifugusl Big brown bat [Eptesicus fuscusl Opossum [Didelphis virginianal Water opossum [Yapokl
[Chironectes minimusl

20 20
19.9 19.7 19.4 19.4 18.1 18 17.4 17

8
9

Giant armadillo [Priodontes maximusl Koala [Phascolarctos cinereusl Nine-banded armadillo

[Dasypus novemcinctusl

10

Southern owl monkey [Aotus azarail

The list excludes periods of hibernation, which can last up to several months among creatures such as the ground squirrel, marmot and brown bear. At the other end of the scale comes the frantic shrew, which has to hunt and eat constantly or perish.

HEAVIEST DINOSAURS EVER DISCOVERED

Name Estimated weight Itonnesl

Bruhathkayosaurus 2 3= Amphicoelias Argentinosaurus Puertasaurus

5

175-220
122

Fossil remains of this dinosaur were found in southern India. Estimates suggest it may have been up to 44 m (145 ft) long and weighed as much as a blue whale.

Its massive size, with a length of some 25 m (82 ft), has been extrapolated from vertebrae fragments discovered in Colorado, USA, in 1877 but since lost.

80-100

In 1988 an Argentinian farmer discovered a 1.8-m (6-ft) long bone. The dinosaur may have been 22-6 m (72-85 ft) in length.

80-100 >80
65-80

Found in Patagonia, it may have measured as much as 35-40 m (115-31 ft!.

Argyrosaurus Paralititan

This South American dinosaur, whose name means 'silver lizard', was perhaps 20-30 m (66-98 ft) long,

Remains discovered in the Sahara Desert in Egypt suggest that this was a giant plant-eater, possibly up to 24 m (80 ftl in length, Its humerus (upper arm bone] measures 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in), 14 per cent longer than that of any dinosaur previously discovered.

Antarctosaurus

69

This name, which means 'southern lizard', was coined in 1929 by German palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene. The creature's thigh bone alone measures 2,3 m (7 ft 6 in) and a total length of 18 m (60 ft) has been estimated. Some authorities have put its weight as high as 80 tonnes.

Sauroposeidon
Known only from vertebrae discovered in Oklahoma, USA, in 1994, this may have been the tallest of all dinosaurs at 17 m 155 tt 10 inl.

Brachiosaurus
This name, which means 'arm lizard', was coined in 1903 by US palaeontologist Elmer S, Riggs, Some palaeontologists have suggested the dinosaur, which was 25 m 182 ft)long, weighed as much as 190 tonnes, but this seems improbable lif not impossible, in the light of theories of the maximum possible weight of terrestrial animalsl.

10

Supersaurus

Ii}-&)

Fragments of Supersaurus were unearthed in Colorado, USA, in 1972. it may have measured up to 40 m 1130 ft) long. Another specimen, known as 'Jimbo', has been discovered in Wyoming, USA, and is undergoing examination.

Everyone's favourite dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex !'tyrant lizard'), does not appear in the Top 10 list because although it was one of the fiercest flesh-eating dinosaurs, it was not as large as many of the herbivorous ones. However, measuring a probable 12 m 139 ft] and weighing more than six tonnes, it certainly ranks as one of the largest flesh-eating animals yet discovered. Bones of an earlier dinosaur called Epanterias were found in Colorado in 1877 and 1934, but incorrectly identified until recently, when studies suggested that this creature was possibly larger than Tyrannosaurus, To compare these sizes with living animals, note that the largest recorded crocodile measured 6.2 m 120 tt 4 in) and the largest elephant 10.7 m 135 tt) from trunk to tail and weighed about 12 tonnes. The largest living creature ever measured is the blue whale at 33.6 m {110ft) - smaller than the size claimed for some in this list.

Snake/scientific name

Maximum length

Reticulated (royal) python

(Python reticulatus)

10 m (32 ft) 8.5 m (28 tt) 7.6 m (25 tt) 6.4 m (21 tt) 5.8 m (19 ft) 4.9 m (16 ft) 3.7 m(12 ft) 3.4 m (11 ft) 2.7 m (9 tt) 2.4 m (8 ftl

Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) Indian python

(Python molurus molurus)

3
4 5

Diamond python
(Morelia spilota spilota)

King cobra (Opiophagus hannah) Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor) Bushmaster (Lachesis muta) Giant brown snake
(Oxyuranus scutellatus)

6 7 8
9

Diamondback rattlesnake
(Crotalus atrox)

10

Indigo or gopher snake

(Orymarchon corais)

Although the South American anaconda is sometimes claimed to be the longest snake, this has never been authenticated: reports 01 monsters up to 36.5 m (120 It) have been published, but without material evidence. Former US president and hunting enthusiast Theodore Roosevelt once offered $5,000 to anyone who could produce the skin or vertebrae 01 an anaconda that was more than 9 m (30 tt) long, but the prize was never claimed and it seems that the reticulated or royal python retains its pre-eminence. The lour largest snakes are all constrictors; the king cobra is the longest venomous snake.

FASTEST FLYING INSECTS

Insect*/scientific name Maximum recorded speed

2=
:::

Hawkmoth (Sphingidae] Deer botfly

(Cephenemyia pratti]

53.6 km/h 133.3 mph) 48 km/h (30 mph)

48 km/h 130 mph) 40 km/h (25 mph)

West Indian butterfly

(Nymphalidae prepona)

Deer bot fly (Chrysops] West Indian butterfly

(Hesperiidae sp.]

39 km/h 124.2 mph)

28.6 km/h 117.8 mph)

6
7=
::::

Lesser Emperor dragonfly

(Anax parthenopel

9=
::::

Dragonfly (Aeschnal Hornet (Vespal Honey bee (Apis milleferal Horsefly (Tabanus bovinusl

25.2 km/h (15.6 mph) 25.2 km/h 115.6 mph) 22.4 km/h (13.9 mph)
22.4 km/h (13.9 mph)

'Of

Few accurate assessments of the flying speeds of insects have been attempted and this Top 10 represents only the results of the handful of scientific studies widely recognized by entomologists. Some experts have also suggested that the male horsefly (Hybomitra line; wrightt1 is capable of travelling at 145 km/h (90 mph) when in pursuit of a female, while there are exceptional one-off examples, such as the dragonfly allegedly recorded in 1917 by Dr Robert J. Tilyard flying at 98 km/h (61 mph!. Many so-called records are clearly flawed. however: for example, Charles Townsend estimated the flying speed of the deer botfly at an unbelievable 1,317 km/h (818 mph). If true, it would have broken the sound barrier!

Spider

Leg span

Huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima] Brazilian salmon pink (Lasiodora parahybana] Brazilian ginat tawny red (Grammostola mollicoma]

300 mm (11.8 in) 270 mm (10.6 in) 260 mm (10.2 in) 254 mm (10 in) 254 mm (10 in) 230 mm (9.1 in) 230 mm (9.1 in) 203 mm (8 in) 178 mm (7 in) 140 mm (5.5 in)

4=

Goliath tarantula or bird-eating spider (Theraphosa blondil Wolf spider (Cupiennius salleil Purple bloom bird-eating spider (Xenesthis immanis]

::;;

Xenesthis monstrosa

Hercules baboon (Hysterocrates hercules]

Hysterocrates sp. Tegenaria parietina

It should be noted that although these represent the average leg spans of the world's largest spiders. their body size is often considerably smaller: for example. that of the Lasiodora. found in Brazil. is around 9 em (3.6 in!. while that of the Tegenaria parietina. the largest spider found in Britain. may measure as little as 18 mm (0.7 in!.

MAMMALS WITH THE HIGHEST SPERM COUNT

Mammal Sperm per ejaculation

Pig
Donkey Horse

60-80,000,000,000 14,500,000,000 11,000,000,000 5-10,000,000,000 5,000,000,000 3,400,000,000 3,000,000,000 2-3,000,000,000 2,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 200-500,000,000

Bull
Zebu

Buffalo
Ram

Goat
Dog Rhesus monkey
Human

HIGHEST CALORIECONSUMING COUNTRIES

Country Average daily calorie consumption per capita

2 3
4

6 7
8=
::::

10

USA Portugal Austria Italy Greece Luxembourg Ireland Canada France Romania
UK
Fooa Agncuttute Orgap!zJbon cf the United

3,760 3,750 3,740 3,730 3,720 3,710 3,670 3,630 3,630 3,620 3,460

The daily calorie requirement of the average man is 2,700 and the average woman 2,500. Inactive people need fewer, while those engaged in heavy labour might need to increase, perhaps even doubling, these figures. Calories that are not consumed as energy turn to fat - which is why calorie-counting is one of the key aspects of most diets. The high calorie intake of certain countries reflects the high proportion of starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread and pasta, in the national diet. In many Western countries, though, the high figures simply reflect over-eating - especially since they are averages that include men, women and children, suggesting that large numbers of people are greatly exceeding them. While weight-watchers of the West guzzle their way through 30 per cent more than they need, most countries in Western Europe consuming more than 3,000 calories per head, the daily calorie consumption in over 10 of the poorest African nations falls below 2,000, with that of Eritrea standing at just 40 per cent of the USA figure.

LOWEST CALORIECONSUMING COUNTRIES

Country Average daily calorie consumption per capita

Eritrea Democratic Republic of Congo Burundi Comoros Ethiopia Takikistan Sierra Leone Liberia Zambia Tanzania

1,500 1,590 1,660 1,770 1,850 1,900 1,910 1,930 1,950 1,960 1,960

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 =

10= Central African Republic

HIGHEST FAT-CONSUMING COUNTRIES

Country Average daily fat consumption per capita

France

157 9 (5.53 oz) 154 9 (5.43 oz) 149 9 (5.25 oz) 149 9 (5.25 oz) 149 9 (5.25 oz) 149 9 (5.25 oz) 144 9 (5.07 oz) 141 9 (4.97 141

2
3= =
::::
:=

Austria Belgium Italy Spain Switzerland USA Canada Hungary Norway

7
8= =
::::

ozl 9 (4.97 ozl oz)

10= Greece

140 9 (4.93 oz) 140 9 (4.93

UK

1279 f4.47 ozJ

LOWEST FAT -CONSUMING COUNTRIES

Country Average daily fat consumption per capita

2 3
4=
=

6=

= 8 9 10

Burundi Rwanda Ethiopia Bangladesh Democratic Republic of Congo Laos Madagascar Zambia Eritrea Mozambique

11 9 (0.38 ozl 16 9 (0.56 ozl 21 9 (0.74 ozl 25 9 (0.88 ozl 25 9 (0.88 ozl 28 9 (0.98 ozl 28 9 (0.98 ozl 29 9 (1.02 ozl 30 9 (1.05 ozl 31 9 (1.09 ozl

MOST OBESE COUNTRIES

Country Percentage of obese adults Men Women

Nauru

79.3 46.6 32.9 32.7 34.6 26.4 36.3 22.9 22.8 22

31.1 22.4 23.1 18

77.9 70.3 63 59.8 45.3 44 38.3 35.7 35.6 35

33.2 26 24.3 18

Tonga Samoa Jordant Qatar Saudi Arabia Lebanon Paraguay Albaniat Malta

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

USA
Scotland England Wales

MOST EFFECTIVE KEEP-FIT ACTIVITIES

1

Swimming Cycling Rowing Gymnastics Judo Dancing Football Jogging Walking [briskly!] Squash

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

These are the sports and activities recommended by keep-fit experts as the best means of acquiring all-round fitness, building stamina and strength and increasing suppleness.

DIY TOOLS MOST OFTEN INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS IN UK HOMES

Tool
Accidents*

Knife [non-domestic] Saw [excluding circular and straight-blade saws] Straight-blade saw [e.g. hacksaw] Hammer or mallet Scalpel or blade [in holder] Chisel Angle grinder Power drill Screwdriver Circular saw

15,208 8,764 5,766 5,605 5,462 4,070 4,284 2,892 2,892 2,606

MOST COMMON ELEMENTS IN THE HUMAN BODY

Element Symbol Average adult* total

Oxygent Carbon Hydrogent Nitrogen Calcium Phosphorus Potassium Sulphur Sodium Chlorine

0
C H N Ca P

48,800 9 (1,721 ozl 18,400 9 (649 ozl 8,000 9 (282 ozl 2,080 9 (73 ozl 1,120 9 (39.5 ozl 880 9 (31 ozl 160 9 (5.6 ozl 160 9 (5.6 ozl 112 9 (4oz1 96 9 (3.4 ozl

3 4 5
6

7=
=:

K
S Na Cl

10

The Top 10 elements account for more than 99 per cent of the total, the balance comprising minute quantities of metallic elements including iron - enough 14.8 gm/O.17 ozl to make a 15-cm 16-inl nail- as well as zinc, tin and aluminium.

MOST COMMON PHOBIAS

Object of phobia Medical term

Open spaces Driving

Agoraphobia, cenophobia or kenophobia No medical term; can be a symptom of agoraphobia Emetophobia or emitophobia Claustrophobia, cleisiophobia, cleithrophobia or clithrophobia Entomophobia Nosemophobia Zoophobia Aerophobia or aviatophobia Erythrophobia Acrophobia, altophobia, hypsophobia or hypsiphobia

3 4
5 6

Vomiting Confined spaces Insects Illness Animals Flying Blushing Heights

8 9
10

A phobia is a morbid fear that is out of all proportion to the object of the fear, Many people would admit to being uncomfortable about these principal phobias, as well as others, such as snakes (ophiophobial, injections (trypanophobia) or ghosts (phasmophobia), but most do not become obsessive about them, allowing such fears to rule their lives, True phobias often arise from an incident in childhood when a person was afraid of some object and developed an irrational fear that persists into adulthood, Perhaps surprisingly, the Top 10 does not remain static, as 'new' phobias become more common: for example, 'technophobia', the fear of modern technology such as computers, is increasingly reported, Nowadays, as well as the valuable work done by the National Phobics Society in Britain and similar organizations in other countries, some phobias can be cured by taking special desensitization courses: for example, to conquer one's fear of flying, There are many phobias much less common than these, Even if only one person has ever been observed with a specific phobia - some more bizarre than others - psychologists have often given it a name, including: beards: pogo no phobia chins: geniophobia eggshells: no medical term everything: pantophobia, panophobia, panphobia or pamphobia going to bed: clinophobia gravity: barophobia hair: chaetophobia mirrors: eisoptrophobia money: chrometophobia number 13: terdekaphobia, tridecaphobia, triakaidekaphobia or triskaidekaphobia opening one's eyes: optophobia satellites plunging to Earth: keraunothnetophobia slime: blennophobia or myxophobia string: linonophobia teeth: odontophobia

MOST COMMON MALE HOSPITAL OPERATIONS IN ENGLAND

Body part
Operations performed*

Urinary system

399,321 278,770 273,069 224,276 199,649 195,545 192,390 184,242 182,704 168,622
2,298,588 3,174,726

Bladder Lower digestive tract Stomach Eye Soft tissue Colon Heart Joint Skin
Top 10 total Total all male operations

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

:1007

OVER-THE-COUNTER HEALTH-CARE PRODUCTS IN THE UK

Product Annual sales

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever] remedies

570,200,000 499,000,000 441,900,000 395,300,000 285,800,000 83,900,000 58,200,000 34,500,000 33,700,000 25,400,000

2 3 4
5 6

Analgesics (painkillers] Vitamins and dietary supplements Medicated skin care Digestive remedies Smoking-cessation aids Eye care Wound treatments Adult mouth care Calming and sleeping products
Total (including products not in Top 10)

7 8
9

10

[2,473,700,000

[Uf:;rnomtof

COSMETIC SURGERY

PROCEDURES IN
THEUK
Percentage change since Procedure Gender

2006

Number

Breast augmentation Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery] Face/neck lift Liposuction Breast reduction Abdominoplasty Rhinoplasty Brow lifts Rhinoplasty Otoplasty (ear correction]

Women Women Women Women Women Women Women Women Men Women

2
3
4 5
6

+6 +13 +36 +15 +6 +2 +13 +11 +36 +11

6,487 5,148 4,238 3,990 3,178 2,701 2,305 919 716 606

7 8
9

10

A total of 32,453 cosmetic procedures were carried out in the UK in 2007 by BAAPS members, compared with 28,921 in 2006, a 12.2 per cent increase. Women had 91 per cent of all cosmetic procedures, a total of 29,572, while men had 2,881, including liposuction (5821. blepharoplasty (5581. otoplasty (4181. face/neck lift (2301. breast reduction (2241. abdominoplasty (981. brow lifts (45) and breast augmentation (1 OJ.

PRESERVED BRITISH BODIES AND BODY PARTS

Jeremy Bentham's body and head
The philosopher died in 1832, leaving instructions that his body be mummified. It is preserved in a cabinet at University College, London.

Charles I's vertebra

Charles I was beheaded in 1649. When his tomb in Windsor Castle was opened in 1813, Sir Henry Halford stole the vertebra severed by the executioner's axe.

Oliver Cromwell's head

In 1661, three years after Cromwell's death, his body was exhumed and his head chopped off. It was finally buried at Sydney Sussex, Cambridge.

4 5

George Cudmore's skin

Murderer Cudmore was executed in 1830 and his skin was used to bind a book.

King John's teeth

John died in 1216. His remains in Worcester Cathedral were exhumed in 1797, when his teeth were stolen. They are now displayed in Worcester Museum.

Ben Jonson's heel bone

The dramatist died in 1637 and was buried in Westminster Abbey - unusually, standing upright. His skeleton was dug up in 1849 and his heel bone stolen.

Sir Walter Raleigh's head

Following his execution in 1618, his widow and then their son Carew kept the embalmed head. It was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, in 1666.

King Richard II's jawbone

Richard died in 1400 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. In 1776 his jawbone was stolen by a schoolboy - whose descendants returned it in 1906.

9 10

The Duke of Suffolk's head

His head was cut off in 1554 and later displayed in St Botolph, Aldgate, London.

The Earl of Uxbridge's leg

Shot off at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the burial spot of Henry Paget, Lord Uxbridge's leg became a shrine visited by many tourists.

PROFESSIONS FOR A LONG LIFE

Profession
SMR*

Shop assistants

2=
:::

Hairdressing supervisors Mechanical and aeronautical engineers Local government officers General administration, national government Site and other managers, clerks of works Teachers in higher education Managers, works foremen Professional and related in science, engineering and other technologies Laboratory and engineering technicians

= 5:::
:::

7
8=

=
10

48 49 49 49 52 52 54 58 58 59

figures for men in the UK only

Standard Mortality Ratios are a commonly used method of comparing the risk of death in one group with that in another. If an SMR of 100 is the average, then one of 50 is low.

WORST PROFESSIONS FOR A LONG LIFE

Profession

SMR*

Deck, engine-room hands, bargemen, lightermen, boatmen

304 263 243 236 234 180 160 154 150 149

2 3 4
5 6 7

Hairdressers and barbers General labourers Foremen on ships, lighters and other vessels Fishermen Steel erectors, scaffolders, etc. Foremen in product inspection and packaging Chemical and petroleum processing plant operators Travel stewards and attendants, hospital and hotel porters Foremen on production lines

8
9

10

in the UK enly

Perhaps as a result of the small size of the sample. the somewhat bizarre differential arises between hairdressers lin the high-risk group] and hairdressing supervisors lin the low-risk group!. As the list indicates. workers on ships. and those involved in the construction and chemical industries. with their exposure to hazardous conditions and materials. are as much as three times as likely to die prematurely.

COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST MALE LIFE EXPECTANCY

Country Life expectancy at birth, 2008 (years)

2=

3
4 5= = 7=

= 9 10

Andorra Singapore Japan Sweden Iceland San Marino Australia Switzerland France Israel
UK USA

80.6 79.3 78.7 78.5 78.4 78.4 77.9

77.9 77.7

77.6

76.4 75.3

Source,

us Census Bureau. Inlernational Data Base

COUNTRIES WITH LOWEST MALE LIFE EXPECTANCY

Country Life expectancy at birth, 2008 (years)

Swaziland

31.7 37 38.5 38.6 39.9 40.9 41 41.6 41.9 43.3

2 3
4

Angola Zambia Sierra Leone Liberia Zimbabwe Lesotho Mozambique Djibouti South Africa

6 7 8
9 10

MOST COMMON CAUSES OF DEATH BY INFECTIONS AND PARASITIC DISEASES

Cause Approximate deaths, 2002

Lower respiratory infections

3,884,000 2,777,000 1,798,000 1,566,000 1,272,000 611,000 294,000 214,000 173,000 157,000

HIV/AIDS Diarrhoeal diseases Tuberculosis Malaria Measles Whooping cough [pertussis] Neonatal tetanus Meningitis Syphilis

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

In 2002, infectious and parasitic diseases accounted for some 10,904,000 of the 57,029,000 deaths worldwide. After declining, certain childhood diseases, including measles and whooping cough, showed an increase.

MOST COMMON CAUSES OF DEATH BY NON-COMMUNICABLE DISORDERS

Cause Approximate deaths, 2002

Ischaemic heart disease Cancers Cerebrovascular disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Perinatal conditions Road traffic accidents Neuropsychiatric disorders Diabetes mellitus Hypertensive heart disease Self-inflicted injury

7,208,000 7,121,000 5,509,000 2,748,000 2,462,000 1,192,000 1,112,000 988,000 911,000 873,000

2 3 4 5

6
7

8
9

10

WonG Health OrganiLatlon, World i ie2lth Report 20G4

MOST COMMON SUICIDE METHODS IN THE UK

Method Male Female Total

Motor vehicle exhaust Hanging Poisoning by analgesics, antipyretics and anti rheumatics Poisoning by tranquillizers and other psychotropic agents Various drugs Firearms and explosives Jumping from high place Jumping or lying in front of moving object (trains, etc.] Drowning Suffocation by plastic bag
Total {including methods not in list}

2
3

1,009 835 157

120 147 162

1,129 982 319

101

116

217

92

6 7
8
9 10

149 101 114 76 38

2,994

68 10 42 27 58 52
956

160 159 143 141 134 90

3,950

FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO DIED WHILE PERFORMING

Tommy Cooper
British comedian, died on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, on live TV, 15 March 1984.

2 3

Les Harvey
Stone the Crows rock singer electrocuted on stage, Swansea, 3 May 1972.

Steve Irwin
Australian naturalist, fatally stung by a stingray while being filmed for a documentary, Oceans Deadliest, 4 September 2006.

Sid James
The English comedy actor, star of Carry On films, collapsed while performaning in The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire, 26 April 1976.

Roy Kinnear
British comedy actor, died in Spain after falling from a horse during the filming of The Return of the Musketeers, 20 September 1988,

Brandon Lee
Son of martial arts actor Bruce Lee, accidentally shot on the set of The Crow in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, 31 March 1993.

Chung Ling-Soo (William Ellsworth Robinson)

American magician, shot on stage at the Wood Green Empire, London on 23 March 1918 when a trick went disastrously wrong.

Vic Morrow
American actor, decapitated when a helicopter went out of control on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, 23 July 1982.

9 10

Tyrone Power
American actor, died during filming in Madrid, Spain, 15 November 1958.

Karl Wallenda
Veteran German high-wire performer, fell to his death while walking a tightrope between two buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 22 March 1978.

Aeschylus
The Greek dramatist died in 456 Be when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head, fulfilling a prediction that he would be killed by a blow from heaven.

Francis Bacon
The Elizabethan philosopher caught a chill while experimenting with deepfreezing a chicken by stuffing it with snow and died on 9 April 1626.

Isadora Duncan
The American dancer was strangled on 14 September 1927 when her scarf caught in the wheel of the Bugatti sports car in which she was a passenger.

Anton Dvorak
The Czech composer died on 1 May 1904 of a chill he caught while train-spotting.

Harry Houdini [Erich Weiss)

The Hungarian-born American escapologist claimed he could withstand being punched in the stomach, but he died on 31 July 1926 after just that.

William Huskisson
The MP was hit by a train as the first railway opened on 15 September 1830.

Jean-Baptiste Lully
The Italian-French composer died on 22 March 1687 after accidentally stabbing his foot with a stick while beating time.

Thomas May
This English poet was strangled by the cloth he used to support his double chin on 13 November 1650.

Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens)

Born when Halley"s Comet appeared in 1835, American writer Mark Twain died, as predicted, the day after its next appearance, on 20 April191 O.

William III
It is popularly believed that the English kings death, on 8 March 1702, resulted from a fall when his horse stumbled over a molehill.

LAST BRITISH MONARCHS TO DIE VIOLENTLY

Monarch Cause*/Iocation Date

William III

Riding accident, Kensington-Hampton Court Beheaded, Whitehall, London Beheaded, Tower Green, London In battle, Bosworth, Leicestershire Murdered, Tower of London Murdered, Tower of London Murdered, Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire Arrow wound, Chateau de Chalus-Chabrol, France Arrow wound, New Forest, Hampshire Riding accident, Mantes, France

8Mar1702 30Jan 1649 12 Feb 1554 22 Aug 1485 1483t 21 May 1471 21 Sep 1327 6 Apr 1199

Charles I Jane Richard III Edward V Henry VI Edward II

3
4

5
6

Richard I

William II William I

2 Aug 1100 9 Sep 1087

SHORTEST-REIGNING POPES
Pope In office Duration (days)

Urban VII 2=
=

15-27 Sep 1590 Apr 896* 25 Oct-10 Nov 1241 15 Jan-4 Feb 708 Dec 897* 17 JuL-9 Aug 1048 9 Apr-1 May 1555 22 Sep-18 Oct 1503 1-27 Apr 1605 22 May-23 Jun 964

12 16 16 20 20 23 23 26 26 32

Boniface VI CeLestine IV Sisinnius Theodore II Damasus II Marcellus II Pius III Leo XI Benedict V

4:;;

=
6=
=

8=
:::

10

'" PrCctse uJtes unknown

A total of 11 Popes have reigned for less than 33 days. Some authorities give Pope-elect Stephen's three days (23-26 March 7521 as the shortest reign, but he died before he was consecrated and is therefore not included in the official list of Popes (in fact, his successor was given his title, Stephen II, and reigned for five yea rs - although some call his predecessor 'Stephen II' and his successors are confusingly known as 'Stephen 11(1111" and so onl. Many of those in this list were already elderly and in poor health when elected: Boniface VI, Sisinnius and Pius III were all said to have suffered from severe gout. In addition, the lives of several were far from tranquil: Boniface VI was deposed and Damasus II possibly poisoned. Pope Johns have been particularly unfortunate: John XXI lasted nine months but was killed in 1277 when a ceiling collapsed on him, while John XII was beaten to death by the husband of a woman with whom he was having an affair. In modern times, John Paull was pontiff for just 33 days (26 August-28 September 19781. his death prompting allegations of poisoning. He was succeeded by John Paul II, whose reign of 26 years, 5 months and 17 days (16 October 1978-2 April 20051 was the second longest.

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST DIVORCE RATE

County
Divorce rate per 1,000

Aruba

4.41 4.23 4.04 3.90 3.60 3.25 3.06 3.06 3.01 2.97

Russia Moldova Ukraine USA Lithuania Cuba Czech Republic Estonia Belarus

3 4 5 6 7= =
9

10

UK

2.80

Un:ted Nations, Oemographic Yearbook 20G:,

COUNTRIES WHERE WOMEN MARRY THE YOUNGEST

Country Average age at first marriage

Democratic Republic of Congo

16.6 17.6 17.8 17.8 18.0 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.4 18.4

2
3=
:::

Niger Afghanistan Sao Tome and Principe Chad Mozambique Bangladesh Uganda Republic of Congo Mali

5:::
==

8
9=
::

United

World Marriage Patterns

COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PROPORTION OF TEENAGE HUSBANDS

Country Percentage of 15-19-year-otd-boys who have married

Iraq

14.9 13.5 11.8 11.4 8.1 9.5 9.2 8.2 7.8 7.7 1.3

Nepal Republic of Congo Uganda Central African Republic India Afghanistan Guinea Guatemala Colombia

3
4 5 6 7

8
9 10

US UK

0.5

COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PROPORTION OF TEENAGE BRIDES

Country Percentage of 15-19-year-old-girls who have married

Democratic Republic of Congo

74.2 55 53.7 51.3 49.8 49.7 49 48.6 47.1 43.8

3.9 1.7

2 3 4
5

Republic of Congo Afghanistan Bangladesh Uganda Mali Guinea Chad Mozambique Senegal

6 7 8 9 10

US UK

Umted Nations Papulation Divislon

OVERSEAS HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS FOR UK COUPLES

Thailand

Maldives Dubai Malaysia Sri Lanka USA Mauritius Bali Egypt Australia

3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MOST COMMON CAUSES OF MARITAL DISCORD AND BREAKDOWN IN THE UK

Lack of communication Continual arguments 3 4 5 Infidelity Sexual problems Financial problems Work [usually one partner devoting excessive time to work] 7 Physical or verbal abuse Children [whether to have them; attitudes towards their upbringing] Step-parenting Addiction [to drinking, gambling, spending, etc.]

PROFESSIONS OF UK COMPUTER DATERS

Women Percentage of those registered Men Profession Percentage of those registered

Profession

Teachers/lecturers Nurses Women at home Secretaries Civil servants

6 Social workers
Solicitors Accountants Doctors Students

7.8 5.2 4.8 4.5 3.9 3.8 3.5 3.1 2.8 1.3

Engineers Computer professionals Teachers/lecturers Company directors Accountants Doctors Managers Civil servants Architects Farmers

6.1

5.3 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.2 4 3.7 2.5 1.4

MISS WORLD
COUNTRIES
Country Wins 1st runner-up 2nd runner-up Total points

UKt Venezuela USA India South Africa Australia Israel Jamaica Sweden France Iceland

3
4= = 6 7
8=
::

10= Argentina

4 5 2 5 2 2 1 3 3 2

6 2 5 0 2 2 2 0 2 3 0

4 3 2 0 5 4 6 2 0 0

= =

28 22 18 15 15 14 13 11 11 10 10 10

Rased on 3 paints for win, '} for 1st runner-up, 1 for Ind runner-up t ExclUding Helen lViol'gan, who won in 1974 but resigned

MOST COMMON FIRST NAMES OF PLAYBOY PLAYMATES

Name Appearances

Karen/Karin Debbie/Debi/Deborah/Debra Jennifer/Jenny Susan/Susie/Suzie Teri/Terre/Terri/Terry VickiNictoria Carol Kimberley/Kimberley Nancy Heather Marilyn

2=

= = =

=
7= =
=

11 10 10 10 10 10
7 7 7 6 6 6

10= Donna

= =

A total of 652 Playboy Playmates have appeared as the magazine's centrefold, from Marilyn Monroe in December 1954 to Sasckya Porto in December 2007, Several have been featured more than once and some with another Playmate.

LATEST WINNERS OF THE REAR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Women Men

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

Sian Lloyd Javine Hylton Nell McAndrew Alex Best Natasha Hamilton Charlotte Church Claire Sweeney Jane Danson Denise van Outen Carol Smillie

Lee Mead Ian Wright Will Young Aled Haydn-Jones Ronan Keating Scott Wright John Altman Graham Norton Robbie Williams Frank Skinner

Barbara Windsor was the first recipient of the Rear of the Year award in 1976. It was not presented again untiL 1981, but since then it has been awarded annuaLLy. The first maLe winner was MichaeL Barrymore in 1986 and the first royaL winner Marina OgiLvy in 1989.

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT USED IN THE USA

1

Honey Baby Sweetheart Dear Lover Darling Sugar Angel Pumpkin Precious

2
3
4

5 6 7
8:::
=

10= Beautiful
=

A survey of romance conducted by a US champagne company concluded that 26 per cent of American adults favoured 'honey' as their most frequently used term of endearment. Curiously, identical numbers were undecided whether to call their loved one an angel or a pumpkin!

FHI4'S 10 SEXIEST
WOMEN, 2007
Jessica Alba

Keeley Hazell Eva Longoria Adriana Lima Scarlett Johansson Hayden Panettiere Cheryl Tweedy Angelina Jolie Emily Scott Elisha Cuthbert

3
4

5 6 7 8 9 10

WOMEN SEARCHED FOR BY UK INTERNET USERS*

1
Britney Spears Paris Hilton Angelina Jolie Lindsay Lohan Victoria Beckham Christina Aguilera Jennifer Aniston Madonna Beyond! Knowles Girls Aloud

3 4 5
6 7

8
9 10

* On MSN UK and Live.com 6 August 2006-10 Feb,-uJry 2007

FIRST NAMES IN
ENGLAND AND WALES, 2007
Girls Boys

Grace Ruby Olivia 4 Emily Jessica Sophie Chloe Lily Ellie Amelia

Jack Thomas Oliver Joshua Harry Charlie Daniel William James Alfie

FIRST NAMES IN SCOTLAND, 2007

Girls

Boys

2 3 4

10

Sophie Emma Lucy Katie Erin Ellie Amy Emily Chloe Olivia

Jack Lewis 3 Callum 4 Ryan 5 James 6 Cameron Jamie Daniel 9 Matthew 10 Kyle

FIRST NAMES IN NORTHERN IRELAND,

2007
Girls

Boys

1 Katie

1 Jack

2 Grace

2 Matthew
3 Ryan
4 James 5 DanieL 6 Adam
7 Joshua

3 Sophie

4 Lucy
5 Emma 6 Ellie 7 Sarah 8 Erin 9 Hannah 10 Anna

8 Callum
9 Ben

10 Ethan

MOST AND LEAST POPULAR BOYS' NAMES

Most popular Least popular

Jack

Jack

2 Joshua 3 James
4
Daniel

2 Wayne 3 Jordan
4 John

5 Ethan
6
Matthew

5 Kevin
6
Bob

7 Ben

7 Joshua

8 Thomas
9 Oliver
10 Cameron

8 Harry
9 George
10 Ian

.>

According to MIlage, an online information site for women

This list is based on a poll in which people were invited to nominate the names they liked and those they disliked. Such are the vagaries of vote-based lists that the same name tops both.

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST REPORTED CRIME RATES

Country Reported crimes per 100,000 population

Dominica

11,382 10,588 10,153 9,283 8,823 8,555 8,040 8,007 7,958 7,719

2 3
4

New Zealand Finland Denmark Chile UK Montserrat USA Netherlands South Africa

6 7 8 9

An appearance in this list does not necessarily confirm these as the most crime-ridden countries, since the rate of reporting relates closely to such factors as confidence in local law-enforcement authorities. However, a rate of approximately 1,000 crimes per 100,000 population may be considered average, so those countries in the Top 10 are well above it.

MOST COMMON CRIMES IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Crime Number recorded, 2006-7

Criminal damage

1,185,100 1,181,000 1,046,400 765,100 329,800 292,300 199,800 194,300 101,400 57,500
5,428,300

2
3
4

Theft and handling stolen goods (excluding car theft) Violence against the person Car theft (including theft from vehicles) Burglary (excluding domestic) Domestic burglary Fraud and forgery Drug offences Robbery Sexual offences

5 6 7 8 9 10

Total {including crimes not in Top 10J

Home Office, Crime in [ngland

Wales 2006/2007

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST PRISON POPULATIONS

Country Prisoners per 100,000 population Total prisoners

USA China Russia Brazil India Mexico Thailand Ukraine South Africa Iran
England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland UK total

2 3
4
5

7 8 9 10

750 119 628 219 30 198 249 345 335 212

148 142 84 147

2,245,189 1,565,771 889,598 419,551 332,112 216,290 161,844 160,046 159,961 150,321

80,229
7,261 1,462 88,952

MOST COMMON REASONS FOR HIRING PRIVATE DETECTIVES IN THE UK

Tracing debtors

Serving writs Locating assets Assessing accident cases Tracing missing persons Insurance claims Matrimonial issues Countering industrial espionage Criminal cases Vetting personnel

3 4
5 6

8
9 10

CRIMINALS LONGEST ON THE FBI'S "10 MOST WANTED' LIST

Fugitive (FBI no.)

Crime

Donald Eugene Webb (375) Victor Manuel Gerena (386) Charles Lee Heron (265) Frederick J. Tenuto (14) Katherine Ann Power (315)

Alleged cop killer Armed Robbery Murder Murder Bank robbery Attempted murder Murder Murder. robbery Alleged murder Car theft. burglary

Arthur Lee Washington Jnr (427) Glen Stewart Godwin (447) David Daniel Keegan (78) James Eddie Diggs (36) Eugene Francis Newman (97)

Added to list

Removed from list

Period on list Years Months Days

4 May 1981 14May1984 9 Feb 1968 24 May 1950 17 Oct 1970 18 Oct 1989 7 Dec 1996 21 Jun 1954 27 Aug 1952 28 May 1956

31 Mar 2007

*
18 Jun 1986 9 Mar 1964 15Jun1984 27 Dec 2000

*
13 Dec 1963 14 Dec 1961 11 Jun 1965

25 23 18 13 13 11 11
9 9 9

10
7 4 9 7 2 0 5

27

18
9

3 0

14 29 19 25 22 17 14

The FBI officially launched its celebrated '10 Most Wanted' list on 14 March 1950, Since then almost 500 criminals have figured on it, the most notable in recent years being No, 456, Osama Bin Laden, who has been included since 7 June 1999, Names appear until individuals are captured or die or charges are dropped, On 8 January 1969 bank robber and double cop murderer Billie Austin Bryant appeared on the list for the record shortest time - just two hours - before he was arrested,

EMBASSIES IN THE UK WITH THE MOST UNPAID PARKING FINES

Country Fines unpaid Amount

Saudi Arabia

China Sudan Egypt Turkey France Russia Afghanistan Guinea Kuwait

4
5

6
7

8
9 10

319 272 244 210 194 186 167 133 117 100
60

29,620 25,630 23,550 20,065 18,420 17,910 15,650 12,840 11,280 9,600
5,210

USA

In 2006, 69 diplomatic missions and international organizations incurred 4,517 outstanding parking and other minor traffic violation fines of more than 1 ,000 each, a grand total of 418,81 0, of which these were the worst offenders.

LAST PEOPLE TO BE BEHEADED IN ENGLAND

Victim/circumstance Date

Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, (b.c.1667J

9 Apr 1747

The 80-year-old peer. beheaded for treason at Tower Hill. London. was the last person to be beheaded in Britain.

2
3=
=

Charles Radclyffe (b.1693J William Boyd, Lord Kilmarnock (b.1704J

AJacobite rebel. executed on Tower Hill.

8 Dec 1746 18 Aug 1746 18 Aug 1746 24Feb1716

Charles was the younger brother of James Radclyffe [No.6. below).

Arthur Elphinstone, Lord Balmerino (b.1688J

A Jacobite rebel. executed on Tower Hill.

William, Viscount Kenmure (birthdate unknownJ

AJacobite rebel. executed on Tower Hill.

Sir James Radclyffe, Earl of Derwentwater (b.1689J

AJacobite rebel. executed on Tower Hill.

24 Feb 1716

Alice Lisle (b.c.1614J James, Duke of Monmouth (b.1649J

2 Sep1685 15Jul1685

Lisle was executed in Winchester for her part in Monmouth's Rebellion.

Monmouth's beheading on Tower Hill was bungled by executioner Jack Ketch. who had to complete the job with a knife.

William Russell (b.1639J

21 Jul 1683

The son of the 5th Earl of Bedford. Russell was executed in Lincoln's Inn Fields. London. after being implicated in the 'Popish Plot".

10

William Howard, Viscount Stafford (b.1614J

Executed for treason on Tower Hill.

29 Dec 1680

LAST PUBLIC HANGINGS IN THE UK

Name Prison location Date

Michael Barrett

Old Bailey, London

26 May 1868

Executed for the murder of Sarah Ann Hodgkinson, one of 12 victims of a Fenian bombing in Clerkenwell, London.

Robert Smith Richard Bishop John Mapp Frederick Parker Timothy Faherty Miles Weatherill Frances Kidder William Worsley Frederick Baker

Dumfries Maidstone Shrewsbury York New Bailey, Salford, Manchester

12 May 1868 30 Apr 1868 9 Apr 1868 4 Apr 1868 4 Apr 1868

Executed for the murder of nine-year-old Thomasina Scott'.

3
4

Executed forthe stabbing of Alfred Cartwright.

Executed for the murder of nine-year-old Catherine Lewis.

5
6

Executed for the murder of Daniel Driscoll.

Executed for the murder of Mary Hanmer.

7
S 9 10

New Bailey, Salford, Manchester 4 Apr 1868 Maidstone Bedford Winchester 2 Apr 1868 31 Mar 1868 24 Dec 1867

Executed for the murder of Rev Anthony Plow and his maid Jane Smith.

Executed forthe murder of 12-year-old Louise Kidder-Staplet.

Executed for the murder of William Bradbury.

Executed for the murder and mutilation of eight-year-old Fanny Adams:j:.

* The

public hangll1q ill Scotland. though tho crowd t The last public nanging of wuman H01ce the of the 'Swellt FOnl'Y Adorns'

held bock from the scoffcld

Public hanging was abolished in the UK on 29 May 1868. after which all hangings took place behind prison walls.

LAST MEN TO BE HANGED IN THE UK

Name Prison location Date

3=

5 6
7

8 9
10

Peter Anthony Allen John Robson Welby* Russell Pascoe Dennis John Whitty Henry John Burnett James Smith Oswald Augustus Grey James Hanratty Robert Andrew McGladdery Hendryk Niemasz

Liverpool Manchester Bristol Winchester Aberdeen Manchester Birmingham Bedford Belfast Wandsworth, London

13 Aug 1964 13 Aug 1964 17 Dec 1963 17Dec1963 15 Aug 1963 28 Nov 1962 20 Nov 1962 4Apr 1962 20 Dec 1961 8 Sept 1961

Capital punishment was abolished in the UK on 9 November 1965. Welby and Allen, the last two men to be hanged, were executed on the same day but at different prisons after being found guilty of stabbing John Alan West to death during a robbery. The last woman hanged in the UK was Ruth Ellis. executed on 13 July 1955 for the shooting of David Blakely.

MOST COMMON MOTORING OFFENCES IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Offence Number, 2005

Obstruction, waiting and parking offences

8,216,900 2,118,900 1,195,700 284,600 253,600 186,000 130,800 103,500 36,700 34,100
12,989,900

Speed-limit offences Vehicle licence, insurance and record-keeping offences Vehicle test offences Neglect of traffic signs, directions and pedestrian rights Careless driving Vehicle or part in dangerous or defective condition Driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs Lighting and noise offences Unauthorized taking or theft of a motor vehicle

3
4

5 6 7 8
9 10

Total (including offences not in Top 10)

rngland and

MOST STOLEN CARS IN THE UK

Vauxhall Belmont

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Vauxhall Astra Mk2 Ford Escort Mk3 Austin/Morris Metro Vauxhall Nova Ford Orion Rover Metro Austin/Morris Maestro Austin/Morris Montego Ford Fiesta Mks1, 2 and 3

Of the 5,729 Vauxhall Belmonts on the road, 436, or one in every 13, were stolen in 2005.

FAMOUS PEOPLE JAILED IN THE UK

Name Crime Year

Simon Dee, OJ Mick Jagger, singer

Debt Drugs

1968 1967 1967-77 1974 1984 1984 1987 1999 2001 2008

Lesley Grantham, Murder EastEnders actor

Stephen Fry, actor George Best, footballer Stacy Keach, US actor

Fraud Drunk driving, assault Drug smuggling Tax evasion Perverting the course of justice Perjury, perverting the course of justice Breach of restraining order

Lester Piggott, jockey Jonathan Aitken, politician Jeffrey Archer, writer Andy Kershaw,

8
9 10

OJ

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST MURDER RATES

Country Murders per 100,000 population*

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

El Salvador Jamaica Guatemala Honduras Venezuela South Africa Colombia Brazil Russia Ecuador
UK

55.3 49.0 45.2 42.9 42.0 39.5 39.3 27.0 19.8 18.3
2.0

In

year tor which figures are available

WORST GUN MASSACRES

Perpetrator Location Date Killed

Woo Bum Kong

Sang-Namdo, South Korea

28 Apr 1982

57

Off-duty policeman Woo Bum Kong [or Wou Bom-Konl. 27. went on a drunken rampage with rifles and hand grenades. killing 57 and injuring 38 before blowing himself up with a grenade.

Martin Bryant

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

28 Apr 1996

35

Bryant. a 28-year-old Hobart resident. used a rifle in a horrific spree that began in a restaurant and ended with a siege in a guesthouse. where he held hostages. then set it on fire. before being captured by police.

Seung-Hui Cho

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

16 Apr 2007

32

South Korean-born Cho used handguns to kill27 fellow students and five faculty members of Virginia Tech before turning a gun on himself in America's worst school shooting.

Baruch Kappel Goldstein

Hebron, Israel occupied West Bank

25 Feb 1994

29

Goldstein. a 42-year-old US immigrant doctor. carried out a gun massacre of Palestinians at prayer at the Tomb of the Patriarchs before being beaten to death by the crowd.

Matsuo Toi

Tsuyama, Japan

21 May 1938

29

The 21-year-old Toi used a rifle and swords to kill 29 of his neighbours before committing suicide.

Campo Elias Delgado

Bogota, Colombia

4 Dec 1986

28

Delgado, a Vietnamese war veteran and electronics engineer, stabbed two and shot a further 26 people before being killed by police,

7=

George Jo Hennard

Killeen, Texas, USA

16 Oct 1991

22

Hennard drove his pick-up truck through the window of Luby's Cafeteria and, in 11 minutes, killed 22 with semi-automatic pistols before shooting himself,

James Oliver Huberty

San Ysidro, California, USA

18 Jul1984

22

Huberty, aged 41, opened fire in a McDonald's restaurant, killing 21 before being shot dead by a SWAT marksman, A further 19 were wounded, including a victim who died the following day,

9:::.

Thomas Hamilton

Dunblane, Stirling, UK

13Mar1996

17

Hamilton, 43, shot 16 children and a teacher in Dunblane Primary School before killing himself in the UK's worst-ever shooting incident - as a result of which firearm laws were tightened in the UK.

Robert Steinhauser

Erfurt, Germany

26 Apr 2002

17

Former student Steinhauser returned to Johann Gutenberg Secondary School and killed 14 teachers, two students and a police officer with a handgun before shooting himself,

and

MOST PROLIFIC MURDERESSES

Murderess Victims

Countess Erszebet Bathory

up to 650

In the period up to 1610 in Hungary. BMhory (1560-16141. known as 'Countess Dracula' - the title of a 1970 Hammer horror film about her life and crimes was alleged to have murdered between 300 and 650 girls (her personal list of 610 victims was described at her trial) in the belief that drinking their blood would prevent her from ageing, She was eventually arrested in 1611. Tried and found guilty, she died on 21 August 1614, walled up in her own castle at Csejthe.

Susannah Olah

up to 100

At the age of 40, Susi Olah. a 40-year-old nurse and midwife, arrived at Nagzrev, a Hungarian village. Over the next few years she 'predicted' the demise of anything up to 100 people who subsequently met their deaths as a result of arsenic poisoning, Many inhabitants believed the woman who came to be nicknamed the 'Angel-maker' had prophetic powers. but her victims ranged from newborn and handicapped children to elderly people and the husbands of many of the local women - in most cases with the full complicity of their relatives, and in some instances with their help. When the law finally caught up with her in 1929, she committed suicide.

Delfina and Maria de Jesus Gonzales

91

In 1964 the Gonzales sisters were sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment after the remains of 80 women and 11 men were discovered on their Mexican property.

Bella Poulsdatter Sorensen Gunness

42

Bella or Belle Gunness (1859-1908?1, a Norwegian-born immigrant to the US, is believed to have murdered her husband, Peter Gunness, for his life insurance (she claimed that an axe had fallen from a shelf and onto his headl. After this, she lured between 16 and 28 suitors through 'lonely hearts' advertisements, as well as numerous others perhaps as many as 42 - to her Laporte, Indiana, farm, where she murdered them. On 28 April 1908 her farm 'was burned down and a headless corpse found there was declared to be Gunness, killed - along with her three children - by her accomplice Ray Lamphere - but it is believed that she faked her own death and disappeared.

Gesina Margaretha Gottfried

at least 30

Having poisoned her first husband and two children with arsenic in 1815, German murderess Gesina Mittenberg killed both her parents by the same method and then her next husband, whom she married on his deathbed, thereby inheriting his fortune. As her income dwindled, she carried out an extensive series of murders, including those of her brother, a creditor and most of the family of a Bremen wheelwright called Rumf, for whom she worked as a housekeeper. Rumf himself became suspicious and in 1828 Gottfried was arrested. After a trial at which she admitted to more than 30 murders, she was executed.

Jane Toppan

30

Boston-born Nora Kelley, also known as Jane Toppan (1854-1938) worked as a nurse. After numerous patients in her care had died, bodies were exhumed that revealed traces of morphine and atropine poisoning. It seems probable, according to both evidence and her own confession, that she killed as many as 30 victims. She died on 17 August 1938 in an asylum at the age of 84.

Helene Jegado

23

Jegado was a French housemaid who was believed to have committed some 23 murders by arsenic. She was tried at Rennes in 1851, found guilty and guillotined in 1852.

Genene Jones

21

In 1984 Jones was found guilty of killing a baby, Chelsea McClellan, at the San Antonio, Texas, hospital at which she worked as a nurse, by administering the drug succinylcholine. She was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Jones had been dismissed from the previous hospital at which she had worked after up to 20 babies in her care had died of suspicious but uncertain causes, and some authorities linked her with as many as 42 deaths.

Mary Ann Cotton

20

Cotton (b. 1832), a former nurse, is generally held to be Britain's worst mass murderess. It seems probable that over a 20-year period she disposed of 14-20 victims, including three husbands, children and stepchildren, by arsenic poisoning. She was hanged at Durham Prison on 24 March 1873.

10

Waltraud Wagner

15

Wagner was the ringleader but only one of four nurses found guilty of causing numerous deaths through deliberate drug overdoses and other means at the Lainz hospital, Vienna, in the late 1980s. Between 42 and possibly as many as several hundred patients became the victims of the Wagner' death squad', for which she was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges that included 15 counts of murder and 17 of attempted murder.

MOST PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLERS IN THE UK

Murderer

Victims

Dr Harold Shipman (1946-2004)

215

In January 2000, Manchester doctor Shipman was found guilty of the murder of 15 women patients. The official inquiry into his crimes put the figure at 215, with 45 possible further cases, but some authorities believe that the total could be as high as 400. Shipman hanged himself in his prison cellon 13 January 2004.

Mary Ann Cotton (1832-73)

20

Cotton, a former nurse, is generally held to be Britain's worst mass murderer. Over a 20-year period, it seems probable that she disposed of 14-20 victims, including her husband, children and stepchildren, by arsenic poisoning. She was hanged at Durham Prison on 24 March 1873.

William Burke (1792-1829) and William Hare (C. 1792-?)

at least 15

Two Irishmen living in Edinburgh, Burke and Hare murdered at least 15 people in order to sell their bodies (for between 8 and 14 each) to anatomists in the period before human dissection was legal. Burke was hanged on 28 January 1829, while Hare, having turned king's evidence against him, was released a week later and allegedly died a blind beggar in London in the 1860s.

Dennis Nilsen (b. 1945)

Killer of 151possibly 16) men between 1978 and 1983.

15 14

Dr William Palmer (1824-56)

Dubbed the 'Rugeley Poisoner' after the Staffordshire town where he lived, Palmer may have killed at least 13, probably 14 and perhaps as many as 16, including his wife, brother and children in order to claim insurance, and various men whom he robbed to payoff his gambling debts. He was hanged at Stafford on 14 June 1856. The true number of his victims remains uncertain.

Peter Sutcliffe (b. 1946)

13

a.k.a. the 'Yorkshire Ripper', he was convicted in 1981 of the murders of 13 women and attacks on seven others between 1975 and 1980.

Fred West (1941-95) and Rosemary West (b. 1953)

12

The couple are believed to have tortured and murdered at least 12 young women between 1967 and 1987 at their Gloucester home. Fred West committed suicide in 1995 while awaiting trial.

Patrick Mackay (b. 1952)

11

Having confessed to killing 11, Mackay was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975.

John Christie (1898-1953)

Christie killed seven women, including his wife, and possibly a child between 1943 and 1953, hiding their bodies in his house at 10 Rillington Place, London. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison, London, on 15 July 1953.
:::

Kenneth Erskine (b. 1962)

a.k.a. the Stockwell Strangler, Erskine murdered seven elderly men and women. He was sent to Broadmoor in 1988.

Peter Manuel (1927-58)

Manuel was convicted of murdering seven, but his total tally may have been as many as 15. He was hanged at Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, on 11 July 1958.

Although a grisly concept in the context of such crimes, among 'runners-up' are John Childs, who murdered six individuals, for which he received a life sentence in 1980. John George Haigh, celebrated as the 'Acid Bath Murderer' was also convicted of six murders, but claimed to have killed nine. He was hanged on 10 August 1949. Scottishborn doctor Dr Thomas Neill Cream studied in Canada and worked in the USA, where in 1881 he was convicted of a murder using strychnine and spent ten years in Joliet Prison. After his release, he moved to London where he soon committed four more murders, all using the same poison. Known as the 'Lambeth Poisoner', he was caught and executed on 15 November 1892. It is alleged that at the moment of his death he blurted out the phrase'l am Jack .... , which some have taken as his confession that he was Jack the Ripper. (The flaw in this argument is that the Ripper's crimes were carried out in 1888, when Cream was still firmly behind bars in the USA.) The real Jack the Ripper - whoever he was - is also suspected of having killed five. The Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were convicted of five murders, but are suspected of others. Hindley died in 2002, while Brady remains an inmate of Ashworth Hospital, Merseyside.

MOST COMMON MURDER WEAPONS AND METHODS IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Weapon/method Male

Victims, 2006-7 Female

Total

Sharp instrument

2 3

Hitting and kicking Unknown Shooting Strangulation Other Blunt instrument Burning Poison or drugs Drowning
Total*

4
5

6 7 8 9 10

185 126 51 53 23 28 33 13 24 7
547

73 14 19 6 31 15 8 15

258

140 70 59 54 43 41
28

25
187

8 734

LARGEST ARMED FORCES

Country Estimated active forces Army Navy Air Total

China

1,600,000 593,327 1,100,000 360,000 560,000 550,000 350,000 402,000 340,000

255,000 341,588 55,000 46,000 142,000 63,000 24,000 18,000 48,600 18,500

250,000 336,081 125,000 110,000 195,000 64,000 45,000 52,000 60,000 30,000

2,105,000 1,498,157* 1,288,000t 1,106,000 1,027,000+ 687,000 619,000 545,000# 510,600 468,500

2
3 4

USA India Russia South Korea Pakistan Iran Turkey Egypt

North Korea 950,000

5
6 7

8
9 10

UK

99,707

38,900

41,920

180,527

'Indudcs 186,661 MDrine

40,500

S,LlOO Coast Guard :): 80,000 Strutcqic Deterrent anu 250,000 Ccmmend und Support iI 175,000 Islnmic Revoiutional'Y Guard Corps ~ Include'S 80,000 1\11' Defence Oommand

The

Stud,es, Thr

2008

LARGEST ARMED FORCES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Country Personnel*

Russia Germany British Empire

6,

12,000,000 11,000,000 8,904,467 8,410,000 7,800,000 5,615,000 4,355,000 2,850,000 1,200,000 800,000

France Austria-Hungary Italy USA Turkey Bulgaria Japan

8 9 10

Russia's armed forces were relatively small in relation to the country's population - some 6 per cent, compared with 17 per cent in Germany. Several other European nations had forces that were similarly substantial in relation to their populations: Serbia's army was equivalent to 14 per cent of its population. In total, more than 65 million combatants were involved in fighting some of the costliest battles, in terms of numbers killed, that the world has ever known.

COUNTRIES SUFFERING THE GREATEST MILITARY LOSSES IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Country
Killed

Germany Russia France Austria-Hungary British Empire* Italy Romania Turkey USA Bulgaria

1,773,700 1,700,000 1,357,800 1,200,000 908,371 650,000 335,706 325,000 116,516 87,500

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Including

Canada, hdia, New Zealllnd, Suuth Africa, etc:.

The number of battle fatalities and deaths from other causes among military personnel varied enormously from country to country. Romania's death rate was highest, at 45 per cent of its total mobilized forces, Germany's was 16 per cent, Austria-Hungary's and Russia's 15 per cent, and the British Empire's 10 per cent, with the USA's 2 per cent and Japan's 0.04 per cent among the lowest. Japan's forces totalled only 800,000, of which an estimated 300 were killed, 907 wounded and just three taken prisoner or reported missing. In contrast, Belgium had 267,000 in the field, with 13,716 killed, 44,686 wounded and 34,659 prisoners or missing in action.

YOUNGEST RECIPIENTS OF THE VICTORIA CROSS

Name/campaign/action date Age Years Months Days

Andrew Fitzgibbon, Taku Forts, China, 21 Aug 1860

15 15 16 17 17

3 3 4 5 6

8 18 23 29 4

Thomas Flinn, Indian Mutiny, 28 Nov 1857 John Travers Cornwall, Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 Thomas Ricketts, Belgium, 14 Oct 1918 Arthur Mayo, Indian Mutiny, 22 Nov 1857 George Monger, Indian Mutiny, 18 Nov 1857 Edward St John Daniel, Crimean War, 5 Nov 1854; 18 Jun 1855*

17

19

William McWheeney, Crimean War, 17 20 Oct 1854; 5 Dec 1854; 18 Jun 1855* Basil John Douglas Guy, Boxer Rebellion, 13 Jul 1900 Wilfred St Aubyn Malleson, Gallipoli, 25Apr 1915 18 18 2 7 4 8

his

BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH AIR ACES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Kills

Pilot

Nationality

claimed

Major William Avery Bishop Major Edward Corringham 'Mick' Mannock Major Raymond Collishaw Major James Thomas Byford McCudden Captain Anthony Wetherby Beauchamp-Proctor Captain Donald Roderick Maclaren Major William George Barker Major Roderic Stanley Dallas Captain George Edward Henry McElroy Captain Robert A. little

Canadian British Canadian British South African Canadian Canadian Australian Irish Australian

72 68

3
4

62

57 54 54 54 51 49 47

5",

The term 'ace' was first used during the First World War to denote a pilot who had brought down at least five enemy aircraft. Raoul Lufbery of the American Lafayette Flying Squadron was the first to be so-called, The British definition of an 'ace' varied from three to ten aircraft and was never officially approved, remaining an informal concept during both World Wars. The German equivalent was Oberkanone which means 'top gun',

GERMAN AIR ACES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Pilot
Kills claimed

Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen Oberleutnant Ernst Udet

3
4

Oberleutnant Erich Loewenhardt Leutnant Werner Voss Hauptmann Bruno Loerzer Leutnant Fritz Rumey Hauptmann Rudolph Berthold Leutnant Paul Baumer Leutnant Josef Jacobs Leutnant Franz Buchner Oberleutnant Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen

5=

8 9
:::

80 62 53 48 45 45 44 43
41

10= Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke

40 40 40

The claims of top First World War ace Rittmeister Manfred, Baron von Richthofen (whose brother also merits a place in this list) of 80 kills has been disputed, since only 60 of them have been completely confirmed. Richthofen, known as the 'Red Baron' and leader of the so-called 'Flying Circus' (because the aircraft of his squadron were painted in distinctive bright colours)' shot down 21 Allied fighters in the single month of April 1917. His own end a year later, on 21 April 1918, has been the subject of controversy ever since, and it remains uncertain whether his Fokker triplane was shot down in aerial combat with British pilot Captain A. Roy Brown (who was credited with the kilL), or by shots from Australian machine gunners on the ground. Hermann Goering, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, was a fighter pilot in Richthofen's Flying Circus, and was the last commander of the squadron before the Armistice of 11 November 1918, He shot down 22 Allied aircraft and was awarded Germany's highest decoration, the Ordre Pour le Merite, on 2 June 1918. He committed suicide at Nuremberg on 15 October 1946.

LARGEST ARMED FORCES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Country Personnel*

USSR USA
Germany Japan France

12,500,000 12,364,000 10,000,000 6,095,000 5,700,000 4,683,000 4,500,000 3,800,000 2,150,000 1,000,000

3 4 5 6

UK
Italy China India Poland

7 8 9 10

, Total at peak strength

Allowing for deaths and casualties, the total forces mobilized during the course of the war is, of course, greater than the peak strength figures: that of the USSR, for example, has been put as high as 20 million, the USA 16,354,000, Germany 17.9 million, Japan 9.1 million and the UK 5,896,000.

BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH AIR ACES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Pilot Nationality Kills claimed*

Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle

South African British Irish Canadian British South African Australian British British New Zealander
vvith others

40+

2
3
4 5 6

Group Captain James Edgar JohnnY Johnson Wing Commander Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane Flight Lieutenant George Frederick Beurling Wing Commander John Randall Daniel Braham Group Captain Adolf Gysbert 'Sailor' Malan Wing Commander Clive Robert Caldwell Squadron Leader James Harry 'Ginger' Lacey Squadron Leader Neville Frederick Duke Wing Commander Colin F. Gray
reler to
yvere

33.91 32 31.33 29 28.66 28.5 28 27.83 27.7

1
8
9 10
"'Klk.;

GERMAN AIR ACES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Pilot
Kills claimed

Major Eric Hartmann

Major Gerhard Barkhorn Major GUnther Rall Oberst Otto Kittel Major Walther Nowotny Major Wilhelm Batz Major Erich Rudorffer Oberst Heinz Bar Oberst Hermann Graf Major Heinrich Ehrler

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

352 301 275 267 258 237 222 220 212 209

Although these apparently high claims have been dismissed by some military historians as inflated for propaganda purposes, it is worth noting that many of them relate to kills on the Eastern Front, where the Luftwaffe was undoubtedly superior to its Soviet opponents, and some ofthem relate to 'kills' on the ground, Few have questioned the so-called 'Blond Knight' Eric Hartmann's achievement, however, and his victories over Soviet aircraft so outraged the USSR that after the war he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in a Russian labour camp, He was released in 1955, returned to serve in the West German air force and died on 20 September 1993, All those in the Top 10 were day-fighter aces; the highest 'score' by a night-fighter pilot was the 121 kills credited to Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnauffer, A total of 25 pilots achieved more than 150 kills yet failed to make the Top 10,

MOST HEAVILY BLITZED CITIES IN THE UK

City

Major raids

Tonnage of high explosives dropped

3 4
5

6
7

8 9 10

London Liverpool/Birkenhead Birmingham Glasgow/Clydeside Plymouth/Devon port Bristol/Avonmouth Coventry Portsmouth Southampton Hull

85 8 8 5 8

23,949 1,957 1,852 1,329 1,228 919 818 687 647 593

6 2 3
4 3

The list, which is derived from official German sources, is based on total tonnage of high explosive dropped in major night attacks during the Blitz period, from 7 September 1940 until 16 May 1941. Further urban centres - Manchester, Belfast, Sheffield, Newcastle{Tyneside, Nottingham and Cardiff - were also victims of significant air raids in the same period.

CITIES MOST BOMBED BY THE RAF AND USAF,

1939-45
City
Estimated civilian fatalities

Dresden

100,000+ 55,000 49,000 20,000 15,000 13,000 12,300 7,500 7,500 6,000 6,000

2 3 4 5 6 7
8=
::

Hamburg Berlin Cologne Magdeburg Kassel Darmstadt Essen Heilbronn Wuppertal

10= Dortmund =

The high level of casualties in Dresden resulted principally from the saturation bombing and the firestorm that ensued after Allied raids on the lightly defended city. Although their main objective was to destroy the railway marshalling yards, the scale of the raids was massive: 775 British bombers took part in the first nighfs raid on 13 February 1945, followed the next day by 450 US bombers, with a final attack by 200 US bombers on 15 February, while the city was still blazing, with 28.5 sq km (11 sq milesl already devastated by the firestorm. A total of 39,773 were 'officially identified dead', but many thousands more were incinerated in buildings and never identified.

COUNTRIES SUFFERING THE GREATEST MILITARY LOSSES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Country
Killed

USSR

13,600,000* 3,300,000 1,324,516 1,140,429 357,116 350,000 320,000 305,000 292,131 279,800

Germany China Japan

British Empiret (UK 264,000J Romania Poland Yugoslavia

USA
Italy

Total

21,268,992

The numbers killed in the Second World War have been the subject of intense argument ever since. Most authorities now reckon that of the 30 million Soviets who bore arms, there were 13.6 million military deaths. This includes a battlefield deaths total of approximately 7.8 million, plus up to 2.5 million who died later of wounds received in battle and disease and, of the 5.8 million who were taken prisoner, as many as 3.3 million who died in captivity. It should also be borne in mind that these were military losses. To these should be added many untold millions of civilian war deathS, while recent estimates have suggested an additional figure of up to 25 million civilian deaths as a result of Stalinist purges, which began just before the outbreak of war.

NAZI WAR CRIMINALS HANGED AT NUREMBERG

Joachim von Ribbentrop, 53, former Ambassador to Great Britain and Hitler's last Foreign Minister (the first to be hanged, at 1.02 a.m. on 16 Oct 1946) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Field Marshal Wilhelm von Keitel, 64, who had ordered the killing of 50 Allied air force officers after the Great Escape General Ernst Kaltenbrunner, 44, SS and Gestapo leader Reichminister Alfred Rosenberg, 53, ex-Minister for Occupied Eastern Territories Reichminister Hans Frank, 46, ex-Governor of Poland Reichminister Wilhelm Frick, 69, former Minister of the Interior Gauleiter Julius Streicher, 61, editor of anti-Semitic magazine Die StUrmer Reichminister Fritz Sauckel, 52, ex-General Plenipotentiary for the Utilization of Labour [the slavelabour programme) Colonel-General Alfred Jodl, 56, former Chief of the General Staff Gauleiter Artur von Seyss-Inquart, 53, Governor of Austria and later Commissioner for Occupied Holland [the last to be hanged)

9 10

The International Military Tribunal trials (20 November 1945 to 31 August 1946) sentenced 12 to death. Martin Bormann had escaped and Hermann Goering committed suicide, but the remaining were hanged at Nuremberg Prison on 16 October 1946.

MOST POPULATED COUNTRIES

Country Population, estimated 2009

China

1,338,612,968 1,166,079,217 306,499,395 240,271,522 193,767,441 170,790,583 156,654,645 141,617,030 140,041,247 127,078,679
61,113,205 6,757,062,760

2 3 4 5
6

India

USA
Indonesia Brazil Pakistan Bangladesh Nigeria Russia Japan

8
9

10

UK

World

In 2009, the population of Nigeria is set to overtake that of Russia, the only country in the Top 10 whose population is declining. Mexico, with a projected population of 111,211,789, is the only other country with a population of more than 100 million.

LEAST POPULATED COUNTRIES

Country Population, estimated 2009

Vatican City

557 12,378 14,014 21,331 30,324 32,920 34,741 39,941 64,522 70,194

2 3 4 5 6
7

Tuvalu Nauru Palau San Marino Monaco Liechtenstei n Saint Kitts and Nevis Marshall Islands Antigua and Barbuda

8 9 10

us
The most recent and unusually precise official statistics published by Vatican City in 2007 revealed that the resident population comprised the Pope and 57 cardinals, 293 clergy members of pontifical representations, 62 other clergy, 101 members of the Swiss Guard and 43 other lay persons. Only those employed by the Holy See can acquire citizenship, which is relinquished when their employment is terminated, but they may then be granted Italian citizenship.

COUNTRIES IN WHICH MEN OUTNUMBER WOMEN

Country Estimated men per 100 women, 2009

3 4 5 6 7 8
9

10

United Arab Emirates Qatar Kuwait Bahrain Oman Saudi Arabia Palau jordan Andorra India

219.5 182.5 153.5 124.3 122 118 111.6 110.3 107.4 106.3

icltemational
The male/female ratio of the world is balanced virtually 50:50 - in Cameroon, Ecuador, Ghana, Iceland, indonesia, Mongolia and South Korea precisely so although in many Western countries male births slightly outnumber female by a very small percentage. There are certain countries, however, where one sex dominates more markedly. There is no definitive explanation of how these imbalances occur, or even whether such apparent differentiaLs represent a true picture. in certain deveLoping countries where births are not accurately recorded and popuLation figures are calculated from census returns, the figures may reflect the numbers of immigrant maLe workers, or in cuLtures where women are regarded as second-class citizens and are simply not enumerated.

COUNTRIES IN WHICH WOMEN OUTNUMBER MEN

Country Estimated women per 100 men, 2009

Estonia

119 117.6 117.6 116.3 114.9 113.6 112.4 111.1 109.9 109.9 109.9 102 104.2

2= = 4

Russia Ukraine Latvia Belarus Lithuania Armenia Hungary Georgia Moldova Monaco

5
6

7 8
9=

=
=

UK USA

Source:

us Census Bureau, International Data

LARGEST COUNTRIES
Percentage of world total

Country

Area

Russia Canada USA China Brazil Australia India Argentina Sudan UK World total

17,075,200 sq km (6,592,772 sq miles] 9,984,670 sq km (3,855,103 sq miles] 9,631,420 sq km (3,718,712 sq miles] 9,596,960 sq km (3,705,407 sq miles] 8,511,965 sq km (3,286,488 sq miles] 7,686,850 sq km (2,967,910 sq miles] 3,287,590 sq km [1,269,346 sq miles] 2,766,890 sq km [1,068,302 sq miles] 2,505,810 sq km [967,499 sq miles] 244,820 sq km (94,526 sq miles} 148,940,000 sq km /57,506,062 sq miles}

11.5 6.7 6.5 6.4 5.7 5.2 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.7 0.2 100

2 3
4 5

6 7 8 9 10

Kazakhstan 2,717,300 sq km [1,049,156 sq miles]

200!
This list is based on the total area of a country within its borders, including offshore islands and inland water such as lakes and rivers and reservoirs. It may thus differ from versions in which these are excluded. Antarctica has an approximate area of 13,200,000 sq km 15,096,549 sq miles!, but is discounted as it is not considered a country. The countries in the Top 10 collectively comprise 50 per cent of the total Earth's surface.

SMALLEST COUNTRIES

Country

Area

Vatican City

0.44 sq km 10.17 sq miles) 1.95 sq km 10.75 sq miles) 21.2 sq km 18.18 sq miles) 25.63 sq km 19.89 sq miles) 61.2 sq km 123.63 sq miles) 160 sq km 161.77 sq miles) 181.43 sq km 170.05 sq miles) 269.4 sq km 1104.01 sq miles) 298 sq km 1115.05 sq miles) 315.1 sq km 1121.66 sq miles)

2 3
4 5

Monaco Nauru Tuvalu San Marino Liechtenstein Marshall Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis Maldives Malta

6
7

8
9

10

There are some 25 'microstates' - independent countries with an area of less than 1,000 sq km [386 sq miles!' The 'country' status of the Vatican is questionable, since its government and other features are intricately linked with those of Italy. The Vatican did become part of unified Italy in the 19th century, but its identity as an independent state was recognized by a treaty of 11 February 1929, If it is discounted. Grenada [344 sq km/132,81 sq miles) would join the list.

LONGEST PLACE NAMES

Name Letters

Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin 168 Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
It means 'The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous royal palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn', When the poetic name of Bangkok, capital of Thailand, is used, it is usually abbreviated to 'Krung Thep' (city of angels!.

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki-maungahoronukupokaiwhenua kita nata hu

85

This is the longer version (the other has a mere 83lettersl of the Maori name of a hill in New Zealand, It translates as 'The place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as landeater, played on the flute to his loved one',

Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogleddollonpenrhyn-areurdraethceredigion

67

A name contrived by the Fairbourne Steam Railway, Gwynedd, North Wales, for publicity purposes and in order to outdo its rival, No, 4, It means 'The Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan Bay',

Uanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio-gogogoch

58

This is the place in Gwynedd famed especially for the length of its railway tickets, It means 'St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of the church of St Tysilo near the Red Cave', Questions have

been raised about its authenticity, since its official name comprises only the first 20 letters and the full name appears to have been invented as a hoax in the 19th century by a local tailor.

El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de la Porciuncula

57

The site of a Franciscan mission and the full Spanish name of Los Angeles. it means The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Little Portion'. Nowadays it is customarily known by its initial letters, LA, making it also one of the shortest-named cities in the world.

Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaug 43
America's longest place name, a lake near Webster, Massachusetts. Its Indiar. name, loosely translated, is claimed to mean 'You fish on your side, nL fish en mine, and no one fishes in the middle'. It is said to be pronounced 'Char-gogg-agogg [pause] man-chaug-a-gogg [pause] chau-bun-a-gung-a-maug. It is. however, an invented extension of its real name (Chaubunagungamaug or 'boundary fishing place'), devised in the 1920s by Larry Daly, the editor of the

Webster Times.

7=
=

Lower North Branch Little Southwest Miramichi

Canada's longest place name - a short river in New Brunswick.

40 40

Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis

The full Spanish name of Santa Fe, New Mexico, translates as 'Royal city of the holy faith of St Francis of Assisi'.

Te Whakatakanga-o-te-ngarehu-o-te-ahi-a-Tamatea

38

The Maori name of Hammer Springs, New Zealand. Like No.2 in this list, it refers to a legend of Tamatea, explaining how the springs were warmed by 'the falling of the cinders of the fire of Tamatea'. Its name is variously written either hyphenated or as a single word.

10

Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhubhghaill

32

The longest multiple name in Scotland, a place near Aultanrynie, Highland. alternatively spelled Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhughaill (30 letters!'

i0cludlng singleword. flypnenaled dnd multiple names

LONGEST PLACE NAMES IN THE UK*

Name/location Letters

Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogleddollonpenrhyn-areurdraethceredigion
Isee Top 10 longest place names, No.3)

67

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio-gogogoch
Isee Top 10 longest place names, No.4)

58

Sutton -u nder -Wh itesto necliffe, North Yorkshire Llansantffraid-ym-mechain, Powys Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, Powys 6= Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, Ceredigion Llanfihangel-y-traethau, Gwynedd Cottonshopeburnfoot, Northumberland Blakehopeburnhaugh, Northumberland Coignafeuinternich, Highland

27
23

22
21 21

19
18 18

Runners-up include Claddach-baleshare and Claddach-knockline, both in North Uist, Outer Hebrides, each having 17 letters. Next come Combeinteignhead, Doddiscombsleigh, Moretonhampstead, Stokeinteignhead and Woolfardisworthy Ipronounced 'Woolsery"). all of which are in Devon and have 16 letters. The longest multiple name in England is North Leverton with Habblesthorpe, Nottinghamshire 130 letters)' followed by Sulhampstead Bannister Upper End, West Berkshire (29). In Wales it is Lower Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, Ceredigion (26). followed by Llansantffraed Cwmdeuddwr, Powys (24). and in Scotland Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhubhghaill, Highland 1321. Loch Airidh Mhic Fhionnlaidh Dhuibh 1311. a loch on the island of Lewis, and Huntingtower and Ruthvenfield, Perth and Kinross 1271. If the parameters are extended to encompass Ireland, the single-words Castletownconyersmaceniery 1261. County Limerick, and Muickeenachidirdhashaile (24) and Muckanaghederdauhalia 1211. both in County Galway, are scooped into the net. The shortest place name in the UK is Ae in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. There are numerous three-letter British place names, among them Bix, Cog, three Eyes lor rather, three places called Eye!. Ham, Hey, Hoe, How, Hoy, Hoo,lde, Nax and Wig, with Ham 117 examples) being the commonest.

MOST COMMON
STREET NAMES IN THE UK
High Street Station Road Main Street Park Road Church Road Church Street London Road Victoria Road Green Lane Manor Road

HBOS

TALLEST HABITABLE BUILDINGS

Building/location Year completed Storeys Roof height

Burj Dubai, Dubai, UAR

2008* 2008*

162 101

643.2 m (2,110 ttl 492m (1,614 ttl 485 m (1,591 ttl 450 m (1,476 ttl 449.2 m (1,474 ttl 442.3 m (1,451 ttl 437.5 m (1,435 ftl 420.5 m (1,380 ftl 414 m (1,358 ftl 412 m (1,352 ttl

Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China Abraj Al Bait Hotel Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia Greenland Square Zifeng Tower, Nanjing, China Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan Sears Tower, Chicago, USA Guangzhou Twin Towers, Guangzhou, China Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, China Princess Tower, Dubai, UAE Al Hamra Tower, Kuwait

3 4

2008* 2008*

76 69

2004 1973 2009* 1998 2009* 2008*

101 110 103 88 107 77

6
7

8
9
10

Under construction, scheduled completion dilte

TALLEST HABITABLE BUILDINGS IN THE UK*

Building/location Year completed Storeys Roof height

One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London

1991 2002

50 45

235.1 m (771 tt) 199.5 m (655 tt) 199.5 m (655 tt) 183m (600 tt) 179.8 m (590 tt) 164.3 m (539 tt) 157 m (515 tt) 156.4 m (513tt) 153 m (502 tt) 153 m (502 ttl

2::::

8 Canada Square (HSBC Tower!. Canary Wharf, London 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London Tower 42 (formerly National Westminster Tower!. London 30 St Mary Axe ('The Gherkin'J. London Broadgate Tower, London Beetham Tower, Manchester 1 Churchill Place, London 25 Bank Street, London 40 Bank Street, London

::::

2001 1980

45 47

2004 2008 2006 2004 2003 2003

41 36 50 32 33 33

LONGEST SUSPENSION BRIDGES

Bridge/location Year completed Length of main span

Akashi-Kaikyo, KobeNaruto, Japan

1998 2007 1997 2005 1980 1998 1997 1964 1937 2007

1,991

m (6,532 ft)

Xihoumen, China Great Belt, Denmark Ryungyang, China Humber Estuary, UK Jiangyin, China Tsing Ma, Hong Kong, China Verrazano Narrows, New York, USA Golden Gate, San Francisco, USA Yangluo, China

1,650 m (5,413 tt) 1,624 m (5,328 ft)

3 4 5 6

7
8

m (4,888 ft) m (4,625 tt) 1,385 m (4,543 ttl 1,377 m (4,518 ttl
1,490 1,410 1,298 m (4,260 tt) 1,280

9=
:::

m (4,200 ttl

1,280 m (4,200 tt)

The planned Messina Strait Bridge between Sicily and Calabria, Italy, would have had the longest centre span of any bridge at 3,300 m [10,827 ftl, but the project was cancelled on 11 October 2006,

LONGEST RAIL TUNNELS

TunneVlocation Year completed Length

1
2

AlpTransit GoUhard, Switzerland Seikan, Japan Channel Tunnel, France/England Moscow Metro [SerpukhovskoTimiryazevskaya line!. Russia Lotschberg Base, Switzerland Guadarrama, Spain London Underground [East Finchley-Morden, Northern Line!. UK Hakkoda,Japan Iwate-Ichinohe, Japan Pajares Base, Spain

2018* 1988 1994 1983

57,072 m (187,244 ttl 53,850 m (176,673 ttl 50,450 m (165,518 ftl 38,900 m (127,625 ttl 34,577 m (113,442 ttl 28,377 m (97,100 ttl 27,840 m (91,339 ttl 26,455 m (86,795 ftl 25,810 m (84,678 ttl 24,667 m (80,928 tt)

3
4

2007 2007 1939

6
7

8
9

2010* 2002 2011*

10

4<

Under construction. scheduled cornpli::tion

ddh~

LONGEST ROAD TUNNELS

TunneVlocation Year completed Length

Lcerdal, Norway

2000 2007 1980 1978 2006 1980 1965 1991 2001 1991

24,510 m (80,413 ttl 18,040 m (59,186 ttl 16,918 m (55,505 ttl 13,972 m (45,850 ttl 12,900 m (42,323 ttl 12,895 m (42,306 ttl 11,611 m (38,094 ttl 11,428 m (37,493 ttl 11,100 m (36,417 ttl 11,010 m (36,122 ttl

Zhongnanshan, China St Gotthard, Switzerland Arlberg, Austria Hsuehshan, Taiwan Fnjus, France/Italy Mont-Blanc, France/Italy Gudvangen, Norway Folgefonn, Norway Kan-Etsu II (southboundl. Japan

3
4
5

6
7 8 9

10

Language

Percentage of all internet users

Internet users*

English

30.1 14.7 9 6.9 5.1 4.9 4 3.7 2.7 2.6

83.7 16.3 100

379,529,347 184,901,513 113,463,158 87,540,000 63,761,141 61,912,361 50,828,760 46,359,140 34,430,000 33,143,152
1,055,868,572 206, 164, 125 1,262,032,697

2 3 4 5
6

Chinese (Mandarin] Spanish Japanese French German Portuguese Arabic Korean Italian

8
9

10

Top 10 languages Rest of world languages World total

MOST-SPOKEN LANGUAGES
Language Speakers

Chinese [Mandarin) Spanish English Hindi Portuguese Bengali Russian Japanese German Chinese [Wu)

873,014,298 322,299,171 309,352,280 180,764,791 177,457,180 171,070,202 145,031,551 122,433,899 95,392,978 77,175,000

2 3
4

6 7 8 9 10

PrimQry speakers only Source; Rilymond G. Gordon Jr ledl. Fthnologue; I. anguagps of/he World. 15th edition [DallQs, SIL Intcrnatiol1ill, 2005). Online V0rsion; www.cthnologuo.com.

LONGEST WORDS IN THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Word/earliest recorded use letters

SupercalifragilisticexpiaLidocious, 1964
Meaning 'wonderful', from song of this title in the film Mary Poppins,

34 29 27 26 23 22 22 22 21 20

2
3
4
5

FloccinaucinihiLipilification, 1741
Meaning 'the action or habit of estimating as worthless',

HonorificabiLitudinitatibus, 1599
Meaning 'honourableness',

AntidisestabLishmentarians, 1900
Meaning 'those opposed to the disestablishment of the Church of England',

OverinteLlectuaLization, 1922
Meaning' excessive intellectualization' ,

6= =

IncircumscriptibLeness, 1550
Meaning 'incapable of being circumscribed',

Omnirepresentativeness, 1842
Meaning 'the quality of being representative of all forms or kinds',

=
9

ReinstitutionaLization, 1978
Meaning 'institutionalize again',

Undercharacterization, 1968
Meaning to depict or play with insufficient characterization or subtlety,

10

Lithochromatographic, 1843
Colour printing technique using stone,

These are strictly non-medical terms or names of chemical compounds, which can achieve lengths running into thousands of letters,

OLDEST UNIVERSITIES IN THEUK

University Founded

Oxford Cambridge St Andrews Glasgow Aberdeen Edinburgh Dublin* Durhamt Londont Manchester

2 3
4

5 6

7 8 9 10

1117 1209 1411 1451 1495 1583 1592 1832 1836 1851

Colloqc 1828

Although its constituent colleges were founded earlier - Lampeter 1822. Aberystwyth 1872. Cardiff 1883. Bangor 1884 - the University of Wales dates from 1893.

BESTSELLING NOVELS
Book/first published Minimum estimated sales*

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, 1997

2
Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, 1939

120,000,000 115,000,000 100,000,000 77,000,000 66,000,000 65,000,000 65,000,000 64,000,000 60,000,000 58,000,000

3
4

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, 1954-5 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 1998 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2005 J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, 1951 Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, 2003 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 1999 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2003

5
6=
:::

8 9
10

Induding translations

LATEST~ODDEST

TITLE OF THE YEAR' COMPETITION WINNERS

2006 2005 The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It Bombproof Your Horse The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories Living with Crazy Buttocks Butterworths Corporate Manslaughter Service High Performance Stiffened Structures Weeds in a Changing World Developments in Dairy Cow Breeding and Management: And New Opportunities to Widen the Uses of Straw The Joy of Sex: Pocket Edition

2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997

Every year since 1978 the Diagram Group and the Bookseller have organized a competition for the book title that 'most outrageously exceeds all bounds of credibility', In 1987 and 1991 the judges did not consider that the standard was sufficiently high, so no award was presented, In other years, however, many of the runners-up were as extraordinary as the winning entries, among them: Entertaining with Insects: The Original Guide to Insect Cookery; Scurvy Past and Present; Big and Very Big Hole Drilling; The Potatoes of Bolivia: Their Breeding, Value and Evolutionary Relationship; The Social History of Gas Masks and Knifethrowing: A Practical Guide,

INTERNET SEARCH WORDS

1
sex porn MySpace youporn google e8ay yahoo pussy YouTube hentai (Japanese porn)

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

;) survey of

INTERNET SEARCH SUBJECTS

Poker 2 MySpace Britney Spears Paris Hilton Golf YouTube Naruto (manga series) Disney Pokemon WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)

3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

Source:
The Lycos 500 has monitored the most popular people, places and things Lycos users search for during the past eight years. In 2007, Poker occupied its No.1 slot for the second year running.

OLDEST NEWSPAPERS
Newspaper Country Founded

Haarlems Oagblad Gazzetta di Mantova London Gazette Wiener Zeitung Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung Berrows Worcester Journal Newcastle Journal Stamford Mercury Northampton Mercury Hanauer Anzeiger

2 3
4

Netherlands Italy

UK
Austria Germany

5 6
7

1656 1664 1665 1703 1705 1709 1711 1712 1720 1725

UK UK UK UK
Germany

8
9 10

This list includes only newspapers that have been published continuously since their founding under the same name - or at least containing the name, as in the case of the Worcester JournaL, which was founded in 1690 as Worcester Post Man, published irregularly until it became the Worcester JournaL in 1709, then adopted the name of its proprietor, Harvey Berrow, to become Berrows Worcester JournaL in 1753. The former No.1 on this list, the Swedish Post- och Inrikes Tidningar, founded in 1645, ceased publication on paper on 1 January 2007 and is now available only online.

DAILY NEWSPAPERS IN THE UK

Newspaper Average net circulation*

Sun
2

3,209,776 2,313,908 1,906,347 890,086 752,702 722,969 633,718 452,448 393,788 378,394

Daily Mail Mirror Daily Telegraph Daily Express Daily Star The Times Financial Times Daily Record Guardian

3 4

5
6

7 8 9 10

* January )008 Source: Audit 8ure~u of Circulations Ud

SUNDAY NEWSPAPERS IN THE UK

Newspaper Average net circulation

News of the World

3,264,676 2,330,366 1,366,922 1,231,374 704,436 669,362 633,639 487,975 444,951 412,037

Mail on Sunday Sunday Mirror Sunday Times Sunday Express People Sunday Telegraph Sunday Mail [Scotland] The Observer Sunday Post [Scotland]

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10

Ltd

Magazine

Country

Average net circulation

Reader's Digest

2
3 4

Better Homes and Gardens Family Circle Women's Day Time Ladies' Home Journal Kampioen People Playboy Newsweek

USA USA USA USA USA USA

Netherlands

12,078,000 7,605,000 4,634,000 4,205,000 4,112,000 4,101,000 3,756,000 3,625,000 3,215,000 3,183,000

6
7

8
9

10

USA USA USA

ot

of

MAGAZINES IN
THEUK
Title

Average net circulation-

Whats on TV

1,404,950 1,386,900 1,038,914 1,001,003 651,096 628,389 607,405 550,016 548,594 533,034

2 3
4 5 6 7

TV Choice Radio Times Take a Break Saga Magazine Readers Digest OK! Magazine Glamour Closer Heat

8
9

10

* Actively purchased July-Oecember 7007 Source: Audit Bureau of CircuLations Ltd

MEN'S MAGAZINES IN THEUK

Magazine Circulation*

Sport

317,209 315,149 270,053 226,682 179,006 117,796 115,065 96,655 78,456 65,502

2 3 4
5 6

FHM Nuts Men's Health Zoo

GQ

Loaded Stuff Maxim Men's Fitness

8
9

10

Pcr 3vcrilgc 1 JlIly~31 20U'I SOJrce: Audit ClrC,11;;.1t!OIlS Ltd

MOST VALUABLE BRITISH COMICS

Comic/issue no. Date Value

Dandy, 1

4 Dec 1937 30 Jul 1938 11 Dec 1937 6Aug1938 22 Jut 1939 14 Apr 1950 Dec 1979 7 Dec 1953 Jul1961 21 Jan 1956

20,350 12,100 7,500 3,000 1,500 1,125 950 369 375 300

Beano, 1 Dandy, 2 Beano, 2 The Magic Comic, 1 Eagle, 1 Viz, 1 Topper, 1 Commando, 1 Beezer, 1

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

on

end
BCiJnD.

dominated by

Dar:dy and

onlY th0

MOST VALUABLE AMERICAN COMICS

Comic/publisher Value*

Action Comics, No.1 (DC)

$2,320,000

Published in June 1938, the first issue of Action Comics marked the original appearance of Superman.

2=

Detective Comics, No. 27 (DC) Superman, No.1 (DC) All American Comics, No. 16 (All American)
The Green Lantern made his debut in the issue dated July 1940.

$1,600,000 $1,600,000 $800,000 $672,000 $672,000 $640,000 $512,000

Issued in May 1939, it is prized as the first comic book to feature Batman.

The first comic book devoted to Superman, published in Summer 1939.

4
5=

Detective Comics, No.1 (DC) Marvel Comics, No.1 (Marvell

The Human Torch was first introduced in the October 1939 issue.

Isued in March 1937, this was an anthology that featured detective Slam Bradley.

=
7

Batman, No.1 (DC) Captain America Comics, No.1 (Timely)

Published in Spring 1940, this was the first comic book devoted to Batman.

The February 1935 issue was the first containing material that had not previously appeared in newspapers.

Flash Comics, No.1 (DC)

$368,000

Dated January 1940, and featuring The Flash, it is rare because it was produced in small numbers for promotional purposes.

10

More Fun Comics, No. 52 (DC)

The Spectre made his debut in the issue dated February 1940.

$288,000

~Dr

example m -Mint' condition

MOST EXPENSIVE ITEMS OF ROCK MEMORABILIA SOLD AT AUCTION

Item/auction Price

John Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V touring limousine, Sotheby's, New York, 29 Jun 1985 John Lennon's Steinway Model Z upright piano, Fleetwood-Owen online auction, Hard Rock Cafe, London and New York, 17 Oct 2000 Jerry Garcia's 'Tiger' guitar, Guernsey's at Studio 54, New York, 8 May 2002 Jerry Garcia's 'Wolf guitar, Guernsey's at Studio 54, New York, 8 May 2002 Eric Clapton's 1956-7 'Blackie' Fender Stratocaster, Christie's, New York, 25 Jun 2004 Eric Clapton's 1964 Gibson acoustic ES-335, Christie's, New York, 25 Jun 2004 Eric Clapton's 1939 Martin acoustic, Christie's, New York, 25 Jun 2004 Stevie Ray Vaughan's/Eric Clapton's 'Lenny' Fender Stratocaster, Christie's, New York, 25 Jun 2004

1,768,462

1,450,000

657,850 542,425 527,918

465,659 434,890 342,582

9 10

Eric Clapton's 'Brownie' Fender 5tratocaster, Christie's, New York, 24 Jun 1999 George Harrison's 1964 Gibson 5G, Christie's, New York, 17 Dec 2004

313,425 294,041

hduorng

appropri3te

Pioneered particularly by Sotheby's in London, rock and pop memorabilia has become big business especially if it involves personal association with mega-stars such as the Beatles, The painted bass drumskin that appears on the album sleeve of 5gt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band made 52,100 in 1994, and in the same year a reel-toreel tape recording of 16-year-old John Lennon singing with the Quarrymen at a church fete in Liverpool on 6 July 1957 realized 78,500, while a single page of Lennon's lyrics for 'I Am The Walrus' fetched the same amount in 1999, In 2003, 269,526 was paid for Lennon's handwritten lyrics for 'Nowhere Man', Bernie Taupin's lyrics for the rewritten 'Candle in the Wind', sung by Elton John at the funeral of Princess Diana, was sold for 278,512 at a charity auction in 1998, Iconic guitars dominate the list, however, with prices almost as high as those in the Top 10 being paid for instruments once owned by Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney, The Fender Stratocaster played by Jimi Hendrix at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 was sold at auction in 1990 for 174,000, but later changed hands privately for 750,000 before being acquired by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for an undisclosed - but presumably even higher - amount.

MOST EXPENSIVE ITEMS OF FILM MEMORABILIA SOLD AT AUCTION

Item/auction Price

Marilyn Monroe's beaded dress, worn 19 May 1962 , when she sang 'Happy Birthday Mr President' to John F. Kennedy, Christie's, New York, 27 Oct 1999 Audrey Hepburn's black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961 I. Christie's, London, 5 Dec 2006

767,735

467,000

Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (19391. Christie's, New York, 26 May 2000 Marilyn Monroe's piano, Christie's, New York, 27 Oct 1999

410,874

401,078 380,743

Vivien Leigh's Oscar for Gone with the Wind (19391. Sotheby's, New York, 15 Dec 1993 Clark Gable's Oscar for It Happened One Night (19341. Christie's, Los Angeles, 15 Dec 1996 Statue of the Maltese Falcon from The Maltese Falcon (1941 I. Christie's Rockefeller, New York, 5 Dec 1994

364,500

255,580

8
9
10

Poster for The Mummy (1932], Sotheby's, New York, 1 Mar 1997 Poster for Metropolis (1927], Sotheby's, New York, 28 Oct 2000 James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964], Sotheby's, New York, 28 Jun 1986

252,109 246,067 179,793

This list encompasses memorabilia related to films and film stars, but excludes animated film celluloids or 'cels' - the individually painted scenes that are shot in sequence to make up cartoon films. Among near-misses in the 100,000-plus league are Marlon Brando's script for The Godfather 119721. which made 173,373 in 2005, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from GoldenEye 11995), sold for157,750 in 2001, Clark Gable's script for Gone with the Wind, which achieved 146,700 in 1996, the 'Rosebud' sledge from Citizen Kane 119411. 140,000 in 1996, and Herman J. Mankiewicz's scripts for this film and an earlier draft loriginally called American), 139,157 in 1989. Oscar statuettes are occasionally auctioned, but since 1950, to prevent them from becoming collectables, winners have signed agreements that prohibit their sale, except back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - for one dollar. The Oscar awarded to Clark Gable at NO.6 in the Top 10, was purchased by Steven Spielberg and returned to the Academy, as he did again in 2001 with Bette Davis's Oscar for Jezebell1938J. In 2007, Orson Welles's Oscar for Citizen Kane, with a pre-sale estimate of $1.2 million, failed to find a buyer at auction.

MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS BY BRITISH ARTISTS SOLD AT AUCTION

Painting/artist Auction Price

Study from Innocent X, Francis Bacon

Sotheby's, New York, 15 May 2007 Christie's, London 6 Feb 2008 Sotheby's, New York, 14 Nov 2007 Sotheby's, London 21 Jun 2007 Christie's, New York, 6 Apr 2006

26,583,773 26,340,500 22,257,790 21,580,000 20,439,038

Triptych, Francis Bacon Study of a BuLLfight No.1, Francis Bacon Self-portrait, Francis Bacon Giudecca, La Donna deLLa Salute and San Giorgio, J M W Turner Study for portrait II, Francis Bacon Group with Parasols, John Singer Sargent The Lock, John Constable Portrait of Omai,
Sir Joshua Reynolds

3
4 5

Christie's, London, 14,020,000 8 Feb 2007 Sotheby's, New York, 1 Dec 2004
12,311,879

Sotheby's, London, 10,780,000 14 Nov 1990 Sotheby's, London, 10,343,500 29 Nov 2001 Sotheby's, Paris, 12 Dec 2007
9,847,467

Seated Woman, Francis Bacon

MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS SOLD AT AUCTION

Painting/artist
Gar~on

Auction

Price

ala pipe, Pablo Picasso

Sotheby's, New York, 5 May 2004 Sotheby's, New York, 3 May 2006

54,782,014 52,017,526

2
3

Dora Maar au chat, Pablo Picasso The Massacre of the of the Innocents,

Sotheby's, London, 49,506,648 10 Jul2002 Christie's, New, York, 15 May 1990 Sotheby's, New, York, 17 May 1990 Christie's, New York, 8 Nov 2006 Christie's, New York, 19 Nov 1998 Christie's, New York, 8 Nov 2000 49,005,049 46,501,935

Sir Peter Paul Rubens 4

Portrait du Or Gachet, Vincent van Gogh Bal au Moulin de la Galette, Montmartre, Pierre-Auguste Renoir Portrait of Adele BlochBauer II, Gustav Klimt Portrait de l'Artiste Sans Barbe, Vincent van Gogh Femme aux Bras Croises, Pablo Picasso

6 7

46,193,851 42,856,925 38,364,859 37,191,113 30,179,171

9
10

Sotheby's, New Rideau, Cruchon et Compo tier, Paul Cezanne York, 10 May 1999
Irises, Vincent van Gogh

Sotheby's, New York, 11 Nov 1987

MOST EXPENSIVE CARS SOLD AT AUCTION

Car/auction Price

1962 Ferrari GTO, Sotheby's, Monte Carlo, 21 May 1990

6,389,398

1931 Bugatti Royale, Type 41 Chassis '41.141', 5,500,000 Christie's, London (at the Royal Albert Halll. 19 Nov 1987 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Testa Rossa, RM Auctions, Maranello, Italy, 20 May 2007 1929 Bugatti Royale, Chassis '41.150', Kruse (William F. Harrah Collection Salel. Reno, USA, 15 Jun 1986 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SSK, Bonham's, Chichester, 3 Sep 2004 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, RM Auctions, London, 31 Oct 2007 1966 Ferrari 330 P3, Christie's, Pebble Beach, California, USA, 19 Aug 2000 1904 Rolls-Royce 1Ohp two-seater, Bonhams, Olympia, London, 3 Dec 2007 1958 Ferrari 4125, RM Auctions, Monterey, California, USA, 18 Aug 2006 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Competizione, RM Auctions, Maranello, Italy, 20 May 2007
subsequently been re-auctioned
fetched

3
4

4,705,938 4,267,892

5 6 7

4,180,000 3,967,125 3,772,926 3,521,500 2,961,063 2,874,900

9
10

only

SINGLES OF ALL TIME

Title/artist/group

Year

SaLes exceed

'Candle in the Wind'/ Something about the Way You Look Tonight', Elton John

1997

37,000,000

2
3
4

'White Christmas', Bing Crosby 'Rock Around the Clock', Bill Haley and His Comets 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', The Beatles 'It's Now or Never', Elvis Presley 'Hey Jude', The Beatles 'I Will Always Love You', Whitney Houston 'Diana', Paul Anka 'Hound Dog'j'Don't Be Cruel'. Elvis Presley

1942 1954 1963 1960 1968 1992 1957 1956 1991 1966

30,000,000 17,000,000 12,000,000 10,000,00 10,000,000 10.000,000 9,000,000 9,000,000 8,000.000 8.000,000

5=

= =
8= =

10= '[Everything I 00)1 Do It for You', Bryan Adams 'I'm a Believer', The Monkees

SINGLES OF ALL TIME IN THE UK

Title/artist/group Year Estimated sales

'Candle in the Wind'/ 'Something About the Way You Look Tonight', Elton John 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', Band Aid 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Queen 'Mull of Kintyre', Wings 'Rivers of Babylon'/'Brown Girl in the Ring', Boney M 'You're the One that I Want', John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John 'Relax', Frankie Goes to Hollywood

1997

4,864,611

1984 1975/91 1977 1978 1978

3,550,000 2,130,000 2,050,000 1,985,000 1,975,000

1984 1963 1995 1978

1,910,000 1,890,000 1,843,701 1,790,000

'She Loves You', The Beatles 'Unchained Melody', Robson Green and Jerome Flynn

'Mary's Boy Child'/'Oh My Lord', Boney M

Some 80 singles have sold over 1 million copies each in the UK during the last 50 years, these being the 10 at the head of the elite field, Both the Band Aid single and the version of 'Candle in the Wind' for Princess Diana's funeral achieved their remarkable sales as by-products of two exceptional events,

Artist/album/year

Sales (millions) USA World total

Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982J 2= Eagles, Their Greatest Hits 1977-1975 (1976J AC/DC, Back in Black (1980J
The Bodyguard (soundtrack) (1992J

27 29 21 17 15 15 13 20

104 42 42 42 40 40 40
39 37

= =
5::

Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973J

Saturday Night Fever (soundtrackJ (1977)

= Back Street Boys, Millennium (1999J Shania Twain, Come On Over (1997) 8 9 Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell (1978J 10= The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band (1967)

14 11
23

32 32 32

= =

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971 J

Dirty Dancing (soundtrackJ (1987J

11

Title/artist!group/year

Sales

Greatest Hits, Queen (1981 J

5,407,587 4,803,292 4,303,504 3,946,931 3,932,316 3,759,958 3,631,321 3,570,250 3,549,950 3,364,785

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (1967J (What's the Story) Morning Glory, Oasis (1995J Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits (1985J Abba Gold Greatest Hits, Abba (1990J The Dark Side ofthe Moon, Pink Floyd (1973J Greatest Hits II, Queen (1991 J Thriller, Michael Jackson (1982J Bad, Michael Jackson (1987J The Immaculate Collection, Madonna (1990J

3
4
5

6 7

B 9 10

Source:

Officiill UK Charts Company

Recent research has shown Queen's Greatest Hits album to have overtaken longstanding list-leader Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The latter album was both a commercial success and a critical triumph, considered by many as the most influential rock album ever and hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as 'the greatest album of all time', It is, however, the only record on this list that has never received a BPI IBritish Phonographic Industry) award, since most of its sales occurred prior to the adoption of Gold and Platinum awards in 1973,

FIRST DANCE SONG REQUESTS AT WEDDINGS IN THE UK

" Cross My Heart', George Strait 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 " Swear', John M. Montgomery/All 4 One " Can Love You Like That', John M. Montgomery

Tll Be There', Mariah Carey

'(Everything I Do) , Do It for You', Bryan Adams 'Don't Know Much', Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville 'All My Life', Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville 'Unchained Melody', Righteous Brothers 'A Whole New World', Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle 'No Ordinary Love', Sade

Source: Sound Connection

SONGS REQUESTED AT FUNERALS

'Goodbye My lover', James Blunt 2 'AngeLs', Robbie Williams 'I've Had the Time of My Life'. Jennifer Warnes and Bill MedLey 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wind Beneath My Wings', Bette MidLer 'Pie Jesu', Requiem 'CandLe in the Wind', Elton John With or Without You'. U2 'Tears in Heaven', Eric Clapton 'Every Breath You Take', The Police 'Unchained Melody', Righteous Brothers

R0uister

HIGHEST-EARNING FILMS IN THE WORLD

Film Year Total world gross

Titanic*

2
3

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Star Wars: Episode I Phantom Menace Shrek 2t Jurassic Park The

1997 2003 2006 2001 2007 2007 2002 1999 2004 1993

$1,845,034,188 $1,129,219,252 $1,066,179,725 $985,817,659 $961,002,663 $938,465,035 $926,287,400 $924,317,554 $920,665,658 $914,691,118

4
5

7
8
9 10

MOST PROFITABLE FILMS OF ALL TIME

Film/year Budget Total world gross Profit ratio

The Blair Witch Project, 1999

$35,000

$248,662,839

7,104.65 204.55 153.33 126.12

2 Rockyt, 1976 3 American Graffiti, 1973 4 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs+, 1937 5 The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975 6 Gone With the Windt, 1939 7 Saw, 2004 8 E. T. The Extra Terrestrial, 1982 9 My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 2002 10 The Full Monty, 1997

$1,100,000 $225,000,000 $750,000 $115,000,000

$1,488,000 $187,670,866

$1,200,000 $139,876,417
$3,900,000

116.56 100.13 85.91 75.52 73.75 73.67

$390,525,192

$1,200,000 $103,096,345 $10,500,000 $792,910,554 $5,000,000 $368,744,044 $3,500,000 $257,850,122

* Minimum entry $100 million world

t Won Best Picture Oscar

gross

Animated

BIGGEST FILM FLOPS OF ALL TIME

Total world
Film/year Budget gross* Total receipts as %of budget

Eye See You, 2002

$55,000,000 $79,161 $100,000,000 $7,103,972 $62,000,000 $5,173,783 $75,000,000 $7,622,365 $90,000,000 $10,372,291 $98,000,000 $12,258,974

0.14 7.1 8.34 10.16 11.52 12.51 13.46 14.58 14.73 16.68

2
3 4
5 6

The Adventures of PLuto Nash, 2002 Lolita, 1997 Moneybone,

2001
Town & Country,

2001
Cutthroat IsLand,

1995 $54,000,000 $7,266,209 7 GigLi,2003 8 A Sound of Thunder, $80,000,000 $11,665,465 2005 $70,000,000 $10,316,055 9 DudLey Do-Right, 1999 10 Stay, 2005 $50,000,000 $8,342,132

with estimnt<::d budgets of $50 mitLlon+

Film

Year

Total UK box office gross

Titanic*

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

1998 2001 2001 2003 2002 2006 2002 1997 2006 1999

69,025,646 66,096,060 63,051,172 61,062,348 57,654,384 55,502,884 54,780,731 52,232,058 51,993,705 51,063,811

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

6 7

Casino Royale Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The Full Monty Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

8 9
10

\f-/nn

DIRECTORIAL DEBUT FILMS

Film Year Director Total world gross

American Beauty

1999 2003 1999 1997 1992 1997 1994 2005

Sam Mendes Richard Curtis Paul Weitzt Simon West David Fincher Gore Verbinski David Carson Garth Jennings

$356,296,601 $246,942,017 $235,483,004 $224,012,234 $159,773,545 $125,947,102 $119,971,125 $104,478,416

2
3

Love Actually American Pie Can Air Alien 3 Mousehunt Star Trek VII: Generations The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mad Max Star Trek 11/; The Search for Spack

4
5 6 7

9
10

1980 1984

George Miller Leonard Nimoy

$99,750,000 $87,071,046

, FuHiength feature films t With bl-ether, (uncredited!

FILM-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
Country Feature films produced, 2006

India

2 3 4
5

USA Japan China France Russia Spain Brazil UK Germany

6 7

8
9

10

1,091 490 417 330 203 200 150 142 134 122

Digest
Based on the number of full-length feature films produced, Hollywood's 'golden age' was the 1920s and 1930s, with 854 films made in 1921, and its nadir 1978, with just 354. Even the output of Indias mighty film industry has dwindled slightly since its 2002 peak. when some 1,200 films were made.

COUNTRIES BY BOX-OFFICE REVENUE

Country Estimated total box-office gross, 2006

USA

$9,420,000,000 $1,839,600,000 $1,397,000,000 $1,387,600,000 $1,018,300,000 $788,300,000 $685,900,000 $680,200,000 $661,000,000 $557,900,000

2 3
4 5

Japan UK France Germany Spain Canada Italy Australia Mexico

6
7

8 9 10

BESTSELLING DVDS IN THEUK

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2 3 The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Shrek 2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Finding Nemo The Matrix Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Love Actually

4 5 6
7

8
9

10

Video Associ;]tio~/Thc OfflclJl UK

Con'PQny

MOST-RENTED DVDS IN THE UK *

Four Weddings and a Funeral

2 3
4

Dirty Dancing Basic Instinct Crocodile Dundee Gladiator Sister Act Forrest Gump The Sixth Sense Home Alone Ghost

5
6 7 8 9 10

, Ircludes VHS and DVD forrPJts 8r irish V:dpo AssoclallolljMR\B

FIRST CARRY ON FILMS

Film

UK release

Carry On Sergeant

Aug 1958 Feb 1959 Aug 1959 Feb 1960 Mar 1961 Apr 1962 Jun 1963 Nov 1963 Jun 1964 Nov 1964

Carry On Nurse Carry On Teacher Carry On Constable Carry On Regardless Carry On Cruising Carry On Cabby Carry On Jack Carry On Spying Carry On Cleo

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This original series of hugely successful British comedy films spanned 20 years. The first 10 were followed by Carry On Cowboy, Carry On Screaming, Carry On - Don't Lose
Your Head, Carry On - Follow That Camel, Carry On Doctor, Carry On Up the Khyber, Carry On Again Ooctor, Carry On Camping, Carry On Up the Jungle, Carry On Loving, Carry On Henry, Carry On at Your Convenience, Carry On Abroad, Carry On Matron, Carry On Girls, Carry On Dick, Carry On Behind, Carry On England and Carry On Emmannuelle, the last of the series released in 1978. Carry on Columbus (1992) was an attempt to revive

the series.

Film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Chest

Year

Total world gross

2006 2007 1994 2003

$1,066,179,725 $961,002,663 $677,387,716 $654,264,015

2
3 4

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End Forrest Gumpt Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Men in Black Night at the Museum Home Alone Meet the Fockers Ghost Bruce Almighty

6
7 8 9 10

1997 2006 1990 2004 1990 2003

$589,390,539 $573,558,399 $533,761,243 $516,642,939 $505,702,588 $484,572,835

HIGHEST -GROSSING HORROR FILMS

Film Year Total world gross

Jurassic Park The Sixth Sense

The Lost World: Jurassic Park I Am Legend Jaws The Mummy Returns

7 8
9 10

The Mummy Signs Godzilla Jurassic Park 11/

1993 1999 1997 2007 1975 2001 1999 2002 1998 2001

$914,691,118 $672,804,617 $618,638,999 $510,982,867 $470,653,000 $433,013,274 $415,933,406 $408,247,917 $379,014,294 $368,780,809

This list encompasses supernatural and science-fiction horror films featuring monster creatures such as dinosaurs and oversized sharks.

HORROR SPOOF FILMS

Film

Year

Total world gross

Scary Movie 2 3 Scary Movie 3 Scary Movie 4 Scream Scream 2 Scream 3 Scary Movie 2 The Rocky Horror Picture Show Young Frankenstein Lake Placid

4
5

7
8
9

2000 2003 2006 1996 1997 2000 2001 1975 1974 1999

$278,019,771 $220,673,217 $178,262,620 $172,967,847 $172,363,301 $161,834,276 $141,220,678 $139,876,417 $86,273,333 $56,870,414

10

While many films combine comedy and horror elements - among them Ghoulies (1985), the two Gremlins films (1984 and 19901. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and Arachnophobia (1990) - those in this Top 10 represent the most successful of a species of parodies of classic horror films that began 60 years ago with such examples as Abbott and Costello

Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Film

Bond actor

Year

Total world gross

Casino Royale Die Another Day The World is Not Enough GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies Moonraker For Your Eyes Only The Living Daylights Octopussy The Spy Who Loved Me

2
3
4 5
6

Daniel Craig Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brosnan Roger Moore Roger Moore Timothy Dalton Roger Moore Roger Moore

2006 2002

$594,239,066 $456,042,139 $390,000,000 $352,194,034 $339,340,102 $202,708,099 $195,300,000 $191,200,897 $187,493,619 $185,438,673

1999 1995 1997 1979 1981 1987 1983 1977

7 8
9

10

Ian Fleming wrote 12 James Bond novels, only three of which, Casino Royale, Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me, figure in this Top 10. After his death in 1964, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, The Living Daylights and GoldenEye were developed by other writers from his short stories, while subsequent releases were written without reference to Flemings work. The original film of Casino Royale (1967), featuring 56-year-old David Niven as the retired spy Sir James Bond, is an oddity in that it was presented as a comedy. This and Never Say Never Again (1983), effectively a remake of Thunderball, are not considered official' Bond films, making the 2006 Casino Royale the 21 st in the canonical series.

Bond girl*

Actress

Film

Year

3
4

Honey Ryder Tatiana Romanova Pussy Galore

Ursula Andress Daniela Bianchi

Dr. No From Russia with Love GoLdfinger ThunderbaLL You OnLy Live Twice On Her Majesty's Secret Service Diamonds are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the GoLden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me

1962 1963 1964 1965 1967 1969

5 6

Honor Blackman Domino Derval Claudine Auger Mie Hama Kissy Suzuki Diana Rigg

Tracy Draco

7 8
9

Tiffany Case Solitaire Mary Goodnight Major Anya Amasova

only: minor

jill St john jane Seymour Britt Ekland Barbara Bach

1971 1973 1974 1977

10

omitted

Kim Basinger appeared as Domino in Never Say Never Again [19831. which is not included in the Bond franchise and is effectively a remake of Thunderball.

Film

Year

Total world gross

Spider-Man 3

2
4 5 6 7

Spider-Man Spider-Man 2 The Incredibles* X-Men: The Last Stand Batman X2: X-Men United Superman Returns Batman Begins The Mask

8 9 10

2007 2002 2004 2004 2006 1989 2003 2006 2005 1994

$890,871,626 $821,708,551 $783,964,497 $631,442,092 $459,256,008 $413,388,924 $407,557,613 $391,081,192 $371,853,783 $351,583,407

* Anim3ted

Film/setting

Year

Total world gross

Troy [Trojan wars)

2
3

Saving Private Ryan

2004 1998 2003

$497,409,852 $481,803,460 $456,758,981

[Second World Warl

The Last Samurai

5 6 7

[Japanese Emperor vs. samurail 300 [Battle of Thermopylae) Pearl Harbor (Second World Warl Gone With the Wind (US Civil Warl Schindler's List [Second World Warl
The English Patient

2007 2001 1939 1993 1996

$456,068,181 $450,524,710 $390,525,192 $321,307,716 $233,816,374 $229,358,132 $210,550,863

8
9

(Second World Warl

Life is Beautiful (La Vita bellal (Second World Warl Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

1997 2003

10

(Napoleonic Wars)

X-RATED FILMS OF ALL TIME

Film Year Total world gross

The Exorcist Saturday Night Fever The Godfather One Flew Over the Cuckoo 5 Nest Alien The Godfather Part /I Mad Max Amityville Horror Apocalypse Now

2
3 4 5 6

7 8
9 10

10

1973 1978 1972 1975 1979 1972 1979 1979 1979 1979

$441,071,011 $285,400,000 $245,044,459 $112,000,000 $104,931,801 $102,600,000 $99,750,000 $86,432,520 $78,784,010 $74,865,517

The British Board of Film Censors (now called the British Board of Film Classification] began issuing certificates in 1913. At that time, the distinction was between 'U' (universat] and 'A (adult!. although at first this was advisory only. The designation 'H' for horror films was added in 1933 and X for 'adults only' from 9 January 1951. Further revisions took place in 1970 and again on 1 November 1982, when X was replaced by '18' and 'A by 'PG' (parental guidancel, while 'U' has been retained. These are the highest earning films to be given an X-certificate in the UK in the period 1951-82. The classification of many films was subsequently altered - Saturday Night Fever, for example, was cut and re-released in 1979 as an A.

Film

Year

Total world gross

Shrek 2*

2 3 4 5

Finding Nemot Shrek the Third* The Lion Kingt Ice Age: The Meltdown:j: The Incrediblest Ratatouillet Madagascar* Monsters, Inc. t The Simpsons Movie:j:

6 7
8

9
10

2004 2003 2007 1994 2006 2004 2007 2005 2001 2007

$920,665,658 $864,625,978 $794,289,493 $783,841,776 $651,564,512 $631,442,092 $620,236,276 $532,680,671 $529,061,238 $526,551,795

Dr'eamWorks t Disney t 20th Century Fox Animation

FILMS TO WIN THE MOST OSCARS

Film Year Nominations Awards

Ben-Hur
:::: ::::

Titanic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King West Side Story Gigi The Last Emperor The English Patient Gone With the Wind

1959 1997 2003 1961 1958 1987 1996 1939 1953 1954 1964 1972 1982 1984

12 14 11 11 9 9 12 13 13 12 12 10 11 11

11 11 11 10 9
9 9

::::

::::

From Here to Eternity On the Waterfront My Fair Lady Cabarett Gandhi Amadeus

8* 8 8 8 8 8 8

Ten other films have won seven Oscars each: Going My Way (19441. The Best Years of Our Lives (19461. The Bridge on the River Kwai (19571. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Patton (19701. The Sting (19731. Out of Africa (19851. Dances with Wolves (19911. Schindler's List (1993) and Shakespeare in Love (1998). Like Titanic (19971. AI/About Eve (1950) received 14 nominations, but won in only six categories.

ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WITH THE MOST OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Actor Wins Supporting Best Nominations

1
2=

=
4=

=
6= =

8:::
= = = =

Meryl Streep Katharine Hepburn Jack Nicholson Bette Davis Laurence Olivier Paul Newman Spencer Tracy Marlon Brando Jack Lemmon Peter O'Toole Al Pacino Geraldine Page

1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

14 4 2 12 12 10 10

2
1 2 2 0

9 9
8 8

8
8

I" all actip9

As well as his nine acting nominations, Paul Newman received one as a director and has won an Honorary Oscar and the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

BRITISH ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WITH THE MOST OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Actor Wins Supporting Best Nominations

Laurence Olivier

2 3=

Peter O'Toole Richard Burton Greer Garson Michael Caine Judi Dench Deborah Kerr Vanessa Redgrave Maggie Smith Albert Finney Kate Winslet

=
5=

0 0 0 0
2
1

10

0 0 0 0 0 0
2

=
::: ::: :::

0
1

10= Olivia de Havillandt

::: :::

0 0 0

0 0

8 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5

* In

all acting categories t British-born, naturalized US citizen 1941

LATEST WINNERS OF ADULT VIDEO NEWS BEST PERFORMERS OFTHEYEAR

Female Male

2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Sasha Grey Hillary Scott Audrey Hollander Lauren Phoenix Ashley Blue Aurora Snow Nikita Denise Jewel De'Nyle Inari Vachs Chloe

Evan Stone Tommy Gunn Manuel Ferrara Manuel Ferrara Michael Stefano Lexington Steele Lexington Steele Evan Stone Lexington Steele Tom Byron

First presented in 1986, the American Adult Video News awards acknowledge performers as well as creators and distributors of pornographic films.

THE 10 LATEST GOLDEN RASPBERRIES ~WORST' AWARDS

Worst film Worst actress Worst actor

2007 2006

I Know Who Killed Me Lindsay Lohan Basic Instinct 2

Sharon Stone

Eddie Murphy Marlon and Shawn Waynans Rob Schneider George W. Bush* Ben Affleck Roberto Benigni Tom Green John Travolta Adam Sandler Bruce Willis

2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

Dirty Love Catwoman Gig/i Swept Away Freddy Got Fingered BattlefieLd Earth WiLd WiLd West An ALan Smithee FiLm: Burn Hollywood Burn

Jenny McCarthy Halle Berry Jennifer Lopez Madonna Mariah Carey Madonna Heather Donahue The Spice Girls

LONGEST -RUNNING PROGRAMMES ON BBC RADIO

Programme First broadcast

Radio 4 Appeal* The Shipping Forecast Choral Evensong Daily Service The Week in Westminster Sunday Half Hour Desert Island Discs Composer of the Week:I: From Our Own Correspondent Woman 5 Hour

24 Jan 1926 26 Jan 1926 7 Oct 1926 2 Jan 1928t 6 Nov 1929 14 Jul 1940 29 Jan 1942 2 Aug 1943 4 Oct 1946 7 Oct 1946

2
3

4 5
6

8 9

The BBC's London station 2LO had first broadcast a programme called Womans Hour on 2 May 1923, but the current series began in 1946. Other programmes from the 1940s that are still aired include Round Britain Quiz [2 November 1947 formerly Transatlantic Quiz, which started on 29 July 19451. Any Questions? [12 October 1948) and Book at Bedtime [6 August 1949). Gardeners' Question Time was first broadcast on 9 April 1947 as How Does Your Garden Grow? Its name was changed in 1950. A pilot for The Archers was broadcast in the Midland region for a one-week trial beginning on 29 May 1950. but the serial did not begin its national run until 1 January 1951.

TELEVISION-WATCHING COUNTRIES
Country Average daily viewing time per household Hours Minutes

2 3
4
5

6
7

a
9 10

USA Turkey Italy 8elgiumt Japan Spain Portugal Australia South Korea Canada
UK

8 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

11
0 6

50
43

37 32 12 10
5 0

* CECD countries,

2005 or latesl available year t Walloon-speaking DECO, Communjcatio{)s Outlook 2007

TELEVISION AUDIENCES IN THE UK

Programme Broadcast Audience

1966 World Cup Final: 30 Jul 1966 England vs. West Germany

32,300,000 32,100,000 30,690,000 30,150,000 28,600,000 28,490,000

2
3
4 5 6

Funeral of Princess Diana

6 Sep 1997 21 Jun 1969 25 Dec 1986 17 Apr 1970 28 Apr 1970

The Royal Family documentary EastEnders [Den divorces Angie)

Apollo 13 splashdown Cup Final Replay: Chelsea vs. Leeds United Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer Wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips

29Jul1981

28,400,000

14 Nov 1973

27,600,000

Coronation Street [Alan Bradley killed) Only Fools and Horses [Batman and Robin episode)
F',ir'1

19 Mar 1989 29 Dec 1996

26,930,000 24,350,000

10

LONGEST -RUNNING PROGRAMMES ON BRITISH TELEVISION

Programme First broadcast

Panorama What the Papers Say The Sky at Night Blue Peter Coronation Street Songs of Praise Horizon Match of the Day The Money Programme A Question of Sport

11 Nov 1953 5 Nov 1956 24 Apr 1957 16 Oct 1958 9 Dec 1960 1 Oct 1961 2 May 1964 22 Aug 1964 5 Apr 1966 5Jan1970

2 3
4 5 6

8 9 10

COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PROPORTION OF FEMALE WORKERS

Country Labour force percentage

Mozambique

Burundi Cambodia Rwanda Malawi Kazakhstan Estonia Tanzania Belarus Lithuania

3
4

53.5 51.9 51.4 51.2

49.8

5
6 7= = 9

49.6
49.4 49.4 49.3

10= Armenia

49.2
49.2

World average
USA UK

40.1

46.2 46

* Aged 1~-('4 who are currently employed: uopald g:"OUPS Source: World Bank, World Devc{cpmcnt Indicators 2D07

:":or

COUNTRIES WITH LOWEST PROPORTION OF FEMALE WORKERS

Country Labour force percentage

United Arab Emirates

13.4 15.2 16.4 21.1 24.4 24.8 25.4 25.5 26.4 21

Saudi Arabia Oman Egypt Jordan Sudan Kuwait Morocco Turkey Pakistan

3 4 5 6 7

8
9

10

no!
Deveiopme!lt

Although not an independent country, the Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza have a female employment rate of just 13.1 per cent.

MOST STRESSFUL JOBS IN THE UK*

1

Prison officer Police Social work Teaching Ambulance service Nursing Medicine Fire fighting Dentistry Mining

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Based on ilssnS:irnenls of the stress levels of 104 jobs by Proff'ssor Cary Cooper al ttl" University of Manchester's Institute of Science Technology

LEAST STRESSFUL JOBS

IN THE UK*
Librarian

2 3
4 5 6 7

Museum personnel Biologist Nursery nurse Astronomer Beauty therapist Linguist Remedial gymnast Speech therapist Chemist

8 9 10

01)

of the

104 Jobs by

Cary Cooper at the

OLDEST-ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES IN THE UK

Business/location Founded

Kirkstall Forge !ironworks]' KirkstaLl, Leeds

2 3
4

The Shore Porters Society of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Cambridge University Press [publishers), Cambridge John Brooke and Sons [property management], Huddersfield Child's Bank [now part of Royal Bank of Scotland) London Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London Oxford University Press (publishers], Oxford Richard Durtnell and Sons (builders!, Brasted, nr Westerham, Kent Tissimans & Sons Ltd (clothing!, Bishop's Stortford Hays at Guildford (office services!, Guildford [formerly London)

1200 1498 1534 1541 1559 1570 1585 1591 1601 1651

5
6 7

8
9

10

The companies listed, and certain others, belong to an elite group of tercentenarians, firms that have been in business for 300 years or more. A few have even been under the control of the same family for their entire history. Although not a 'business', by some criteria the Royal Mint (founded in 886 in London, now relocated to Cardiff) may claim to predate all these enterprises.

RETAILERS IN THE UK

Store group

Annual sales

Tesco

39,454,000,000 16,061,000,000 12,461,500,000 8,675,900,000 7,797,700,000 7,403,400,000 6,400,000,000 5,851,000,000 5,027,400,000 4,842,100,000

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10

J. Sainsbury

W. M. Morrison
Kingfisher (B&Q, etc.! Marks & Spencer DSG (Dixons) John Lewis Partnership Home Retail (Argos, Homebase) Boots Inchcape (automotive)

year enlimg 31

2006

dccuunting

MOBILE PHONEUSING COUNTRIES

Country Mobile subscribers

China

461,058,000 233,000,000 166,050,000 150,000,000 101,698,000 99,918,600 84,300,000 78,571,000 69,656,600 51,662,000 2,719,604,400

2 3
4

USA
India Russia Japan Brazil Germany Italy

5
6

8
9

UK
France

10

World total

MOST DANGEROUS JOBS

IN THE UK*
2. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Bomb disposal officer Deep-sea diver Deep-sea fisherman Demolition worker Fast-jet pilot Oil platform worker Professional motor/motorcycle racer Professional stuntman Steeplejack Tunneller [face worker)

* In alphabetical order
Life assurance companies base their premiums on actuarial statistics that take into account the likelihood of people in each job being involved in an accident that injures or kills them at work, or as a result of their contact with dangerous substances. This does not mean that assurance companies will not provide cover for such professions, but the riskier the job, the higher the premium. According to one well-known life assurance company, the most risky job is that of a mercenary - but they qualify this by indicating that they would not actually insure someone claiming this profession.

WORST INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS

Location/date/incident Number killed

Bhopal, India, 3 Dec 1984

Methylisocyante gas escape at Union Carbide plant

3,849 >700 561 540 508 500 400 250 230 210

Jesse, Nigeria, 17 Oct 1998

Oil pipeline explosion

3
4 5

Oppau, Germany, 21 Sep 1921

Bradishe Aniline chemical plant explosion

San Juanico, Mexico, 19 Nov 1984

Explosion at a PEMEX liquified petroleum gas plant

CubaUio, Brazil, 25 Feb 1984

Oil pipeline explosion

Durunkah, Egypt, 2 Nov 1994

Fuel storage depot fire

Mexico City, Mexico, 19 Nov 1984

Butane storage explosion

8
9 10

Adeje, Nigeria, 10 Jut 2000

Oil pipeline explosion

Guadalajara, Mexico, 22 Apr 1992

Explosions caused by a gas leak into sewers

Oakdale, Pennsylvania, 18 May 1918

TNT explosion at Aetna Chemical Company

, Including industrial sites, factories, fuel depots and plpelinesi exciudll1g military, munitions. bombs, mining, murine and other transport disasters, dam fa!lures and rnass pOisonings

WORST EXPLOSIONS

Location/date/incident

Estimated number killed

Rhodes, Greece, 3 Apr 1856

Lightning strike of gunpowder store

4,000 3,000

2
3::::
:::

Breschia, Italy, 18 Aug 1769

Church of San Nazaire caught fire after being struck by lightning and gunpowder store exploded

Salang Tunnel, Afghanistan, 3 Nov 1982

Petrol tanker collision

2,000 2,000 1,963 1,750 1,547 1,500 1,500 1,376

Lanchow, China, 26 Oct 1935

Arsenal

Halifax, Nova Scotia, 6 Dec 1917

Ammunition ship Mont Blanc

6
7
8:::
::::

Hamont Station, Belgium, 3 Aug 1918

Ammunition trains

Memphis, USA, 27 Apr 1865

Paddlesteamer Sultana boiler explosion

Archangel, Russia, 20 Feb 1917

Munitions ship

Smederovo, Yugoslavia, 9 Jun 1941

Ammunition dump

Bombay, India, 14 Apr 1944

Ammunition ship Fort Stikine

, Excluding mining

<lod military

()nd nDtural explOSions,

as

MOST VALUABLE TRADED METALLIC ELEMENTS

Element Price 1$ per kg)

Rhodium

$227,622 $53,562 $29,489 $14,306 $12,860 $12,217 $12,168 $9,700 $1,275 $600

Platinum Gold Iridium Ruthenium Osmium Palladium Rhenium Germanium Gallium

3 4 5 6 7 8
9

10

v'rww.thebuttiof\desk,com

The prices of traded metals varies enormously according to their rarity. changes in industrial uses. fashion and popularity as investments. Since the start of the 21st century. the price of market-leader Rhodium has increased over eightfold and that of platinum more than quadrupled.

Country

Gross Domestic Product per capita, 2006

Luxembourg Norway Qatar Iceland Switzerland Denmark Ireland USA Sweden Netherlands

$87,955 $72,306 $62,914 $54,858 $51,771 $50,965 $44,500 $44,190 $42,383 $40,571

2 3
4 5 6

8 9 10

UK

$39,213

Source: International Monetary Fund

GOP (Gross Domestic Productl is the total value of all the goods and services produced annually within a country (Gross National Product, GNP, also includes income from overseas]. Dividing GOP by the country's population produces GOP per capita, which is often used as a measure of how 'rich' a country is, Some 51 industrialized nations have GDPs per capita in excess of $10,000, while about 24 developing countries, particularly those in Africa, have per capita GDPs of less than $500,

GOLD-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
Country Percentage of world total production Production, 2006 Itonnesl

South Africa

2 3 4
5 6 7

USA China Australia Peru Russia Indonesia Canada Uzbekistan Ghana

11.8 10.2 10
9.9

291.8 251.8 247.2 244.5 203.3 172.8 114.1 104

78.5

8.2
7

8
9

10

4.6 4.2 3.2 2.8

100

70.2 2,471.1

World total

Gold

MIf'eCdl Services Ltd. Gold Survey 71707

COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST GOLD

Country Gold reserves (tonnesl

USA

8,133.5 3,417.5 2,622.3 2,451.8 1,166.3 765.2 624.5 600 438.2 423.3
310.3
29,955

2
3
4

Germany France Italy Switzerland Japan Netherlands China Russia Taiwan

5 7

8
9

UK
World total

Gold reserves are the government holdings of gold in each country - which are often far greater than the gold owned by private individuals. In the days of the 'Gold Standard', this provided a tangible measure of a country's wealth, guaranteeing the convertibility of its currency, and determined such factors as exchange rates, Though less significant today, gold reserves remain a component in calculating a country's international reserves, alongside its holdings of foreign exchange and SDRs (Special Drawing Rights!. In addition to the countries listed, the International Monetary Fund has 3,217.3 tonnes and the European Central Bank 604.7 tonnes, About a fifth of all the gold ever mined is in the world's gold reserves. If it were all made into a cube, it sides would measure 11.6 m (38 ftl, fractionally wider than a tennis court.

MOST VALUABLE GLOBAL BRANDS

Brand name* Industry Brand value, 2007

Coca-Cola

Beverages Technology Technology Diversified Technology Automotive Technology Food retail Leisure Automotive

$65,324,000,000 $58,709,000,000 $57,091,000,000 $51,569,000,000 $33,696,000,000 $32,070,000,000 $30,954,000,000 $29,398,000,000 $29,210,000,000 $23,568,000,000

2 3 5

Microsoft IBM General Electric Nokia, Finland Toyota, Japan Intel McDonald's Disney Mercedes-Benz

6 8 9

Brand consultantslnterbrand use a method of estimating value that takes account of the profitability of individual brands within a business (rather than the companies that own them), as well as such factors as their potential for growth.

Name/country (citizen/ residence, if differentl

Source

Networlh

William H. Gates III, Microsoft (software] USA

$56,000,000,000 $52,000,000,000

Warren Edward Buffett, USA Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico Ingvar Kamprad, Sweden/ Switzerland Lakshmi Mittal, India/UK Sheldon Adelson, USA Bernard Arnault, France Amancio Ortega. Spain

Berkshire Hathaway (investments] Communications Ikea (home furnishings] Mittal Steel Casinos and hotels Louis Vuitton, etc. !Luxury goods] Zara, etc. [clothing] Investments Media. entertainment
,7007

3
4

$49,000,000,000 $33,000,000,000

$32,000,000,000 $26,500,000,000 $26,000,000,000 $24,000,000,000 $23,000,000,000 $22,000,000,000

6
7

8
9

Li Ka-shing, China
David Thomson, Canada

10

Exduding rulers and fomily fortunes Wodo's

HIGHEST -EARNING CELEBRITIES

Celebrity* Profession Earningst

Oprah Winfrey

Talk show host! producer Film and TV producer Film producer/ director Golfer Film actor Hip-Hop impresario Film actor Singer Radio shock jock Singer

$260,000,000 $120,000,000 $110,000,000 $100,000,000 $92,000,000 $83,000,000 $74,000,000 $72,000,000 $70,000,000 $67,000,000

2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Jerry Bruckheimer Steven Spielberg Tiger Woods Johnny Oepp Jay-Z Tom Hanks Madonna Howard Stern Bon Jovi

, Individuals, excluding gmups; all US

I 7006-7 Source: Forbes

The Celebrity 100', 2007

HIGHEST-EARNING DEAD CELEBRITIES

Celebrity Profession Death Earnings 2006-7

Elvis Presley

Rock star Rock star

16 Aug 1977 8 Dec 1980 12 Feb 2000 29 Nov 2001 18Apr1955 22 Feb 1987 24 Sep 1991 13 Sep 1996 5 Aug 1962 30 Nov 1980

$49,000,000 $44,000,000 $35,000,000 $22,000,000 $18,000,000 $15,000,000 $13,000,000 $9,000,000 $7,000,000 $6,000,000

2 3
4 5

John Lennon

Charles Schultz 'Peanuts' cartoonist George Harrison Albert Einstein Andy Warhol Theodor'Dr Seuss' Geisel Tupac Shakur Rock star Scientist Artist Author Musician

6 7

8
9 10

Marilyn Monroe Actress Steve McQueen Actor

Top

Letenntl<t'o. 7[)07

RICHEST BRITISH-BORN PEOPLE

Name Source Net worth

The Duke of Westminster

Property Retailing Chemicals Transport and mobile phones Cement, etc. Finance Property Motor racing Supermarkets Publishing Finance Property and kitchens

7,000,000,000 4,900,000,000 3,300,000,000 3,100,000,000 3,050,000,000 2,800,000,000 2,610,000,000 2,250,000,000 2,130,000,000 1, 900,000,000 1,900,000,000 1,900,000,000

Philip and Tina Green Jim Ratcliffe Sir Richard Branson Sean Quinn Joseph Lewis Earl Cadogan and family Bernie Ecclestone Lord Sainsbury and family Roddie Fleming and family Eddie and Malcolm Healey

3
4

5
6 7

8 9

10= Richard Desmond

;:::

""

Source: S(10(1ay Times Rid1

2007

Yacht

Owner

Built/refitted

Length

AL SaLamah

King Fahd, Saudi Arabia Larry Ellison, USA Paul Allen, USA Kahraman Sadikoglu, Turkey (charter) Latsis family, Greece Latsis family, Greece Niarchos family, Greece Roman Abramovich, Russia Roman Abramovich Nasser al-Rashid, Saudi Arabia

1999 2004 2003 1931/ 1992 1976/ 1986 1990/ 2004 1981 2003

139.8 m (456 ft 10 in) 138.4 m (452 ft 8 in) 126.1 m (414 ft) 124.3 m (408 ft) 122 m (400 ft 2 in) 116.9 m (381 ft 9 in) 115.6 m (379 ft 7 in) 114.9 m (377 ft 3 in) 112.7 m (370 ft) 104.8 m (344 tt)

2
3
4

Rising Sun Octopus

Sa varona

ALexander Turama Atlantis /I PeLorus

7 8

Le Grand BLeu Lady Moura

2000 1990

10

SOUITe;

Power & Mntoryacht, 2007

Chilli *

Scoville units

Naga Jolokia

Red Savina Datil, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet African Birdseye, Jamaican Hot, Rocoto Chiltepin, Malaqueta, Pequin, Santaka, Thai Ajf, Cayenne, Tabasco de Arbol Serrano, Yellow Wax Chipotle, Jalapeno, Mirasol Cascabel, RocotiLlo, Sandia, Sriracha

3
4 5 6

855,000-1,041,427 350,000-577,000 100,000-350,000 100,000-200,000 50,000-100,000 30,000-50,000 15,000-30,000 5,000-15,000 2,500-5,000 1,500-2,500

8
9

10

Typ;cal

there

others tn rnost

Hot peppers contain substances called capsaicinoids, which determine how 'hot' they are. In 1912 American pharmacist Wilbur Lincoln Scoville (1865-1942) pioneered a test, based on which chillies are ranked by Scoville units. According to this scale, one part of capsaicin, the principal capsaicinoid, per million equals 15,000 Scoville units. Pure capsaicin registers 15,000,000-17,000,000 on the Scoville scale - one drop diluted with 100,000 drops of water will still blister the tongue - while at the other end of the scale bell peppers and pimento register zero.

SMELLIEST FRENCH CHEESES

Vieux Boulogne
Cow's milk cheese from Boulogne-sur-Mer, 7-9 weeks old

Pont l'Eveque AGC*

Cow's milk cheese from Normandy, 6 weeks old

Camembert de Normandie AGC

Cow's milk cheese from Normandy, minimum 21 days old

Munster
Cow's milk cheese from Alsace Lorraine, 3 weeks old

Brie de Meaux AGC

Cow's milk cheese from Ile de France, 4-8 weeks old

6
7

Roquefort AGC
Sheep's milk cheese from Roquefort, 3 months old

Reblochon AGC
Cow's milk cheese from Savoie, 3-4 weeks old

Livarot AGC
Cow's milk cheese from Normandy, 90 days old

Banon AGC
Goat's milk cheese from Provence, 1-2weeks old

Epoisses de Bourgogne AGC

Cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, 4-6 weeks old

ApreUatlor d 0,

1,1

frenet,

'Smelliest' tends to be down to a personal assessment, but a recent survey at Cranfield University on which this list is based employed 19 expert members of a human olfactory panel and a high-tech' electronic nose'. Although 10th on the list, Epoisses de Bourgogne is banned on public transport in France.

Country

Estimated consumption per capita, 2007

UK

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ireland Portugal Australia Spain Canada USA New Zealand Saudi Arabia France

5.78 kg 112lb 12 ozl 4.18 kg 19lb 3 ozl 3.13 kg (6lb 14 ozl 2.25 kg 14 lb 15 ozl 2.1 kg 14lb 10 ozl 2.09 kg 14 lb 10 ozl 1.79 kg 13lb 15 ozl 1.68 kg 13 lb 11 ozl 1.66 kg 13 lb 11 ozl 1.49 kg 13lb 50z1
0.29 kg /10 ozJ

World average

The world eats 1,890,610 tonnes of beans a year, of which the UK consumes 350,810 tonnes, or 18.6 per cent. Heinz baked beans are the best-known brand. They were originally test-marketed in the north of England in 1901 and imported from the USA up to 1928, when they were first canned here. The slogan 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' was invented in 1967 over a drink in the Victoria pub in Mornington Terrace by Young and Rubicam advertising agency executive Maurice Drake. Some 1.2 million cans of Heinz baked beans are eaten every day in the UK - worth 175,222,000 in 2006.

Country

Average consumption per capita, 2007

Spain Argentina Australia New Zealand Austria Portugal Greece USA Ireland France

2 3
4 5 6 7

8 9 10

113.85 kg (251 lbl 113.02 kg (249 lb 3 ozl 106.07 kg (233 lb 14 ozl 103.18 kg (227lb 8 ozl 102.55 kg (226 lb 1 ozl 102.32 kg (225 lb 9 ozl 101.66 kg (224lb 2 ozl 93.51 kg (206 lb 2oz1 83.8 kg (184lb 12 ozl 83.67 kg (184lb 7 ozl
50.87 kg {112 Lb 2oz1 36.74 kg {81 Lbl

UK
WorLd average

* Includes beef, veel, lamb,

mutton, goat,

por~,

poultry and other meat

Source: Euromonitor International, Global Market Information Databnse

The world devours a total of 240,702,850 tonnes of meat a year.

FOODS CONSUMED IN THEUK

Item Average weekly consumption per head*

Milk and cream

2,027 9 (71.5 ozl 1,718 9 (60.6 ozl 1,292 9 (45.57 ozl 1,156 9 (40.77 ozl 1,047 9 (36.99 ozl 925 9 (32.62 ozl 842 9 (28.7 ozl 739 9 (26.06 ozl 701 9 (24.72 ozl 183 9 (6.45 ozl

Soft drinks Fresh fruit Vegetables [excluding potatoes] Meat and meat products Cerealst Fresh and processed potatoes Alcoholic drinks Bread Fats

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Household pUITnases iexcluding eating out) 2000-6 t Exclud in9 br'cad Source: Depal'tment tor !::nv:roriment, Food and Rura: Affairs [Della!. Fam,ly cood 200::-6',

2007

PIZZAEXPRESS PIZZAS

Margherita (mozzarella and tomato) American (pepperoni sausage) Pollo ad Astra (torn chicken breast, peppadew sweet peppers, Cajun sauce, garlic and onions) American Hot (pepperoni sausage, tomato and hot green peppers) La Reine (prosciutto cotto ham, olives and mushrooms) Sloppy Giuseppe (hot spiced beef, green peppers and onions) Padana (goat's cheese, spinach, red onion and caramelized onion confit) Etna (hot soft Calabrian salami, sweet roquito peppers, smoky speck ham, grana padano cheese and jalapenos on a Romana base) Fiorentina (spinach, grana padano, egg, garlic and olives) Giardiniera (asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms, red peppers, Santos tomatoes, olives and garlic on tomato and pesto sauce)

2 3
4

5
6
7

9 10

Pizza Express founder Peter Boizot opened Britain's first Italian-style pizza restaurant in Ward our Street. London. in 1965. Among his innovations were the introduction of live jazz and the Pizza Veneziana. from which a percentage of every sale goes to the Venice in Peril Fund. with more than 1.6 million being raised so far. The chain now numbers 340 across the country. These are its Top 10 most popular types of pizza. with the recently launched Romana bases proving especially popular with men.

FAST -FOOD CHAINS IN THE UK (BY MARKET SHARE)

Chain
% of total market

McDonald's

2 3
4 5 6 7
8=
:::

Yum! Brands [KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.] Burger King Greggs [Baker's Oven, etc.] Doctor's Associates [Subway] Pret a Manger Wimpy Cooks Ltd Southern Fried Chicken British Petroleum

30 12.4 12.3 11.1 8.6 2.6 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.5

10

Euromonitor

CONFECTIONERY BRANDS IN THE UK

Brand/manufacturer Sales, 2006-

Cad bury's Dairy Milk

361,500,000 169,400,000 159,200,000 140,500,000 121,000,000

102,100,000

Wrigley's Extra Galaxy Kit Kat Maltesers Mars Quality Street Bassetts Allsorts, etc, Haribo gum Twix

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

73,100,000 72,700,000 71,700,000 71,200,000

'I rac~ed through total of 7/,,0/,;; Checkuut, A Nieben

ndepcodent

ALCOHOL-CONSUMING COUNTRIES
Country Consumption per capita (pure alcohol equivalent)

Luxembourg 2 Hungary Czech Republic Ireland Germany Spain Portugal

12.6 litres (22.2 pints) 11.4 litres (20.1 pints) 11 litres (19.4 pints) 10.8 litres (19 pints) 10.2litres (17.9 pints) 10 litres (17.6 pints) 9.6litres (16.9 pints) 9.6 litres (16.9 pints) 9.5litres (16.7 pints) 9.3 litres (16.4 pints)
6.8litres [12 pints]

3
4

5 6
7=

= 9 10

UK
Denmark Austria

USA

DRINK BRANDS IN THE UK

Brand Type Estimated sales range, 2007

Stella Artois

Lager Lager Wine Lager Wine Lager Wine Vodka Lager Whiskey and cream liqueur Lager Whisky Lager

2 3 4 5
6

Carling Hardys Fosters Ernest & Julio Gallo Carlsberg Blossom Hill Smirnoff Red Label

320-325,000,000 170-175,000,000 160-165,000,000 140-145,000,000 135-145,000,000 120-125,000,000 110-115,000,000 95-100,000,000 90-95,000,000 80-85,000,000 80-85,000,000 80-85,000,000 80-85,000,000

7 8

9 Carlsberg Export 10::: Baileys

Budweiser
::::

The Famous Grouse Grolsch

TNS

BEER-DRINKING COUNTRIES
Country Annual consumption per capita

Czech Republic

156.9 litres (276.1 pints) 131.1 litres (230.7 pints) 115.8 litres (203.8 pints) 109.9litres (193.4 pints) 108.3 litres (190.6 pints) 99 litres (174.2 pints) 93litres (163.7 pints) 89.9litres (158.2 pints) 85 litres (149.6 pints) 84.4litres (148.5 pints)

Ireland Germany Australia Austria

3
4

UK
Belgium Denmark Finland Luxembourg

8
9

10

USA

81.6 litres (143.6 pints)

BEER BRANDS
IN THE UK
Brand Estimated sales range, 2007

Stella Artois Carling Fosters Carlsberg Carlsberg Export Budweiser Grolsch Kronenbourg 1664 9 Carlsberg Special Brew

John Smith's Extra Smooth

320-325,000,000 170-175,000,000 140-145,000,000 120-125,000,000 90-95,000,000 80-85,000,000 80-85,000,000 70-75,000,000 50-55,000,000 45-50,000,000

WINE-DRINKING COUNTRIES
Country Consumption per capita, 2005

Vatican City Andorra France Luxembourg Italy Portugal Slovenia Croatia Switzerland Spain

62.02 litres (35.24 pints) 60.13 litres (34.17 pints) 55.85 litres (31.74 pints) 52.7 litres (29.95 pints) 48.16 litres (27.37 pints) 46.67 litres (26.52 pints) 43.77 titres (24.87 pints) 42.27 titres (24.02 pints) 39.87 litres (22.66 pints) 34.66litres (19.7 pints)

UK

18.97 litres /1 0.78 pints]

MOST COMMON PUB NAMES IN THE UK

The Red Lion The Crown The Royal Oak The White Hart The King's Head 6 The Bull The Coach and Horses The George/George and Dragon The Plough The Swan

It is estimated that there are 58,197 pubs in the UK: 51,479 in England and Wales, 5,150 in Scotland and 1,568 in Northern Ireland. Among them there are perhaps more than 25,000 different names, of which the Red Lion, with over 600, is the most common. It probably derives from the lion featured on the coat of arms of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Although there is little dispute about the frontrunners in this list, the continual renaming of pubs by breweries [in one case, for example, changing them all to the Rat and Carrot) is playing havoc with identifying the runners-up, even by the countrys leading experts, and it would be fair to mention that the Bell, Rose and Crown, New Inn, White Horse and Anchor may arguably claim places in the Top 10.

LATEST PUBS OF THEYEAR

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 The Old Spot Inn, Dursley, Gloucestershire Tom Cobley Tavern, Spreyton, Devon The Swan, little Totham, Essex The Fat Cat, Norwich Crown & Thistle, Gravesend, Kent The Swan, little Totham, Essex The Nursery, Heaton Norris, Greater Manchester Blisland Inn, Blisland, Cornwall The Rising Sun, Tipton, West Midlands The Fat Cat, Norwich

MOST POPULAR COCKTAILS AT THE SAVOY HOTEL'S AMERICAN BAR

Dry Martini [gin and vermouth) Whisky Sour [whisky and fresh lemon juice) Tom Collins [gin, lemon juice, Gomme syrup and soda water) Ricky [gin, lime, Gomme syrup and soda water) Bloody Mary [vodka, tomato juice and spices) White Lady [gin, lemon juice and Cointreau) Sidecar [brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice) Screwdriver [vodka and orange juice) Old Fashioned [sugar cube, Angostura bitters, rye whisky, brandy, gin or rum) Manhattan [rye whisky or bourbon, sweet vermouth and a dash of Angostura bitters)
The Savoy Hotel in London opened in 1889, It is closed for major renovation and scheduled to reopen in 2009, Its 'American Bar' Iso called because it served ice in drinks - once regarded as a shocking American innovation) became world famous for its cocktails, Its barman Harry Craddock compiled The Savoy Cocktail Book 11930). Cocktails date from America in the early 19th century, but were drunk in London by the 1850s and became particularly fashionable in the 1920s, The origin of the word 'cocktail' has been the subject of much debate, and many far-fetched explanations have been proposed: it appears to have been first used in New Orteans and, as the city had strong French connections, some authorities trace it to the French coquetier, an eggcup - perhaps used as a measure for the ingredients - while others prefer to see a link to the 'cock-ale' once fed to fighting cocks,

LATEST HOLDERS OF THE LAND SPEED RECORD

Driver/car Date Speed

Andy Green (UKI.

ThrustSSC*

15 Oct 1997 4 Oct 1983 23 Oct 1970 15 Nov 1965

1,227.99 km/h 1763.04 mph) 1,013.47 km/h 1633.47 mph) 995.85 km/h (622.41 mph) 960.96 km/h (600.6 mph) 922.48 km/h (576.55 mph) 888.76 km/h 1555.48 mph) 858.73 km/h 1536.71 mph) 842.04 km/h (526.28 mph) 749.95 km/h 1468.72 mph) 694.43 km/h 1434.02 mph)
80nneviUc

Richard Noble (UK),

Thrust2*

Gary Gabelich (USAI.

The Blue Flame

Craig Breedlove (USA], Spirit of

America - Sonic 1

5
6

Art Arfons (USA].

Green Monster

7 Nov 1965 2 Nov 1965

Craig Breedlove (USAI.

Spirit of America Sonic 1

Art Arfons (USA),

Green Monster

27 Oct 1964 150ct1964 13 Oct 1964 5 Oct 1964

Craig Breedlove (USA),

Spirit of America

Craig Breedlove (USA),

Spirit of America

Art Arfons (USAI.

Green Monster

FASTEST PRODUCTION CARS

Car Year Ultimate Aero TT 2007 2004 2005 Bhp 1,183 1,001 750 806 620 640 657 549 542 625 Speed 411.76 km/h (256.18 mph) 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph) 402 km/h (250 mph) 395 km/h (245 mph) 386.4 km/h (240.1 mph) 352 km/h (219 mph) 349.2 km/h (217 mph) 349.2 km/h (217 mph) 347.6 km/h (216 mph) 346 km/h (215 mph)

sse
2
3

Bugatti Veyron Saleen S7 Koenigsegg McLaren F1 Lamborghini Murcietago LP640

eex

2006 1994 2006 2002 1992 1992 2006

7=
:::

Ferrari Enzo Jaguar XJ220 Bugatti EB 110 Ascari Al0

10

It has been claimed that it is technically impossible to build a road car capable of more than 402 km/h (250 mphJ. but the first two 01 these supercars have tipped over that theoretical limit. The list includes the fastest example of each marque, but excludes 'limited edition' cars and 'specials', such as the 41 O-km/h (255-mph] Porche GT9 by 9fl.

MOST EXPENSIVE CAR REGISTRATION NUMBERS SOLD AT AUCTION IN THE UK

Number Year Price*

Fl M1

2008 2006 2006 2005 2006 1993 2006 1989 2007 2005

440,625 331,500 285,000 258,775 254,000 235,000 197,000 176,000 154,000 144,000

VIP 1t
GS 1 51 NGH K1 NGS 100 lA CEO 1+ 1F

LATEST CAR OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Make/model

2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Fiat Nuova 500 Ford S-Max Renault Clio Toyota Prius Fiat Panda Renault Megane Peugeot 307 Alfa Romeo 147 Toyota Yaris Ford Focus

The Car of the Year is an award made each November by leading motoring journalists, who vote for the best new car to go on sale across Europe in the preceding 12 months. The award was first presented in 1964, when it was won by the Rover 2000.

FASTEST PRODUCTION MOTORCYCLES

Make/model Speed

Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 Honda CBR11 OOXX Blackbird '" ::;; Honda RC45[m) Harris Yamaha YZR500 Kawasaki ZZR1100 07 Bimota YB10 Biposto Suzuki GSX-R1100WP[d) Suzuki GSX-R750-WV Bimota Furano Kawasaki ZZR1100 C1

309 km/h (192 mph) 299 km/h (186 mph] 291 km/h (181 mph) 291 km/h (181 mph) 289 km/h (180 mph) 289 km/h (180 mph) 283 km/h (176 mph) 280 km/h (174 mph) 279 km/h (173 mph)* 278 km/h (173 mph) 278 km/h (173 mph)

MOTOR VEHICLE-OWNING COUNTRIES

Country Cars Commercial vehicles Total (2005)

USA Japan Germany Italy France UK

132,908,828 57,090,789 46,090,303 34,667,485 29,990,000 30,651,700 25,285,000 8,900,000 20,250,377 18,370,000

104,788,269 16,733,871 3,133,197 4,422,269 6,139,000 3,942,700 5,705,000 21,750,000 4,907,867 4,653,000

237,697,097 73,824,660 49,223,500 39,089,754 36,039,000 34,594,400 30,990,000 30,650,000 25,158,244 23,023,000 862.728.974

Russia China Spain Brazil

World total 677,020, 769

245.708,745

CAR MANUFACTURERS

Company/country

Passenger car production, 2006

Toyota [Japanl General Motors (USA) Volkswagen group (Germanyl 4 5 Ford (USA) Honda [Japan) PSA Peugeot Citroen (Francel Nissan [Japanl Hyundai (South Koreal Renault-Dacia-Samsung (Francel Suzuki [Japanl

6,800,228 5,708,038 5,429,896 3,800,633 3,549,787 2,961,437 2,512,519 2,231,313 2,085,837 2,004,310 51,953,234

World total {including manufacturers outside Top 10J

BESTSELLING CARS OF ALL TIME

Manufacturer/model Years in production Approximate sales

Toyota Corolla Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen Beetle Ford Escort/Orion Ford Model T Honda Civic Nissan Sunny/ Sentra/Pulsar Volkswagen Passat Lada Riva Chevrolet Impala/ Caprice

196619741937-2003t 1968-2003 1908-27 197219661973-+ 19801958-

31,600,000 24,000,000 21,529,464 20,000,000 16,536,075 16,500,000 16,000,000 15,000,000 13,500,000 13,000,000

Estimates of manufacturers' output of their bestselling models vary from the approximate to the unusually precise 16,536,075 of the Model T Ford, with 15,007,033 produced in the USA and the rest in Canada and the UK, between 1908 and 1927. It should be noted that while some of the models listed remained distinctive throughout their lifespan, others appear under the same name but with different stylings around the world and have undergone such major design overhauls (at least nine in the case of the list-leading Toyota Corolla) that, while they remain members of the same family, the current cars may be considered distant relatives of the vehicles with which the model was launched.

CAR-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
Country Car production, 2006

Japan Germany China USA South Korea France Brazil Spain India

9,756,515 5,398,508 5,233,132 4,366,220 3,489,136 2,723,196 2,092,029 2,078,639 1,473,000 1,442,085

:;:
3 4
5 6

8
0

UK

WORST AIR DISASTERS IN THE WORLD

Location/date/incident Number killed

New York, USA, 11 Sep 2001

c. 1,622

Following a hijacking by terrorists, an American Airlines Boeing 767 was deliberately flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all81 passengers lincluding five hijackersl, 11 crew on board and an estimated 1,530 on the ground. both as a direct result of the crash and in the subsequent fire and collapse of the building, which also killed 479 rescue workers.

New York, USA, 11 Sep 2001

c.677

As part of the coordinated attack, hijackers commandeered a second Boeing 767 and crashed it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all 56 passengers and nine crew on board and approximately 612 on the ground.

Tenerife, Canary Islands, 27 Mar 1977

583

Two Boeing 747s IPan-Am and KLM, carrying 380 passengers and 16 crew and 234 passengers and 14 crew respectively) collided and caught fire on the runway of Los Rodeos airport after the pilots received incorrect control-tower instructions. A total of 61 escaped.

Mt Ogura, Japan, 12 Aug 1985

520

A JAL Boeing 747 on an internal flight from Tokyo to Osaka crashed. killing all but four of the 509 passengers and all15 crew on board.

Charkhi Dadri, India, 12 Nov 1996

349

Soon after taking off from New Delhi's India Gandhi International Airport, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 collided with a Kazakh Airlines Ilyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft on its descent and exploded. killing all 312 1289 passengers and 23 crew) on the Boeing and all37127 passengers and 10 crew) on the Ilyushin in the world's worst mid-air crash.

Paris, France, 3 Mar 1974

346

Immediately after take-off for London, a Turkish Airlines DC-1 0 suffered an explosive decompression when a door burst open and crashed at Ermenonville. north of Paris. killing all 335 passengers, including many England rugby supporters, and its crew of 11.

An Air India Boeing 747 on a flight from Vancouver to Delhi exploded in mid-air, probably as a result of a terrorist bomb, killing all307 passengers and 22 crew.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 19 Aug 1980

301

Following an emergency landing a Saudia (Saudi Arabianl Airlines Lockheed TriStar caught fire. The crew were unable to open the doors and all 287 passengers and 14 crew died from smoke inhalation.

Off the Iranian coast, 3 Jul 1988

290

An Iran Air A300 airbus was shot down in error by a missile fired by the USS Vincennes, which mistook the airliner for an Iranian fighter aircraft, resulting in the deaths of all 274 passengers and 16 crew. In 1996 the US paid $61.8 million in compensation to the families of the victims.

Sirach Mountain, Iran, 19 Feb 2003

275

An Ilyushin 76 on a flight from Zahedan to Kerman crashed into the mountain in poor weather. It was carrying 257 Revolutionary Guards and a crew of 18, none of whom survived.

The UK's worst disaster was Pan Am Flight 103 from London Heathrow to New York, which exploded in mid-air as a result of a terrorist bomb and crashed onto Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988, killing a total of 270 (243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 on the ground) in the UK's worst-ever air disaster. The worst prior to that was the crash of British European Airways Trident at Staines, Middlesex, on 18 June 1972, which left 118 dead. In addition to disasters within the UK, a number of major air crashes involving British aircraft have occurred overseas, among them that of a BOAC Boeing 707 that crashed on Mount Fuji, Japan, on 5 March 1966, killing 124 (the day after a crash near by killed 641. and in the crash of a Dan Air Boeing 727 at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, on 25 April 1980 (all 146 on board perished). The collision of a British Airways Trident heading from London to Istanbul and an Inex Adria DC-9 over Zagreb on 10 September 1976 left 176 dead, 54 passengers and nine crew in the British aircraft and 108 passengers and five crew in the Yugoslavian aircraft.

LONGEST MOTORWAYS IN THE UK

Motorway Route Length

M6 M1

Rugby-Carlisle London-Leeds London-Pont Abraham Birmingham-Exeter Circles London Liverpool-H umberside Birmingham-London London-Southampton London-Cambridge

364.8 km (226.7 miles) 307.1 km (190.8 miles) 305km (189.5 miles) 262.2 km [162.9 miles) 188.3 km (117 miles) 173.3 km (107.7 miles) 143.2 km (89 miles) 94.3 km (58.6 miles) 80 km (49.7 miles) 78.4 km (48.7 miles)

M4 M5 M25

M62 M40 M3 M11

10

M8

Edinburgh-Glasgow Airport

Britain's first motorway was the Preston bypass section of the M6 [between junctions 29 and 321. opened on 5 December 1958. The first section of the M1 did not open until2 November 1959,

BUSIEST LONDON UNDERGROUND STATIONS

Station

Annual nurnberof passengers, 2006*

72,992,000 72,874,000 68,438,000 57,895,000 52,510,000 38,718,000 38,209,000 37,633,000 32,843,000 32,760,000

8 9

Victoria Waterloo Oxford Circus Liverpool Street King's Cross St Pancras Paddington Bank and Monument Piccadilly Circus Tottenham Court Road Bond Street

A total of over 1.3 billion journeys a year are made on the London Underground la third of them via the Top 10 stations). with a weekday average of 3.4 million passengers a day. The annual total number of passengers using Victoria, the busiest tube station, is more than the entire population of the UK.

MOST COMMON TYPES OF PROPERTY LOST ON LONDON TRANSPORT

Number of items found Type

2005-2006

Cases and bags

26,247 25,146 22,484 14,937 13,767 8,123 6,839 6,633 5,684 3,088

2
4

Books, chequebooks and credit cards Clothing Value items' [handbags, purses, wallets, etc,) Mobile telephones Keys Umbrellas Spectacles Jewellery, cameras, laptop computers, etc,

5 7

Gloves [pairs; single =497)

Books lalong with chequebooks and credit cards, which are included with them] have dropped from their long-standing No.1 position. Changes in fashion mean that hats, once one of the most common lost items, no longer even warrant a separate category, whereas mobile telephones are now lost in increasing numbers. Of the total, some 30 per cent of lost property is restored to its owners, but as much as 55 per cent of valuable items are returned. Among the stranger items that have been lost in recent years are a skeleton, a box of glass eyes, breast implants, artificial legs and hands, a Yamaha outboard motor, a complete double bed, a theatrical coffin, a wedding dress, a stuffed gorilla and an urn containing human ashes.

TOURIST DESTINATIONS
Country International visitors, 2006

France Spain USA China Italy

79,100,000 58,500,000 51,100,000 49,600,000 41,100,000 30,700,000 23,600,000 21,400,000 20,300,000 20,200,000
846,000,000

UK
Germany Mexico Austria Russia

World total

FASTEST ROLLERCOASTERS
Roller-coaster/location
Year opened

Speed

Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey, USA Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA Dodonpa, Fuji-Q Highlands, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan Superman the Escape, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA

2005

206 km/h (128 mph) 193 km/h (120 mph) 172 km/h (107 mph) 161 km/h (100 mph) 161 km/h (100 mph) 153 km/h (95 mph) 150 km/h 93 mph)

2003 2001 1997

1997 Tower of Terror, Dreamworld, Coomera, Queensland, Australia Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spa Land, Nagashima, Mie, Japan Millennium Force, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA Goliath, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA Titan, Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas, USA Furius Baco, Port Aventura, Salou, Tarragona, Spain 2006

2000 2000

137 km/h (85 mph)

137 km/h (85 mph) 135 km/h (84 mph)

2001 2007

TOURIST DESTINATIONS OF UK RESIDENTS

Country Visitors, 2006

3 4
6

8
9

10

Spain France Ireland USA Italy Germany Greece Netherlands Portugal Belgium
Total {all countries}

14,428,000 10,854,000 4,682,000 3,986,000 3,380,000 2,698,000 2,436,000 2,410,000 1,937,000 1,815,000
69,536,000

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN THE UK*

Attraction/location Visitors, 2006

Blackpool Pleasure Beach British Airways London Eye Tower of London Kew Gardens, London Edinburgh Castle Chester Zoo The Eden Project, Cornwall Canterbury Cathedral Westminster Abbey, London Roman Baths and Pump Room, Bath

5,730,000 3,500,000 2,084,468 1,357,522 1,213,907 1,161,922 1,152,332 1,047,380 1,028,991 986,720

GOALSCORERS IN THE FIFA WORLD CUP*

Player/country Years Goals

Ronaldo, Brazil Gerd Muller, West Germany Just Fontaine, France Pele, Brazil Sandor Kocsis, Hungary Jurgen Klinsman, Germany Helmut Rahn, West Germany Te6filio Cubillas, Peru Grzegorz Lato, Poland Gary Lineker, England Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina Miroslav Klose, Germany

1998-2006 1970-74 1958 1958-70 1954 1990-98 1954-8 1970-78 1974-82 1986-90 1994-2002 2002-6

15 14
13

12 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10

BRITISH FOOTBALL TEAMS IN EUROPE*

Team

FA Total CL UE SC W RUW RU W RU W RU W RU points

ewc

Liverpool Arsenal Manchester United

4= Leeds United
Nottingham Forest
::::

Tottenham Hotspur Chelsea Glasgow Rangers Aston Villa Celtic

9= Aberdeen

0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

3 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

0 1 3 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

2 11 4 2 5 4

26 9
9 7 7 7

0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

2 3 3 3 1 2 2

0 3 0 0 2

6
5
4 4 4

The first British team to win a European competition was Tottenham Hotspur in 1963, when they beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 in Rotterdam to win the Cup-winners' Cup.

FA PREMIERSHIP GOALSCORERS*
Players Clubls) Goals

Alan Shearer Andy Cole

Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United

261

187 Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Birmingham City, Sunderland
Arsenal Liverpool, Leeds United, Manchester City Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham United Leeds United, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic Liverpool, Newcastle United Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham, City, Sunderland Arsenal, West Ham United

Thierry Henry Robbie Fowler Les Ferdinand

174 161 150

Teddy Sheringham Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Michael Owen Dwight Yorke

147

128 126

Ian Wright

122 113

MOST POINTS IN A BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON*

Team Season Points

Chelsea Manchester United Manchester United Chelsea

Arsenal Blackburn Rovers Manchester United

Manchester Unitedt Arsenal Manchester United

:::::

Blackburn Roverst

2004-5 1993-4 1999-2000 2005-6 2003-4 1994-5 2006-7 1994-5 2001-2 1992-3 1993-4

95
92

91 91 90 89 89 88 87 84 84

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE GOALSCORERS IN ONE SEASON*

Player/club Season Goals

Andy Cole, Newcastle United Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers Kevin Phillips, Sunderland Thierry Henry, Arsenal Robbie Fowler, Liverpool Thierry Henry, Arsenal Chris Sutton, Norwich City Matt Le Tissier, Southampton Robbie Fowler, Liverpool Les Ferdinand, Newcastle United Alan Shearer, Newcastle United Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Manchester United
:::::

1993-4 1994-5 1993-4 1995-6 1999-2000 2003-4 1995-6 2005-6 1993-4 1993-4 1994-5 1995-6 1996-7 2002-3 2004-5

34 34 31 31 30 30 28 27 25 25 25 25 25 25 25

Thierry Henry, Arsenal

iGOr
The first-ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United against Manchester United on the opening day of the 1992-3 season.

CLUBS WITH THE MOST BRITISH TITLES *

Team League titles

FA Cup

League

Cup

Total

51 Glasgow Celtic 41 Liverpool 18 Manchester United 16 Arsenal 13

Glasgow Rangers Aston Villa Aberdeen Heart of Midlothian Everton

31 34
7

24 13
7

106
88

11 10
7 7 7

4 4
9

2 2 5 5 4 3

10

Tottenham Hotspur

5 8

32 29 25 19 16 15 14 13

(If

GOALSCORERS FOR UK INTERNATIONAL TEAMS

Player/country Years Goals*

Bobby Charlton, England Gary Lineker, England Jimmy Greaves, England 4 Michael Owen, England Tom Finney, England Nat Lofthouse, England Denis Law, Scotland Kenny Dalglish, Scotland
::::

5:::
::: :::

Alan Shearer, England

Vivian Woodward, England Ian Rush, Wales David Healy, Northern Ireland

1958-70 1984-92 1959-67 1997-2006 1946-58 1950-58 1959-74 1972-87 1992-2000 1903-11 1980-96 2000-2008

49 48 44

36 30 30 30 30 30
29

28 33

LClll!

LATEST FOOTBALLERS OFTHEYEAR*

Player/country Club

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

Cristiano Ronalda, Portugal Thierry Henry, France Frank Lampard, England Thierry Henry, France Thierry Henry, France Robert Pires, France Teddy Sheringham, England Roy Keane, Ireland David Ginola, France Dennis Bergkamp, Netherlands

Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal Manchester United Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal

by

The first winner of the FWA award was Stanley Matthews in 1948. The trophy presented to the winner is now called the Sir Stanley Matthews Trophy in his honour.

MEDAL-WINNING COUNTRIES AT THE SUMMER OLYMPICS

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

USA USSR/Unified Team/Russia

907 525 229 189 199 189 140 158 159 119

697 436 258 242 202 154 157 141 150 126

615 409 298 237 230 168 179 161 136 154

2,219 1,370 785 668 631 511 476 460 445 399

3 4 5 6

GermanyIWest Germany UK France Italy Sweden Hungary East Germany Australia

7
8

9
0

MEDAL-WINNING COUNTRIES AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS

Country Gold Silver Bronze Totalt

Russia/USSR/U nified Team Norway USA Germany/West Germany Austria Finland Sweden Canada Switzerland East Germany

122 96 78 76 50 42 46 38 37 39

89 102 81 78 64 57 32 38 37 37

86 84 59 57 71 52 44 44 43 35

297 282 218 211 185 151 122 120 117 111

LATEST WINNERS OF THE BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Winner
Sport

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

1999 1998

Joe Calzaghe Zara Phillips Andrew Flintoff Kelly Holmes Jonny Wilkinson Paula Radcliffe David Beckham Steve Redgrave Lennox Lewis Michael Owen

Boxing Eventing Cricket Athletics Rugby Union Athletics Football Rowing Boxing Football

HIGHEST-EARNING BRITISH SPORTSMEN

Sportsman Sport Estimated earnings, 2007

4 5 6

Michael Owen Jenson Button Wayne Rooney David Beckham Frank Lampard Steven Gerrard Damien Duff Emile Heskey Harry Kewell John Terry Mike Welch

Football Motor racing Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football

37,000,000 30,000,000 30,000,000 16,500,000 15,000,000 14,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000

HIGHEST-EARNING WORLD SPORTSPEOPLE

Sportsman/country Sport Estimated earnings, 2006-7

Tiger Wood Oscar de la Hoya Phil Mickelson Kimi Raikkonen, Finland Michael Schumacher, Germany David Beckham, UK Kobe Bryant Shaquille O'Neal Michael Jordan Ronaldinho, Brazil

Golf Boxing Golf Motor racing Motor racing Football Basketball Basketball Basketball Football

$100,000,000 $43,000,000 $42,200,000 $40,000,000 $36,000,000 $33,000,000 $32,900,000 $31,900,000 $31,000,000 $31,000,000

LARGEST SPORTS STADIUMS

Stadium Location Year opened Capacity

Rungnado May Day Stadium Saltlake Stadium Estadio Azteca

Pyongyang, North Korea Calcutta, India Mexico City, Mexico

1989 1984 1966 1927 1960

150,000 120,000 114,465 107,501 107,282

Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Beaver Stadium Pennsylvania State University, USA Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Colombus, USA Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bukit Jalil Tehran, Iran New Delhi, India Melbourne, Australia

Neyland Stadium Ohio Stadium National Stadium

1921 1922 1998

104,079 101,568 100,200

Azadi Stadium Bung Karno Nehru Stadium Melbourne Cricket Ground

1971 1982 1853

100,000 100,000 100,000

MOST SUPERBOWL WINS*

Team

Appearances

Wins

Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 4gers Green Bay Packers Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders Washington Redskins New England Patriots New York Giants Baltimore/ Indianapolis Colts Miami Dolphins Denver Broncos

1972, 1978, 1993-~ 1996 1975-6, 1979-80,2006 1982,1985,1989-90,1995 1967-8,1997 1977,1981,1984 1983, 1988, 1992 2002, 2004-5, 2008 1987, 1991, 2008 1971,2007 1973-4 1998-9

5 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 2

2 2

MOST WORLD SERIES WINS*

Team First Wins Last Total

New York Yankees

1923 1926 1910 1903 1955 1905 1909 1919 1935 1906 1914

2000 2006 1989 2007 1988 1954 1979 1990 1984 2005 1995

2 3

St. Louis Cardinals Oakland Athletics [5 titles as Philadelphia Athletics} Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Dodgers [1 title as Brooklyn Dodgers} San Francisco Giants [all titles as New York Giants} Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinatti Reds

26 10
9 7 6

6=

5 5 5
4

Detroit Tigers Atlanta Braves [1 title as Boston Braves, 1 as Milwaukee Braves}

10:;:; Chicago White Sox

3 3

::::

Minnesota Twins [1 title as Washington Senators} Baltimore Orioles

1924 1966

1991 1983

3 3

*Uptodl1d

VVodd

MOST POINTS IN A SINGLE NBA GAME*

Player/team Opponents Date Points

Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco Warriors David Thompson, Denver Nuggets Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco Warriors Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco Warriors

New York Knicks 2 Mar 100 1962 Toronto Raptors 22 Jan 81 2006 Los Angeles 8 Dec 78 Lakers 1961t Chicago Packers 13 Jan 73 1962 New York Knicks 16 Nov 73 1962 Detroit Pistons 9 Apr 73 1978 Los Angeles 3 Nov 72 Lakers 1962 New York Knicks 15 Nov 71 1960 Los Angeles 24 Apr 71 Clippers 1994 Syracuse 10 Mar 70 Nationals 1963

MOST WICKETS IN TEST CRICKET*

Bowler/country Years Matches Wickets

Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka Shane Warne, Australia Anil Kumble, India Glenn McGrath, Australia Courtney Walsh, West Indies Kapil Dev, India Richard Hadlee, New Zealand Shaun Pollock, South Africa Wasim Akram, Pakistan Curtly Ambrose, West Indies

1992-2007 1992-2007 1990-2008 1993-2007 1984-2001 1978-94 1973-90 1995-2008 1985-2002 1988-2000

118 145 118 124 132 131 86 108 104 98

723 708 566 563 519 434 431 421 414 405

The highest-placed Englishman is Ian Botham (11], with 383 wickets from 102 matches in the period 1977-92.

MOST RUNS IN A TEST CRICKET CAREER*

Player/country Years Matches Innings Runs

Brian Lara, West Indiest Sachin Tendulkar, India Allan Border, Australia Steve Waugh, Australia Sunil Gavaskar, India Rahul Dravid, Indiat Ricky Ponting, Australia Jacques Kallis, South Africa Graham Gooch, England Javed Miandad, Pakistan

1990-2006 1989-2008 1978-94 1985-2004 1971-87 1996-2008 1995-2008 1995-2008 1975-95 1976-93

131 146 156 168 125 119 116 115 118 124

232 237 265 260 214 205 193 195 215 189

11,953 11,150 11,174 10,927 10,122 9,920 9,776 9,431 8,900 8,832

Brian Lara made his Test debut in December 1990 against Pakistan in Lahore. He made 44 runs in the first innings and five in the second. His last Test was also against Pakistan, in Karachi in December 2006, when he scored 49 in his final innings.

MOST STANLEY CUP WINS

Team
First win Last win

Total

Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs

Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders New York Rangers Ottawa Senators Chicago Blackhawks New Jersey Devils

1916 1918 1936 1929 1984 1980 1928 1920 1934 1995

1993 1967 2002 1972 1990 1983 1994 1927 1961 2003

24
13 10

5 5 4

4 4
3 3

During his time as Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893, Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley (Lord Stanley of Preston and 16th Earl of Derbyl became interested in what is called hockey in the United States, and ice hockey elsewhere, and in 1893 presented a trophy to be contested by the best amateur teams in Canada. The first trophy went to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association who won it without a challenge from any other team. In 1914 the Cup was contested by the champions of the National Hockey Association (formed 19101 and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (formed 1912). Effectively it was a match between the champions of the East Coast and the West Coast. The NHA became the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917 and their champions continued to playoff against the PCHA champions. But in 1923 and 1924 it became a three-way challenge as a result of the formation of the Western Canadian Hockey League. The PCHA disbanded in 1926 and since then the NHL play-offs have decided the Stanley Cup finalists each spring.

MOST RUGBY LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP FINAL WINS AT WEMBLEY*

Club

First win

Last win

Total

Wigan St Helens Widnes Leeds/Leeds Rhinos Castleford/Castleford Tigers Wakefield Trinity Featherstone Rovers Halifax Bradford Northern Huddersfield Warrington

2 4 5=

1929 1956 1930 1936 1935 1946 1967 1931 1947 1933 1850

1995 2007 1984 1999 1986 1963 1983 1987 1949 1953 1974

15

8 7 6 4
4 3 3

7=
::::

9::::
:::
:::;

2 2 2

The first final to be played at Wembley was on 4 May 1929, when Wigan beat Oewsbury 13-2 in front of 41 ,600 people. The first points at Wembleywere scored by the legendary Wigan full back Jim Sullivan, when he kicked a goal after just four minutes. The first try was scored by Syd Abram, also of Wig an.

BIGGEST WINS IN THE SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP*

Winner/loser Year Venue Score

England vs. Italy Ireland vs. Italy England vs. Italy France vs. Italy Ireland
VS.

2001 2000 2000 2005 2002 2003 2007 2004 2002 2000

Twickenham Lansdowne Road Rome Rome Lansdowne Road Rome Rome Rome Twickenham Twickenham

80-23 60-13 59-12 56-13 54-10 53-27 51-24 50-9 50-10 50-18

Wales

France vs. Italy Ireland vs. Italy England vs. Italy England vs. Wales England vs. Ireland

r!lC

MOST POINTS IN A RUGBY UNION WORLD CUP CAREER

Player Country Years Points

Jonny Wilkinson Gavin Hastings Michael Lynagh

England Scotland Australia New Zealand New Zealand Argentina Australia France Canada Scotland

Grant Fox Andrew Mehrtens Gonzalo Quesada Matt Burke Thierry Lacroix Gareth Rees Chris Patterson

1999-2007 1987-95 1987-95 1987-91 1995-9 1995-9 1995-9 1991-5 1987-9 2003-7

249 227 195 170 163 135 125 124 120 117

Grant Fox scored 126 points in 1987, which represents the biggest haul in a single tournament.

MOST RACE WINS IN A FORMULA ONE CAREER BY A DRIVER*

Driver/nationality Years Wins

Michael Schumacher, Germany

Alain Prost, France Ayrton Senna, Brazil Nigel Mansell, UK

5
6=

Jackie Stewart, UK Jim Clark, UK Niki Lauda, Austria Juan-Manuel Fangio, Argentina Nelson Piquet, Brazil Damon Hill, UK

1992-2006 1981-93 1985-93 1985-94 1965-73 1962-8 1974-85 1950-57 1980-91 1993-8

91 51 41 31 27 25 25 24 23 22

The most career wins by a current driver is 19 by Fernando Alonso (Spain!.

FIRST FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX RACES OF LEWIS HAMILTON

Grand Prix Position Date

Australian Malaysian Bahrain Spanish Monaco

3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 9th

18 Mar 2007 8 Apr 2007 15 Apr 2007 3 May 2007 7 May 2007 10 Jun 2007 17 Jun 2007 1 Jul2007 8 Jul2007 22 Jul2007

Canadian United States French British European

8
9

Hamilton started from fourth position on the grid in his debut race at Melbourne and went on to finish third behind eventual world champion Kimi Raikkiinen (Finland) and his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso (Spain). Although Hamilton set an unprecedented record for a driver in his rookie season, his total of 12 podiums falls five short of the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2002.

DRIVERS WITH THE MOST FORMULA ONE WORLD TITLES*

Years: first Driver/country title/last title Races won World titles

Michael Schumacher, Germany, Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina Alain Prost, France Jack Brabham, Australia Niki Lauda, Austria Nelson Piquet, Brazil Ayrton Senna, Brazil Jackie Stewart, UK Alberto Ascari, Italy Jim Clark, UK Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil Mika Hakkinen, Finland Gr.aham Hill, UK Fernando Alonso, Spain
,
til

1994-2004 91 1951-7 1985-93 1959-60 1975-84 1981-7 1988-91 1969-71 1952-3 1963-5 1972-4 1998-9 1962-8 2005-6 24 51 14 25 23 41 27 13 25 14 20 14 19

7
5

4
3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2

2 2 2

CONSTRUCTORS WITH THE MOST FORMULA ONE WORLD TITLES*

Constructor/country Years: first title/last title Titles

Ferrari, Italy Williams McLaren Lotus Brabham Cooper Renault, France Benetton

BRM
Matra, France Tyrrell Vanwall

1961-2007 1980-98 1974-98 1963-78 1966-7 1959-60 2005-6 1995 1962 1969 1971 1958

15
9

8
7

2 2 2

The world championship for drivers was launched in 1950, but not for constructors until 1958.

MOST WORLD MOTORCYCLING GRAND PRIX TITLES

Rider/country Years MotoGP 500cc 350cc 250cc 125cc 50/80cc Total

Giacomo Agostini, Italy

1966 -75 1969 -84 1951 -60 1961 -67 1956 -60

15

Angel Nieto, Spain Carlo Ubbiali, Italy Mike Hailwood, UK

13

3=

5:::

John Surtees, UK Phil Read,UK Valentino Rossi, Italy

::::

:;;:

1964 2 -74 1997- 5 2005

0 0

0 0

7 7

Rider/country Years

MotoGP 500cc 350cc

250cc

125cc

50/80cc Total

Geoff Duke, UK Jim Redman, Southern Rhodesia Anton Mang, West Germany Michael Doohan, Australia

1951 -55 1962 -65

4 0

2 4

0 2

0 0

0 0

6 6

1980 -87

1994 -98

MOST MEN'S GRAND SLAM TITLES

Player/country Years Singles Doubles Mixed Total

Roy Emerson, Australia John Newcombe, Australia Frank Sedgman, Australia Todd Woodbridge, Australia Bill Tilden, USA Rod Laver, Australia John Bromwich, Australia Jean Borotra, France Ken Rosewall, Australia Neale Fraser, Australia

1959-71 1965-76 1948-52 1988 -2004 1913-30 1960-71 1938-50 1925-36 1953-72 1957-62

12 7 5 0 10 11 2 4 8 3

16 17 9 16 6 6 13 9 9 11

0 2 8 6 5 3 4 5

28 26 22 22
21 20

19 18 18

18

John Newcombe's total includes the 1965 Australian Open mixed doubles final, which was not played because of bad weather and the title was shared between the two pairs,

MOST WOMEN'S GRAND SLAM TITLES

Player/country Years Singles Doubles Mixed Total

Margaret Court [nee Smith), Australia!

1960-75

24

19

19

62

Martina Navratilova, 1974-2006 Czechoslovakia/ USA Bille Jean King (nee Moffitt!, USA Margaret Du Pont, USA Louise Brough, USA Doris Hart, USA USA Elizabeth Ryan, USA Pam Shriver, USA Steffi Graf, Germany
;c

18

31

10

59

1961-81 1941-62 1942-57

12 6 6 6 19 0 0 22

16 21 21 14 9 17 22

11 10 8 15 3 9

39

37
35 35 31 26 23 23

1948-55 Helen Wills-Moody, 1923-38 1914-34 1981-7 1987-99

Suzanne Lenglen IFrance) won 21 Grand Slam events. If her 10 French titles, 1920-23, were included, she would appear on this list, but French Championships up to 1925 were for members of French clubs only, so are not considered official Grand Slam events.

MOST MEN'S SINGLES TITLES

Player/country First win
Last win

Total wins

Jimmy Connors, USA Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia/USA John McEnroe, USA Pete Sampras, USA Guillermo Vilas, Argentina Bjorn Borg, Sweden

1972 1980 1978 1990 1973 1974 1987 1970 2001 1985

1989 1993 1991 2002 1983 1981 2005 1978 2007 1996

109 94 76 64 62 61 60 53 52 49

7
9 0

Andre Agassi, USA Ilie Nastase, Romania Roger Federer, Switzerland Boris Becker, Germany

Connors's first title was in the 19,72 Jacksonville Open. when he beat Clark Graebner (USA) 7-5, 6-4.

MOST WOMEN'S SINGLES TITLES

Player/country
First win Last win Total wins

Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia/USA Chris Evert, USA Steffi Graf, Germany Margaret Court [nee Smithl. Australia Evonne Cawley [nee Goolagongl. Australia Billie Jean King [nee Moffittl. USA Virginia Wade, UK

1974 1971 1986 1968 1970 1968 1968 1989 1993 1995

1994 1988 1999 1976 1980 1983 1978 2002 2007 2007

167 154 107 107

68 67
55 53 53 43

8:::
:::

Monica Seles, Yugoslavia/ USA Lindsay Davenport, USA Martina Hingis, Switzerland

Clpcn

1YOB-iUU'J

FASTEST MEN OVER 100 METRES

Athlete/country Venue Date Time (sees)

Asafa Powell, Jamaica Justin Gatlin, USA Maurice Greene, USA Donovan Bailey, Canada Bruny Surin, Canada Tyson Gay, USA Leroy Burrell, USA
::;

Rieti, Italy Doha, Qatar

9 Sep 2007 12 May 2006

9.74 9.77 9.79 9.84 9.84 9.84 9.85 9.85 9.86 9.86 9.86 9.86

Athens, Greece 16 Jun 1999 Atlanta, USA Seville, Spain Zurich, Switzerland Lausanne, Switzerland Doha, Qatar Tokyo, Japan Lausanne, Switzerland 27 Jul 1996 22 Aug 1999 18 Aug 2006 6 Jul2004 12 May 2006 25 Aug 1991 3 Jul 1996 19 Apr 1998

Olusoji A. Fasuba Nigeria Carl Lewis, USA Frank Fredericks, USA Francis Obikwelu, Portugal

Ato Boldon, Trinidad Walnut, USA

Athens, Greece 22 Aug 2004

MOST MEN'S MAJORS IN ACAREER*

Player/ country

us
Years

us
4 2 2 4

Masters Open

British Open

US PGA Total

Jack Nicklaus 1962-86 Tiger Woods Walter Hagen Ben Hogan Gary Player, South Africa Tom Watson 1914-29 1946-53 1959-78 1975-83

6 0 2 3 2

3 3 4 3 5 6

5 4 5 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 0

18 13 11 9 9

1997-2007 4

Harry Vardon, 1896-1914 0 England 1 Gene Sarazen 1922-35 0 Bobby Jones 1923-30 Sam Snead 1942-54 3 4 Arnold Palmer 1958-64

8 7
7 7 7 7

2 4 0

1 3

In 1930. Bobby Jones achieved an unprecedented Grand Slam when he won the US and British Open titles as well as the Amateur titles of both countries. Jack Nicklaus. Tiger Woods. Ben Hogan. Gary Player and Gene Sarazen are the only golfers to have won all four Majors at least once.

OLDEST GOLF CLUBS

IN BRITAIN
Club
Year formed

Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers [Muirfield] Royal and Ancient [St Andrews] Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society

1735 1744 1754 1761 1766 1774 1780 1787 1787 1791

Royal Blackheath Royal Musselburgh Royal Aberdeen Glasgow Gailes Glasgow Killermont Cruden Bay [Aberdeenshire]

All these clubs are in Scotland with the exception of Royal Blackheath. The oldest in Northern Ireland is Royal Belfast (1881) and Irelands oldest is Curragh, County Kildare (1883). The oldest Welsh club is Pontnewydd, Cwmbran (1875). The exact date of the formation of the Royal Blackheath Club is uncertain and some sources record that golf was played there in the 17th century by James I of England. However, it is generally accepted that the club was formed in 1766.

CHAMPION JOCKEYS IN THE UK WITH THE MOST WINS IN A SEASON*

Jockey
Tony McCoy (NH] Gordon Richards (F]

Season

Wins

3
4

Gordon Richards (F] Gordon Richards (F] Tony McCoy (NH] Tony McCoy (NH] Fred Archer (F]

8 9

Tony McCoy (NH] Fred Archer (F] Frankie Dettori (F]

2001-2 1947 1949 1933 2002-3 1997-8 1885 1999-2000 1884 1994

289 269 261 259 256 253 246 245 241 233

Seb Sanders and Jamie Spencer each rode 190 winners in 2007. It was the first time since 1923 that the flat racing title had been shared.

MOST WORLD PROFESSIONAL SNOOKER TITLES

Player/country Years Wins

Honnie O'Sullivan, England Joe Davis, England

2001,2004,2007 1927-40,1946 1964 (2), 1965 (3), 1966, 1968 1970, 1973-6, 1978 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987-9 1948-9,1951 1969,1971,1977 1947,1950 1972, 1982 2000, 2003 1998,2007

19 15
7 7

3::::

John Pulman, England*

Stephen Hendry, Scotland 1990, 1992-6, 1999 Ray Reardon, Wales Steve Davis, England Fred Davis, Englandt John Spencer, England Walter Donaldson, Scotland Alex Higgins, Northern Ireland Mark Williams, Wales John Higgins, Scotland

6 6

3 3 2
2 2 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Richard Braddish Professor Cary Cooper, CBE Russell E. Gough Robert Grant Harriet Harrison Anthony Lipmann Ian Morrison Dafydd Rees Robert Senior Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cranfield University Department for Environment, Food and RuralAffairs Department of Health

The Economist
Emporis Ethnologue Euromonitor Federal Bureau of Investigation

FHM Financial Times

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Footba II Writers' Association

Adult Video News

artnet Association of Leading Visitor Attractions Association of Tennis Professionals Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd BBC The Bereavement Register

Forbes
General Register Office for Scotland Golden Raspberry Awards Gold Fields Mineral Services

Hansard
HBOS Home Accident Surveillance System Home Office Imperial War Museum Interbrand International Association of Athletics Federations International Centre for Prison Studies International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulations International Game Fish Association International Institute for Strategic Studies

The Bookseller
Box Office Mojo British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons British Board of Film Censors British Film Institute British Video Association

BusinessWeek
CAMRA Central Intelligence Agency Checkout Christie's

International Monetary Fund International Obesity Task Force International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History International Telecommunication Union Internet Movie Database Internet World Stats Interpol iVillage The Kennel Club Kirin Lipmann Walton Live.com Lycos 500 Ministry of Justice Miss World MRIB MSNUK Music Information Database National Basketball Association National Football League National Hockey League National Phobics Society National Statistics AC Nielsen Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency The Official UK Charts Company Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Savoy Hotel

Screen Digest
Society of Actuaries Sotheby's Sound Connection

Sunday Times
TNS Word panel Transport for London UMIST United Nations United Nations Population Division US Census Bureau International Data Base

Ward's f\1otor Vehicle Facts & Figures 2007

Wine Institute Wordtracker World Bank World Gold Council World Health Organization World Tennis Association World Tourism Organization

Oxford English Dictionary

PizzaExpress Power & f\1otoryacht Relate National Marriage Guidance

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