10 things we didn't know last week
15:25 UK time, Friday, 9 February 2007
Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.
1. Catherine Cookson novels have been borrowed from UK libraries 25 million times in the last 10 years.
2. Ireland has the highest crime rate in the European Union.
3. A pig's mood is indicated by its tail. It is happy when the tail is tightly coiled and unhappy when it hangs limp.
4. The National Theatre's electricity bill is £600,000 a year.
5. There is one practising GP among the MPs in the House of Commons - Labour's Howard Stoate.
6. Astronauts wear nappies during launch and re-entry because they can't stop what they're doing should they need to urinate.
7. Vikings may have used a special crystal to navigate when fog obscured the sun.
8. Frankie Laine set a marathon dance record of 3501 hours in 145 consecutive days in 1932.
9. Eighty-eight percent of children in Poland aged 12 to 18 use instant messaging, compared to 50% in the UK, says a survey.
10. The Southern Cross has more stars than the five commonly depicted on the Australian flag, astronomers have discovered.
Sources where stories not linked: 1. TImes, Friday 4. Guardian, Wednesday 5. Guardian, Saturday 9. Daily Telegraph, Tuesday. 10. Times, Friday.
Seen 10 things? . Thanks to Judy Toms in Wales for this week's picture of 10 artificial legs in Corfu.
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