True Fact a Day

FACT #333

2007-03-20T05:05:00.001-07:00

Jeremy Clarkson cannot drive.

FACT #332

2007-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Until 1969, clocks in Britain went back one hour every Sunday at 2am.

FACT #331

2007-03-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

All citizens of Paraguay are required by law to wear a lifejacket complete with torch and whistle at all times despite the country being landlocked.

FACT #330

2007-03-06T00:46:00.000-08:00

As a follow-up to the Beatles' Love album Sir George Martin intends to remaster the entire Shed Seven back catalogue using old demo tapes and Shine albums. Highlights are said to include Rick Witter's rare saxaphone solo on Chasing Rainbows.

FACT #329

2007-03-06T00:45:00.000-08:00

Region 5 Dvds are only able to play white noise and Guy Ritchie films.

FACT #328

2007-03-06T00:43:00.000-08:00

Politicial blogger Guido Fawkes is none other than glamour girl Jodie Marsh.

FACT #327

2007-02-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

Under a new legal agreement Apple are not allowed to make any form of music player that can be "scrumped" or "baked in a pie".

FACT #326

2007-01-12T02:02:00.000-08:00

The word 'legless' was originally a darts expression and referred to a player being so drunk he failed to win a single leg.

FACT #325

2006-12-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

HBO is remaking the sitcom Sorry! with Ben Stiller taking Ronnie Corbett's role of Timothy Lumsden.

FACT #324

2006-12-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia is written entirely by Billy Ray Cyrus.

FACT #323

2006-11-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

Although they can be deleted temporarily, any picture drawn on an Etch-a-Sketch can be recalled for a criminal trial.

FACT #322

2006-11-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

Under new education guidelines, any arts student submitting film of a plastic bag 'dancing' in the wind shall be given a automatic fail.

FACT #321

2006-11-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

80 percent of the British army is posted at service stations along the M5 as part of an ongoing recruitment battle with the RAC.

FACT #320

2006-10-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

The shade of red of the seat you will be ushered to when dining in an Aberdeen Steak House will be based upon the waiter's prediction of how you like your meat to be cooked.

FACT #319

2006-09-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Squirrels dream in HD.

FACT #318

2006-09-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, Bruce Forsyth has never said "Nice to see you, to see you nice". He admitted in a 2002 interview: "I don't know where the idea I say it comes from, but I just let people go along with it now".

FACT #317

2006-09-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Alf Tupper has been chosen as a fair play ambassador for the 2012 Olympics.

FACT #316

2006-09-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

During the Chinese New Year, Cheshire's Jodrell Bank observatory is turned into a giant wok.

FACT #315

2006-08-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

As part of an inititative by the Institute of British Newsagents paperboys in the 1980s were forced to scramble across an obstacle course at the end of their rounds.

FACT #314

2006-08-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

Wincey Willis was FHM'S High Street Honey in 1985.

FACT #313

2006-08-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

The famous McLibel trial swung in favour of the defence when Hamburglar refused to answer a subpoena.

FACT #312

2006-08-25T01:45:00.000-07:00

The world's largest insect is the Shetland Pony.

FACT #311

2006-08-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

A ripe grapefruit will give a high-pitched whistle when dropped on the floor.

FACT #310

2006-08-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

In Latvia parliamentary debates are often settled by one party holding their breath until their bill is passed.

FACT #309

2006-08-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

More than two-thirds of people, when asked, can recall seeing a unicorn in a zoo at some point in their lives.

FACT #308

2006-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

Arthur Askey slept with a gigantic axe.

FACT #307

2006-08-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

American office workers send around 36 e-mails per day. On average, 35 of these will be Chuck Norris jokes.

FACT #306

2006-08-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Within four years, 'having the 6.30pm comedy slot on Radio 4' is expected to replace banking as the number one employment of new Oxbridge graduates.

FACT #305

2006-08-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Scoop of the year in the 2006 regional press awards went to the Kenilworth Citizen for its front page story "HAT-MAD LOBSTER STOLE MY WALLET".

FACT #304

2006-08-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Dai Davies, a farmer from Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, became the first man to eat a tractor in 2004. It took 30 years after he ground it up and sprinkled a teaspoonful on his Cornflakes every morning.

FACT #303

2006-08-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

The 2006 series of Love Island was actually filmed six months in advance, but heavily edited when ITV bosses deemed the final pairing of Kelly Sotherton and Barry Chuckle "a bit weird".

FACT #302

2006-07-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

Far-right politician Jean Marie Le Pen's 2002 campaign for the French presidency was fatally undermined when a Panorama special revealed his addiction to Pez dispensers.

FACT #301

2006-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

At the age of 11 Japanese students must pass a proficiency test in arcade dance machines to be considered eligible for further education.

FACT #300

2006-07-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

The first snooze alarm was invented by Russian ruler Peter the Great, who trained a cockerel to peck him at nine-minute intervals.

FACT #299

2006-07-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

John Major's S&M submission word is 'Guadeloupe'.

FACT #298

2006-07-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

Spanish has no word for 'exercise'.

FACT #297

2006-07-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI has the world's most popular MySpace account. He describes his music as ecclesiastic/ indie/ alternative.

FACT #296

2006-07-15T04:17:00.000-07:00

As requested in his will, Roger Moore's eyebrows will be cryogenically-frozen when he dies

FACT #295

2006-07-15T04:16:00.000-07:00

In ancient Rome the most common children's names were Cerberus and Fruitella.

FACT #294

2006-07-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

In 1994 notorious British hardman "mad" Charles Bronson released the world's first prison workout video, Stretch and Learn.

FACT #293

2006-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Many of today's everyday expressions first appeared in the plays of Shakespeare, including 'finger farm', 'note of plumage', 'easysack', 'as hungry as a cat', 'scrambled milk', 'running after a glance' and 'what the giblets'.

FACT #292

2006-07-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

For an entire series of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop in 1981, researchers on the show were inundated with a stream of callers offering to exchange bitter almonds for dried eels.

FACT #291

2006-06-07T03:13:00.000-07:00

'Happy Slapping' first emerged in Victorian England. One ruffian would assault an unsuspecting passer-by, while his accomplice would sit by and sketch the scene.

FACT #290

2006-06-07T03:09:00.000-07:00

In 2005 Durham decided to relieve tourist numbers by building an exact-size replica of the city 10 miles away.

FACT #289

2006-06-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

In Venice, Venetian blinds are known as 'Barnsley blinds'.

FACT #288

2006-06-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

Newsnight Review presenter Mark Lawson can lay out a dog with one punch.

FACT #287

2006-05-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

In Albania coroners deliver inquest verdicts through the medium of whistling.

FACT #286

2006-05-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, the white is not the healthiest part of an egg - it is actually the shell.

FACT #285

2006-05-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

Britain's longest running copyright trial ended in 1989, when a High Court jury took 10 years to decide in favour of the estate of Ian Fleming that James Bond had not been modelled on the Russ Abbot character Basildon Bond.

FACT #284

2006-05-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Kites were originally invented as a way of drying damp string.

FACT #283

2006-05-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

The growth in popularity of football in America in the 1970s led to plans for the World Cup to be staged on the moon. When it was held in West Germany instead, England pulled out and donated their place to Poland.

FACT #282

2006-05-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

When immersed in liquid, a dead sparrow will make a sound like a crying baby.

FACT #281

2006-05-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

In musical notation pacino means to play your piano loudly with bulging eyes.

FACT #280

2006-05-09T05:04:00.001-07:00

In June 2005, James Dyson married a dustbuster in a small civil ceremony outside Stroud.

FACT #279

2006-05-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

Before the introduction of patches opticians would treated lazy eyes through a combination of shouting and poking.

FACT #278

2006-05-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

Due to repeated incidents, pubs in Nottingham will have all glass removed next month "by police request". Window panes will be put into storage and beer will be poured straight into customers' cupped hands.

FACT #277

2006-05-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

One in every 2,000 babies is born wearing glasses.

FACT #276

2006-05-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

In 1997 the grizzly bear population of Canada almost became extinct after deciding they would rather go naked than wear fur.

FACT #275

2006-05-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

If the entire population of Walsall walked past you in a straight line, the rate of reproduction means it would never end.

FACT #274

2006-05-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

In the 1980s the Mafia made most of their earnings though the sale of highlighter pens, having gained a monopoly under the infamous Stabilo brothers.

FACT #273

2006-04-29T03:49:00.004-07:00

According to the last Government census, 92% of all Merseysiders have an uncle who went to school with John Lennon.

FACT #272

2006-04-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Snowmen were only officially listed as an endangered species in 1978, after many of their eggs were stolen and sold at private auctions.

FACT #271

2006-04-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Monopoly in 1985, Hasbro sent out five golden Get Out of Jail Free cards around the world, hidden inside new box sets. Unfortunately one was delivered to Holloway Prison, enabling the notorious 'Cheesewire Strangler' Deirdre McManus to be released after serving just three days of a 25-year sentence.

FACT #270

2006-04-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

The record for number of A-level passed is 60, by a schoolboy from the Sussex village of St-Etienne-In-The-Charts. Neil Bachelor's record haul includes passes in English, Maths, Kettle Maintenance, Shoegazing and Lists.

FACT #269

2006-04-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

Th final words of Tolpuddle Martyr Robert Owen were "That will never work. It's a crabstick, for Heaven's sake."

FACT #268

2006-04-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

If a cricket were the size of Canary Wharf, it could jump to the moon.

FACT #267

2006-03-29T03:28:00.000-08:00

Veteran campaigner Mary Whitehouse's last recorded letter was a diatribe against Silentnight bed manufacturers for suggesting "relations between a hippo and a duckling".

FACT #266

2006-03-29T02:56:00.000-08:00

Since 2003 Babybel have had to settle 568 lawsuits from park-goers who have tripped over rogue cheeses.

FACT #265

2006-03-29T02:22:00.000-08:00

When completed, the Burj Tower in Dubai will be visible from anywhere in the world.

FACT #264

2006-03-28T01:59:00.001-08:00

Anybody awarded the Freemanship of Ipswich is entitled to eat the town's owls.

FACT #263

2006-03-28T01:59:00.000-08:00

In 1987 Paul Daniels' son Martin founded the Black Sheep Society, a support group for lacklustre celebrity offspring. Current members include Natalie Cole, Eric Douglas and Jordi Cruyff.

FACT #262

2006-03-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

The growth of the internet over printed materials means libraries, which previously only sank into their foundations because of the weight of their books, are in danger of blowing away in high winds.

FACT #261

2006-03-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Slovenian keyboards are laid out differently to ours, as 'Qwerty Uiop' is the country's most notorious serial killer and the western design was thought to be offensive to his victims' families.

FACT #260

2006-03-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

Stuart Hall will compere all the events at the 2012 Olympics in London.

FACT #259

2006-03-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Geese have six senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and peck.

FACT #258

2006-03-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

In medieval England, those purchasing land often required having one or more limbs amputated to provide the seller as collateral and avoid reneging on the loan. An expensive purchase came to be known as costing "an arm and a leg."

FACT #257

2006-03-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

An entire generation raised in the 1980s still believes Jesus Christ came down from heaven in a motorcar.

FACT #256

2006-03-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Despite thousands of reports from backpackers, Lonely Planet refuse to recognise the existence of a "Little Yorkshire" district in Beijing.

FACT #255

2006-02-25T02:39:00.000-08:00

Edvard Munch began his career as a court artist but was sacked for making defendants look "too guilty".

FACT #254

2006-02-22T01:08:00.000-08:00

Following the infamous 'Beano Trial' of 1989, dentists were barred from extracting teeth by tying it to a handle and slamming the door.

POST #253

2006-02-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

The sound of a Austin Ambassador car starting up has exactly the same ardour-enhancing frequency as the voice of singer Tom Jones.

FACT #252

2006-02-21T03:55:00.000-08:00

Demon barber Sweeney Todd only killed his customers on their third visit, when he'd run out of smalltalk.

FACT #251

2006-02-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

In 1843, a French mime artist got stuck in his imaginary box and subsequently died through lack of oxygen.

FACT #250

2006-02-15T05:36:00.000-08:00

It is nearly three miles farther to fly from Bristol to Newcastle than it is to return from Newcastle to Bristol.

FACT #249

2006-02-15T05:34:00.000-08:00

Panini went bankrupt after disappointing sales of their European Parliament 2004 sticker album.

FACT #248

2006-02-15T04:15:00.000-08:00

For the first Glastonbury Michael Eavis made himself sole act and headliner and forced his family, John Peel and the staff of Mojo magazine to watch him play his acoustic guitar for four days.

FACT #247

2006-02-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

Tennis champion Roger Federer has been fined twice by the ATP for text-messaging during points.

FACT #246

2006-02-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

At the height of his difficulties in 1996, John Major responded to every question at Prime Minister's Questions with "I know you are, I said you are, so what am I?".

FACT #245

2006-02-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

In late 2005 the Bank of England commissioned an urgent report into how the price of Space Raiders crisps has never been affected by inflation.

FACT #244

2006-02-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

If you fill a standard 750ml wine bottle with live hornets, their angry buzzing will resonate at precisely the right frequency to shatter the glass.

FACT #243

2006-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

As research for his role in Awakenings Robert De Niro spent four years in a coma.

FACT #242

2006-01-31T12:26:00.000-08:00

Tory MP Boris Johnson has a collection of Memento-style tattoos over his body which give him clues to his own identity.

FACT #241

2006-01-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

Contrary to the popular saying, 90 percent of the time you lead a horse to water it will drink on its own.

FACT #240

2006-01-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Seven out of every ten hurling-playing Irishmen will lose a tooth during a game. For Irishmen who only watch hurling, that figure drops to five out of ten.

FACT #239

2006-01-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

Approximately one-sixth of your life is spent on Sundays.

FACT #238

2006-01-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

A batsman called Peter Young made 8,345 runs for Warwickshire in 1991, even though he spent the entire season batting with a rolled-up, lacquered copy of the Coalville & Ashby Echo.

FACT #237

2006-01-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

Since you refreshed this page, the Notorious BIG has released three posthumous albums.

FACT #236

2006-01-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

In the director's cut of Seven, Brad Pitt opens the box to reveal a video tape rewinder from the Innovations catalogue.

FACT #235

2006-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

If you read the Bayeux Tapestry backwards you can clearly see the message "McCartney spear'd upon Hastings field", further fuelling the fake Beatle rumours.

#FACT 234

2006-01-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Water juice is set to be the latest fashion craze this year after Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow were seen carrying bottles of it.