Читать книгу Steve Wright’s Book of Factoids - Steve Wright - Страница 7

Between shows, Elvis used to snack on chicken soup with crackers. As the crowd called “More!” he ate more.

It’s reported that when Elvis was introduced to Eric Clapton, he said to Slow Hand “And what do you do?”

Elvis impersonators are officially known as “Elvii” – just Ask Elvis. And don’t they say that by the year 2080, every other citizen will be an Elvis impersonator?

Elvis bought hundreds of silk scarves to throw to fans at his shows, mainly from Tie Rack on Victoria Station.

The most successful music act of all time is Elvis Presley, having spent nearly 2,500 weeks in the UK charts alone.

RCA, the record label Elvis was on, always had to use the pressing plants of other record labels right from his first song with them to keep up with demand.

Elvis used to always call his daughter Lisa-Marie “Buttonhead” or “Yisa”.

Graceland is the second most visited home in America, after the White House. He bought Graceland for $102,500 in March 1957. Well, do you know how much it’s worth now … ?

You could only enter Elvis’s bathroom with his permission. It boasted a padded toilet, a poster of Sarah Kennedy and a giant Blue Peter badge. That’s not widely known – keep it to yourself.

Nobody apart from the British royal family has appeared on the stamps of more countries than Elvis.

Elvis wore high turned up collars because he believed his neck was too long, and he never wore underpants. In fact, his collars were named after two giraffes at Memphis Zoo, and he could never find underpants in his size, and he found them restrictive.

Elvis has left the building.

Less than seven per cent of the population donates blood.

Four per cent of women have hurled what at a man?

a) abuse

b) drink

c) footwear

[If it was a) or b) I’m sure the figure would be higher, but it’s actually c) footwear. Clearly our better halves not only like to shop for them they like to throw them as well.]

In Japan, 20% of all publications sold are comic books.

The odds of being killed by falling out of bed are one in two million.

After a concert on the Isle of Man, the Rolling Stones climbed through a toilet window to avoid screaming fans.

Chart anorak factoid, courtesy of Paul Gambaccini – In 1976, Rodrigo’s ‘Guitar Concerto de Aranjuez’ was No 1 in the UK for only three hours because of a computer error.

200 babies are born worldwide every minute.

One out of every 70 people who pick their nose eat what they find! That is sick! Get help.

43 per cent of men speak to their mums on the telephone at least once a week.

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

90 per cent of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right.

Walking fast uses eight times as many calories as writing. Especially when you’re carrying a tortoise.

A study has revealed that people are more likely to catch colds when their mothers-in-law come to stay – too much stress brings down their immune system.

The tranquiliser Valium is the most widely used drug on earth.

In the native Indian language Manhattan means “the place of drunkenness”.

One count of the word “and” in the Bible showed that it appears 46,227 times.

14 per cent of cat owners think their cat is more important than their job.

The lion has the smallest heart of all beasts of prey.

The shark is immune to all known diseases.

The frog’s tongue grows from the front of its mouth, which makes it easier to catch flies.

People in Southern England eat six million more cloves of garlic a year than the northern French.

Red-haired men are more likely to go bald than anyone else.

A foetus acquires fingerprints at the age of:

a) 3 weeks

b) 3 months

c) 9 months

[Answer: b) three months.]

Three-quarters of the world’s population wash from top to bottom in the shower.

More money is spent on gardening than on any other hobby.

£25,000 is the highest price paid for a donkey in the UK. The prized beast was a racing donkey called Minstrel.

Many sailors believe a cat on board a ship means:

a) a lucky trip

b) an unlucky trip

c) Rolf Harris is filming a new series of Animal Hospital

[Answer: a) a lucky trip. Although it would be unlucky for the cat if it suffered from seasickness.]

It’s estimated that only 5 to 10 per cent of the world’s information has been digitised.

A Scottish taxi driver earned £12,000 driving a woman with a fear of flying 16,000 miles around America.

Austria was the first country to ever use postcards.

UK fish and chip shops currently use 60,000 tonnes of fish and 500,000 tonnes of potatoes a year …

…and we eat around 300 million servings of fish and chips a year – five for every person.

The role of Hamlet is the largest part in any Shakespeare play with 1,422 lines.

There are no female speaking parts in the whole of the film Lawrence of Arabia.

Movie factoid, courtesy of Jonathan Ross – Gone with the Wind is the only Civil War epic ever filmed without a single battle scene.

California has issued six drivers licenses to people named “Jesus Christ”.

Charles Dickens mentions a fried fish shop in his novel Oliver Twist – but it was not until the 1860s that the trade took off. So Dickens invented them!

The world’s first mobile phone was invented by Martin Cooper in April 1973.

In China, fish and chips are served with:

a) sugar

b) soy sauce

c) a smile

[Answer: a) sugar. Obviously makes for some sweet ‘sole’ food … ]

You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people around the world.

“ Beanz Meanz Heinz ” was voted the world’s most popular advertising slogan ever. My favourite was for milk in the 70s: “Watch out, watch out – there’s a Humphrey about!”

The first man to orbit the Earth, Yuri Gagarin, was in space for 108 minutes.

Notre Dame Cathedral was started in 1015 and completed in 1439 … possibly the same firm of contractors who look after the escalators on the Northern line today.

The poet William Wordsworth could only sleep standing up.

An inventor in Brazil claims he has built a car that can run on urine, and does 20 miles to the gallon. Taking the piss.

The world’s largest meat pie was shared by 50,000 people at Denby Dale in Yorkshire in 2000.

Working parents with two children at school spend up to £2,400 on childcare and entertainment during the summer holidays.

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, was famed for his sense of humour and as a young man would put sticky sweets onto his guests’ chairs and trick them into sitting down.

In October 1833, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty became the world’s first paperboy after seeing an advert in the New York Sun.

In one year in New York, more than 8,000 people had been treated for dog bites – and one person suffered a penguin bite.

Cinderella is officially the nation’s favourite fairy tale, followed by Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel.

Hollywood film star Fatty Arbuckle was cleared of a charge of murder, but the case ended his career.

The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 BC.

Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles or snakes.

Washing a chicken before cooking it is more dangerous than not doing so. The cooking will kill any food poisoning bacteria, while washing the bird can spread bacteria to nearby taps, and kitchen surfaces.

Wayne Rooney became the youngest footballer ever to score for England when he got the first goal against Macedonia in September 2003 at the age of 17 years 317 days.

Tin Henman’s great grandmother, Ellen Mary Sewell, was the first woman to serve overarm at Wimbledon … when he plays her now, she still beats him.

When the UK adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, 11 days disappeared.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, a Russian dramatist who died in 1883, possessed the heaviest human brain on record at nearly 4lb 7oz.

What do Chrissie Hynde, Roger Moore, Roseanne and Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards have in common?

a) They all auditioned for the role of James Bond.

b) They all guest-presented BBC’s Top of the Pops.

c) They all once washed dishes for a living.

[Answer: c) They all once washed dishes for a living. Maybe one or two of them shouldn’t have given up the day job.]

The fortune cookie was invented in 1916 by George Jung, a Los Angeles noodlemaker.

(Yesterday when I was Jung.)

Scallops are considered to be the safest shellfish to eat raw.

An apple, onion and potato all have the same taste. The differences in flavour are caused by their smell. To prove this – pinch your nose and take a bite from each. They will all taste sweet.

In South Africa, termites are often roasted and eaten by the handful, like pretzels or popcorn. Do consult with a medic if you’re planning such a feast.

Table salt is the only commodity that hasn’t risen dramatically in price in the last 150 years.

In medieval England beer was often served with breakfast. Bacon and mead please love, with all the trimmings.

In Scotland, seeing a live haggis is supposed to be a sign of imminent good fortune. Earl Nyaff of Uirsgeul reputedly encountered one on his way to Ayr Races in 1817 and subsequently won £50. And remember, you cannae whack a haggis.