10 things we didn't know last week
17:27 UK time, Friday, 18 January 2008
Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.
1. The Scottish crossbill is the only bird unique to the UK.
2. Barack Obama attended a stag party in Wokingham.
3. Nicolas Sarkozy never had dinner at home in eight years, according to his ex-wife Cecilia.
4. Christopher Columbus introduced syphilis to Europe.
5. Carrots used to be purple.
6. Both men and women find long legs in the opposite sex attractive, but not too long.
7. Rodents used to weigh a tonne and have skulls half a metre long.
8. MPs can claim up to £250 a month without producing receipts.
9. There is no such thing as pure black.
10. Brazil has more people of African descent than any country outside of Africa.
Sources: 1 - Times, 15 January; 2 - Sunday Mirror, 13 January; 3 - Independent on Sunday, 13 January; 8 - Daily Telegraph, 17, January;
Seen 10 things? . Thanks to Hannah Foster for this week's picture of 10 Smarties - "My ten best things I had this week!").
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