Interesting Facts - Page 1

The last song played on Top of the Pops was Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' featuring Wyclef Jean. Top of the Pops ran from 1 Jan 1964 to 30 July 2006.

The fastest recorded speed of a football during a football match is 80.4mph by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink against Arsenal in 1998 from 25 yards at Highbury.

The first Philips video cassette recorder, the N1500, was launched in 1972. It cost £442, about £4,000 at 2007 prices. It could record an hour per tape.

There are an estimated 925,000 described species of insect (arthropods) in the world. This includes 360,000 beetle and 170,000 butterfly/moth species.

As actor Robert Downey Sr.'s name scrolls up the screen during the credits of the 2000 film 'The Family Man', the words "(a prince)" appear next to it.

Bedsteads used to have rope across them instead of wooden slats. The rope would be pulled and retied as it stretched, hence the phrase "sleep tight".

Terry McCann drove a white Mk II Ford Capri 2.0S, registration SLE 71R in series 1-2 of Minder and a Mk III Capri registration EUC 223V in series 4-7.

The world's first billionaire sportsman was Michael Schumacher. Tiger Woods was the second. Woods is now the world's highest-earning sportsman.

A Cheetah runs faster than other cats because of its larger nostrils (more oxygen), enlarged heart & lungs, and use of its tail in rudder-like steering.

The average number of steps on a standard staircase in UK is 13. The width of a standard staircase is 860mm. The maximum step height allowed is 220mm.

According to the Guinness World Records, Radhakant Bajpai of India has the longest ear hair ever. It is 13.2cm (or 5.19ins) long, measured in 2003.

The sand cat (felis margarita) can live without drinking water as it obtains all the necessary fluids from its prey - small rodents, reptiles & insects.

The first Barbie was available as either a blonde or a brunette. She wore a zebra-striped swimsuit, and had a ponytail. Barbie's surname is Roberts.

The most commonly used word in the English language is "the". The next 15 are: of, to, and, a, in, is, it, you, that, he, was, for, on, are, and with.

The Magnavox Odyssey (1972) was the world's first commercially sold video game console. It was invented by Ralph Baer & based on an idea he had in 1951.

Grover Cleveland is the only US president to lose office and then regain it in a later election. He was in office from 1885-89, and again from 1893-97.

The 1891 Treaty of Madrid stated only wine produced in the Champagne region could be called champagne. This was reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles.

5 football teams with the letter X: Neuchetel Xamax (Switzerland), Xanthi (Greece), Hunan Xiangjun (China), Xelaju MC (Guatemala), Xerez (Spain)

The Porsche 911 made its motor show debut at Frankfurt on 11 Sept 1963. It was to be the 901, but Peugeot already used 3-number names with 0 in them.

'Do Or Die' by Super Furry Animals on TOTP lasted 95 seconds; the shortest ever performance. Green Day's 'Jesus of Surburbia' was longest, at 9 minutes.

John Alexander Brodie invented the goal net for use in football matches. John Brodie was better known for being Liverpool's City Engineer from 1898.

'Tail end Charlie' became a slang term for a rear gunner during WWIl. The first Tail End Charlie was Charles Cooper, the first commissioned rear gunner.

Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland and Wales have played in every Rugby World Cup (5 times).