Interesting Words – Swear Words
According to research presented at the Sociolinguistics Symposium, children start swearing at a much earlier age than they did a few decades ago. (Seemingly in the UK kids start swearing at the age of 4! In the 1980s most children didn’t start to swear until they were 13. (I don’t think I swore until I […]
Interesting Fact – Pollution
Diesel drivers in the UK are facing a congestion charge in 16 UK cities from 2020. Maarten van den Heuvel – twitter.com/mvdheuvel (Dubbed the “T tax” (here T stands for toxic), the first cities to receive approval are Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham, London, and Southampton. Cities that are considering clean air zones are Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Hull, […]
Interesting Fact – Work
According to research conducted by Nationwide, office workers in the UK spend an average of £40,000 during their careers on treats, traditions, whip rounds and equipment associated with the job. (All those tea jars, after work drinks, leaving presents, highlighters etc. add up. In fact tea and coffee clubs alone cost £66.36 a year.)
Interesting Fact – Young People
According to a survey carried out by (of all people) Hillary Blinds, having access to the internet is more important to young people in the UK than daylight, hot water, the NHS, or a good night’s sleep. (So, it looks like we will end up with a generation of pasty faced, smelly, tired young people […]
Interesting Fact – Television
The first TV licence in the UK cost 10 shillings (that’s 50p in today’s money). (The licence was originally known as a wireless licence, and today it costs £145.50 for a colour TV. That’s inflation for you.)