Notebook Letters 11

* Facebook's population is as large as that of the entire world in 1804.

* Shadow business secretary chuka umunna was part of the choir that sang the theme tune to Mr Bean.

* In the German translation of A Bear Called Paddington, the small talk is omitted.

* The word "disco" originally meant "a type of short, sleeveless dress".

* Friendly baboons do better in life than baboons who are loners.

* Dame Judi Dench has the Bond theme as her ringtone.

* Set off 37 metronomes on a flexible table, and even if they're all out of step with each other, they will synchronise within a couple of minutes.

* The exhausts of Ford Mustang muscle cars are tuned to be just under the US legal limit.

* A queue in which all customers are ordered into one big snaking line, demarcated by ropes or barriers, is called a serpentine queue.

* Honey can turn blue and green.

10 things we didn't know last week; 5th of October, 2012.

New singles by John Earls

OASIS The Shock of The Lightning 8/10

While they've kept on top of big old ballads and boozy singalongs, it's been a while since we were treated to Noel Gallagher's scuzzy punk side.

Welcome back, then, to Liam Gallagher in a new deeper register as Gem Archer and Noel batttle to be first to the finish line on a charged guitar deal. They weren't wrong when they said it sounds demo-y, and it's all the more electric for it.

1/6.

New singles out this week

THE COURTEENERS That Kiss 8/10

Overlooked in their self-mythologising ways has been Liam Fray's adept way with a sensitive lyric. Their first serious use of strings, it's handled sensitively, rather than a superfluous ornament, and adds intrigue as to what they'll have in store next.

PETER CONWAY Breakthrough 6/10

A great jittering double-bass, if only Kilburn boy Conway didn't strain to be a Deep South bluesman it'd be fabulous.

2/6.

New singles out this week

THE STREETS Everything Is Borrowed 6/10

The title track of the album sums up its highs and lows: heart on sleeve positivity lyrics about making the most of life are lovely, but Mike Skinner's voice is too weak to do them justice with his flat singing.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND From The Top of The World 6/10

Dramatically sung torch ballad but, despite strings in the background, it's too low-key and brooding to operate as a single.

3/6.

New singles out this week

ELBOW The Bones of You 8/10

Few lyricists can write a line like "I love the bones of you" and sound like they mean it. When Guy Garvey can do erudition, he's at home with plain speaking and so are the band on a moment of tranquil, understated beauty.

IT HUGS BACK Work Day 7/10

Newly signed to 4AD, the Kent band up a gear to lovely C86 jangly pop. It won't herald the revolution, but it shimmers in all the right places.

4/6.

New singles out this week

THE VINES He's A Rocker 4/10

Fair play for perservering long after the world moved on but this is terrible. Fourth-year lyrics about the joys of rock & roll, trite pup garage backing and an unintentionally squawking chorus. Why?

EL GUINCHO Palmitos Park 8/10

The missing link between Sun Ra and Sonny J, the Canary Islands musician creates battering ram joyous percussion and spooky tribal moans. Fantastic.

5/6.

New singles out this week

MR SCRUFF Music Takes Me Up 5/10

A typically cute video of dancing fruit can't disguise that Scruff's animation is more vivid than his music these days. He's stuck on supper-club jazz autopilot and alice Russell's sleepy vocals only enhance the torper.

THE ALL NEW ADVENTURES OF US Firetruck 7/10

The verses might be twee, but with a chorus that swings like The Boo Radleys in its brassy pomp they can be forgiven for anything.

6/6.

Teletext page 823; 29th of September, 2008.

* People prone to feeling guilty make for the best friends.

* Mice can learn songs.

* the duchess of cambridge grows her own potatoes.

* Women get more stressed than men when we read bad news stories.

* Plants grow better if you talk to them in a north-east of England accent.

* Dogs work better when they've had their breakfast.

* Men named Brian and women called Helen have the best credit profiles in the UK on average.

* Chinese soft-shelled turtles pass waste through their mouths.

* Men with high testosterone levels lie less.

* Bull sharks have the strongest bite of any sharks.

10 things we didn't know last week; 12th of October, 2012.

Costner crits unfair

I enjoyed every film that Victor Olliver listed in his "films that buried Kevin Costner" list and believe the pounding Kev gets from the critics is unfair. Wyatt Earp is a brilliant film.

Mark Lynch, Plymouth

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 29th of September, 2008; 1/6.

* Dolphins can stay awake for 15 days at a time.

* Two thirds of British men don't wash their hands after using motorway toilets.

* The world's most expensive cocktail used ingredients totalling around £5, 500 ($8, 830).

* Three-quarters of rats in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire have mutated to become resistant to poison.

* Petrol can be produced from fresh air.

* There are 1, 368 different wine grapes used commercially around the world.

* Michael Fish has about a hundred fish themed ties.

* Flying ant day is a myth.

* Prehistoric fish, not sharks as previously thought, are believed to be the first vertebrates to develop teeth and jaws.

*Sound barrier-breaking skydiver Felix Baumgartner drew a picture at the age of five which predicted his future career.

10 things we didn't know last week; 19th of October, 2012.

Gervais hasn't bombed

It's premature to describe Ricky Gervais's new film Ghost Town as having bombed. If it cost approx $10m to make, and took a quarter of that in the opening weekend, then surely a 25% in the first few days is acceptable? Besides, Metacritic rates it as 72% and Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 86%. Gary Hilton, Bolton

Vortex: See how it does outside the US.

Vortex; Teletext page 827; 29th of September, 2008; 2/6.

*Honey bees can stun with their bite.

* Since colour TV, only one candidate (bob dole) has worn a green tie in a US presidential debate.

* Elizabeth Taylor's annual earnings from beyond the grave outstrip those of michael jackson.

* Dogs copy their owners' yawns from the age of seven months.

* Some 10% of UK lottery millionaires buy a caravan.

* Formula organisers in India have to "dog-proof" their tracks.

* The actor who plays Q in the new James Bond film doesn't own a computer.

* Dinosaurs may have evolved wings for courtship displays.

* Blood wine is rarely red.

* British mp jamie reed was a contestant on the children's fantasy roleplaying gameshow Knightmare where he "perished by spider".

10 things we didn't know last week; 26th of October, 2012.

Waterworld not a turkey

Calling Waterworld a turkey is unfair. It cost silly money but BO was good enough to give a satisfactory return on Universal's investment.

I agree that it is fun though preposterous. There's a great story about the producer who commissioned the script hoping for a cheap Mad Max knock-off. When he read the result, he cried "Are you crazy? That'll cost $5m."

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 29th of September, 2008; 3/6.

* It takes six hours to reset Big Ben from BST to GMT.

* Watching a horror film burns more calories than films of other genres- about 200 calories.

* Ikea have sold over 11 billion meatballs in the UK.

* Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal uses tampons as palate-cleansers.

* Mars has soil similar to Hawaii's.

* New Scotland Yard is actually New New Scotland Yard.

* Cornwall has the world's largest witchcraft museum.

* "Sergeant" was spelt with a "j" in the Royal Air Force.

* Norwegians spend the most on dog food.

* Clarks are the shoe of choice for Jamaica's musicians.

10 things we didn't know last week; 2nd of November, 2012.

Waterworld not a turkey

Regarding Mr Brooks: my mother worked with psychiatric patients, including a few multiple murderers, for several years and thought Costner nailed his character.

Apparently, the homicidal maniacs were liked by institution staff, apart from one fellow who had terrible manners. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to put a jumper on. I've got chills all of a sudden.

Regards, Tim Ruffle

Vortex; Teletext page 827; 29th of September, 2008; 4/6.

* Dogs prefer classical music to other genres.

* Germany and the UK send fewer students to the US than Nepal or Vietnam.

* The British have invaded 90% of the world's countries.

* abraham lincoln is the US president who has been portrayed most on film.

* Crocodiles' jaws are more sensitive than human fingertips.

* Daniel O'Donnell is the only artist to have had an album in the UK charts each year for the last 25 years consecutively.

* There is a correlation between the amount of chocolate a country consumes and the number of Nobel laureates it produces.

* The nests of Australian superb fairy wrens are password-protected.

* Apple holds the patent for rounded corners on electronic devices.

* The staff carried by the next archbishop of Canterbury, justin welby, has a rock badger carved on it because he once burst out laughing while reading aloud in church a biblical passage about the animal.

10 things we didn't know last week; 9th of November, 2012.

Don't box zombies

I've seen vampire films in which they can walk in sunlight, swat aside crosses with derision, but they are still vampires. So zombies don't have to follow rules to qualify as zombies. Denzil, Elgin

For the love of God, stop going on about 28 Days Later and whether they're zombies or not! Bored already!

Sleege Allen, Shropshire

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 29th of September, 2008; 5/6.

* There used to be first-class carriages on London's Tube and the Paris Metro.

* Virgin birth is possible for wild snakes.

* People are more likely to spend banknotes when they are grubby.

* Grasshoppers change their tune when living beside heavy traffic.

* You need a license to sell seaweed in England.

* Ovaltine was initially called Ovalmaltine until a typo.

* Men with a partner increase the space between themselves and an attractive woman if exposed to the bonding hormone oxytocin.

* david cameron prefers using pencils to pens at his desk.

* South American crickets hear like humans do.

* In Amhult, where Ikea was founded, the company's hotel has a choice of reading material: the New Testament or the Ikea catalogue.

10 things we didn't know last week; 16th of November, 2012.

Worlds excellent

Jamie, Manchester: Could you be any more wrong! War of The Worlds is an excellent remake! You obviously have not read the book, it keeps its essence with a contemporary relevance, much like Keanu Reeves' forthcoming The Day The Earth Stood Still, which is generating good buzz. House of Wax was tripe. MovieDude, Warwickshire

Worst remake: Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The best: the thing. Anon, Stockport

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 29th of September, 2008; 6/6.

* prince philip takes naps in his horse box.

* There is 200 times more faecal bacteria on a chopping board than a toilet seat.

* Great apes have mid-life crises.

* People in the UK become grandparents at 47 on average.

* osama bin laden's burial at sea was confirmed by a senior US sailor with the coded message "FedEx delivered the package".

* The popular belief that angels sang to the shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus is not true, according to the pope.

* Some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements.

* Americans use 5m km of dental floss a year.

* The giant bird Diatryma was a "gentle herbivore" and not a fierce carnivore, as previously thought.

* N*de dancing in str*p clubs is a form of free speech in the US.

10 things we didn't know last week; 23rd of November, 2012.

The Aliens/ Luna

Reviews by John Earls

More of a folk and prog excursion than their debut, this feels like what would have happened if The Beta Band had kept Gordon Anderson as their vocalist.

Still entertaining in the main, it slips up with a couple of endless noodles like Luna's navel-gazing.

Do investigate, though, because music as joyful as Sunlamp Show or as enigmatic as Bobby's Song is hard to come by. Mostly successful experiments.

1/6.

Mercury Rev/ Snowflake Midnight

Their first album since their Best Of, trying to figure out what to do next sees them come unstuck.

In the past, they crossed the line between stargazing joy and naive hippy meanderings. Not so this time.

Butterfly's Wing is sentimental gloop, Runaway Raindrop like a flower power pastiche and Unpredictable never gets going. When their majesty returns on Cars, the respite is brief. 5/10

2/6.

Travis/ Ode To J Smith

For once, "We're putting it out on our own label" means an artistic rebirth.

Only those who've seen Travis live, where the album versions turn into rock behemoths, know what to expect.

Fitting joyfully between gonzo rock opera (no, really), Silver Sun shining power-pop and their Good Feeling debut, it's a joyous racket. Always better as underdogs, it's a band whose only link to their past is great melodies. 8/10

3/6.

Ra Ra Riot/ The Rhumb Line 7/10

Drummer John Pike died in mysterious circumstances just as the band were getting noticed in 2006, and it's taken until now for the NYC band to recover.

Gorgeous if unfortunately titled single Dying Is Fine is the template, all breathless indie disco vocals atop violin-driven headrush euphoria.

That dizzy violin that marks them out, an integral part of strong rock melodies. Riot, no. Two cheers, yes.

4/6.

Saint Etienne/ London Conversations: The Best Of

Like New Order, Saint Etienne are in danger of having more compilations than original albums.

Obsessively catologuing their past does them few favours. Sure, He's On The Phone and Bad Way are magisterial disco but we knew that from their past Best Ofs, and just because the recent stuff stands up, does that justify a new one?

They'd be better served by new songs. 8 for the music, 4 for the idea.

5/6.

The Faint/ Fascination

Having fallen out of favour, the Americans in thrall to early '80s synthpop go back to their roots.

While maintaining the Liars tinge of experimentation from their recent work, it's only a surface touch as at heart these are melodies that would fit on Art of Falling Apart-era Soft Cell.

This is for the best, as cheery vocals and an ear for sleaze have more sympathy for the era than most. 7/10

6/6.

Teletext page 824; 29th of September, 2008.

* Blue whales do 360 degree rolls before attcking prey.

* CT scanners are used on Egyptian mummies.

* Grapefruit can make some drugs dangerous.

* Lithuania has the highest suicide rate in the world.

* Siamese fighting fish take gulps of air from above water to boost their energy uptake during battles.

* UK floods don't have a long-term impact on property prices.

* Bosses are more likely to hire someone they fancy.

* Belgium's lemmings went extinct five times during the Ice Age.

* A by-product of digested cholestrol offers an accurate chronological record of early man.

* Crocodiles' scaly head patterns are caused by skin cracking.

10 things we didn't know last week; 30th of November, 2012.

Oh, i just post old letters from my notebooks.

I'm 36 next week, and music still moves me. I'm sitting in the dark, with only the light of the fire on an autumnal Sunday evening, listening to Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid. Queen B

While Glasvegas' album is exceptional, I can't understand why Jade finds the lyrics emotionally charged to listen to. I can't understand a word of it. Is it English? Don't read the lyric sheet and you'll be fine. Eddie Clarke

The Void; Teletext page 827; 30th of September, 2008; 1/7.

* Prehistoric woolly rhinos were the same size as today's Javan rhino.

* The perfect number of baubles on a Christmas tree is 0.206 multiplied by the height of the tree in centimetres.

* Gaps from chalk excavation in the 17th Century can cause massive holes today.

* Bobby Womack is terrified of cats.

* The average person's DNA has 400 flaws.

* There are more second homes in Kensington and Chelsea than the Lake District.

* Catfish have learnt to hunt for pigeons.

* Graphene can be made into blocks by copying the cellular structure of cork.

* In the video for Fairytale of New York, the choir are singing the Mickey Mouse Club chant.

10 things we didn't know last week; 7th of December, 2012.

Can Earls give 8/10 to two of the year's worst singles this year? The lack of imagination in The Courteeners' new one beggars belief while, beneath the din, The Shock of The Lightning is the riff from Bryan Adams' The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You. Where's Earls' quality control? Aeniman

Earls is right about Elbow. I can't imagine anyone watching them perform One Day Like This whose heart didn't melt. Jonno

The Void; Teletext page 827; 30th of September, 2008; 2/7.

* Dogs can sniff out superbugs.

* In China, crowded public swimming pools are called boiling dumplings.

* After a minute on the floor, food has 10 times more bacteria than after five seconds.

* Female fish fancy males who flirt with other males.

* Orkney has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world.

* Climbing stairs one at a time burns more calories than leaping up multiple steps.

* King's Lynn is the caravan capital of England and Wales.

* Gypsies arrived in Europe 1, 500 years ago.

* Backward-facing barbs make porcupine prickles hard to remove.

* You can use a vibrator to save a tortoise's life.

10 things we didn't know last week; 14th of December, 2012.

I may not like Oasis' music, but I recognise interviews with the Gallagher brothers are brilliant to read, and music mags would be a poorer place without their wit.

It's rare for frontmen to give good interviews these days, they're mostly ordinary people whose views on politics are naive. Liam Fray is a mouth on legs who is as compelling as a newspaper with the headline "Typhoon blows cottages down". Kirkland Ciccone

The Void; Teletext page 827; 30th of September, 2008; 3/7.

* There is a North Korean video game called Pyongyang Race.

* Reindeer really do have red noses.

* Humans outnumber rats by six to one in the UK.

* Pizza Hut in Singapore sells a pizza in a pizza.

* politicians in Japan wave sea breams to mimic sumo wrestlers.

* Early historical references to Christmas trees place the first one in Tallinn.

* Linking two hormones into a single molecule cuts obesity in mice.

* David Tennant pees in his garden to ward off foxes.

* Wild elephants living in China 3, 000 years ago belonged to the extinct genus Palaeoloxodon.

* In 1902, the Walls made the first recording of a family Christmas.

10 things we didn't know last week; 21st of December, 2012.

Why are people complaining about albums being mastered too loudly? Albums were being drowned in their bass at the start of the decade. Then again, I'd take that over albums that are mastered too quietly, like Psalm 69 is. Tyler Durden

To the Voider suggesting that, for good music radio, I listen to 6 Music on an iPod, how will that work in a welding workshop of 40 lads? I do listen to Radio 2, but only after 3pm. I'm only 38. Elmo

The Void; Teletext page 827; 30th of September, 2008; 4/7.