Notebook Letters 12.

Burke is Christmas No 1

Alexandra Burke has entered the charts at No 1, with her cover of Hallelujah giving The X Factor's Simon Cowell his fourth consecutive Christmas No 1.

Burke sold 576, 000 copies, with Jeff Buckley's version selling 81, 00 at No 2. It's the first time since Singin' The Blues in 1957, that the same song has been at No 1 and No 2 in the chart.

Leonard Cohen's original version entered the chart at No 36.

1/7.

Arcade Fire boxed in

Arcade Fire have confirmed they have written the score for Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's new film.

After initially denying they would do the whole score, Wim Butler said they have now written The Box's soundtrack.

"Me, Regine and Owen did this Mellotron orchestral stuff," he told Pitchfork. "It's instrumental. No songs." He added the band were "really excited" about work on their next proper album.

2/7.

Sparro happy to be gold

Sam Sparro has admitted that Black And Gold has overshadowed the rest of his self-titled debut album.

"It's totally dominated everything else I've written," Sparro told PS. "It's not the way I would have wanted it, of course not, but I'm not so down about that as people might think.

He added: "I've had a massive hit, even it's only one so far. It's one more than I'd bargained for, so why moan?"

3/7.

G'N'R drummer in rehab

Ex Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler has been ordered into rehab.

Adler has been ordered by a Los Angeles court to take part in the state-sanctioned treatment programme in order to avoid a prison sentence, after he was convicted in July of possession and being under the influence of drugs.

Since the conviction, Adler, who was fired in 1990 for his drug intake, has appeared on a VH1 celebrity rehab show.

4/7.

MIA, Cool Kids find Karma

MIA has launched her own fashion range, Extended Merch. The T-shirts, leggings and bodysuits are inspired by the imagery from her Arular and Kala album covers, and are at karmaloop.com. The site is hosting a competition to design a T-shirt for The Cool Kids, with a prize of $10, 000.

M83 release Kim & Jessie, the third single from his Saturdays = Youth album, on February 2. It's backed by remixes from Montag and Data.

5/7.

Jets, Hands dropped

Mystery Jets and Cut Off Your Hands have been cropped by 679 Records. The label, which previously dropped The Futureheads, The Polyphonic Spree and The Stills, are now concentrating on Little Boots and Marina & The Diamonds.

Momus is giving away the six albums he recorded for Creation, with a track-by-track guide, at imomus.livejournal.com. Nick Currie said he doubts that Sony, who own the albums' rights, will ever release them.

6/7.

Macca sees the light

Paul McCartney has warned fans not to expected unreleased Beatles song Carnival of Light to be a classic.

The 14-minute experimental song was recorded in 1967, and McCartney said last month that he hoped the song would finally be released soon.

He told The Times: "People think there's another Strawberry Fields, but this is more plinky-plonky. I like it, but it's not to everyone's taste."

7/7.

Teletext page 821; 22nd of December, 2008.

* American literature has become more emotional and British books less so.

* Jaffa cakes are MPs' favourite tea-time snack.

* Russian bears get addicted to aviation fuel.

* South Korean media often refer to national politicians using only their initials.

* Despite huge variations in appearance, there is only one species of giant squid.

* Noam Chomsky's tipple is gin and topic.

* Relative to population size, Malta receives the most asylum applications.

* Twitter's logo used to be a garish green.

* Locust is the only insect considered kosher.

* Sydney Harbour ferry "the Anne Sergeant" is named after a netball coach.

10 things we didn't know last week; Ceefax page 129; 22nd of March, 2013.

I love Goldfrapp's first three albums, and I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen them live. But I'd hardly call Seventh Tree innovative. A brave step by the duo, yes, but innovative? No.

I dig it out from time to time, hoping for that eureka moment when it all makes sense. But, a couple of songs aside, it's still a big disappointment compared to those first three albums. Steve Clark

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 1/7.

* "Rose-water novel" is the French term for Mills and Boon-style books.

* Teenagers who stay up late tend to be more intelligent than their early-to-bed peers.

* Songs stuck in your head can be shifted by solving an anagram.

* South Africa was included in the BRICS as it made for a better acronym than Nigeria.

* You can pay for a front row seat in the US Supreme Court.

* Open plan offices stem from the idea of "Burolandschaft", meaning office landscaping.

* Female Amazonian turtles are the only turtles to care for their young.

* Almost half of the French- 43%- drink mineral water with their meals.

* The last Etonian to have a Number One hit in the UK was Humphrey Lyttleton.

* At a Swedish dinner party you should never fold your napkin and put it on the table before the hostess has done so.

10 things we didn't know last week; Ceefax page 129; 29th of March, 2013.

People who dismiss manufacture pop as glorified karaoke are spectacularly missing the point. Nobody manages a product to be terrible.

For all the passionless pop out there like Steps and Westlife, there are also some great bands where producers and writers put their talents to use on acts who make money, thus letting their labels plough the profits into news bands. To dismiss a whole genre is insanity. Kirkland Ciccone

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 2/7.

* The most "urban" job in America- that is, with the highest concentration in areas- is flight attendants.

* Holly Golightly, heroine of Breakfast at Tiffany's, was originally going to be called Connie Gustafson.

* Female octopuses stretch further to reach for food, resaerchers in Italy say.

* Jeremy Clarkson's exploits on Top Gear are avidly followed by many people in Iran.

* Exhaled breath can act as a "fingerprint" for individuals.

* More than 100 billion Earth-like planets that could be home to life may exist in our galaxy.

* Ordinary televisions can be used to track aircraft.

* People who complete secondary school are, on average,
1cm taller in old age than those who don't.

* All the gold in the world could fit into a cube with sides of just 20m (67ft).

* It costs £50 a week to feed a 23kg rabbit- the world's largest.

10 things we didn't know last week; Ceefax page 129; 5th of April, 2013.

I agree with Rich about Rick Rubin's talents. Rubin producing Leonard Cohen's next album? I'd buy it. As for Simon Cowell, his favourite song on Desert Island Discs was Mack The Knife. Says it all, really. Mike Purslow

Whatever by Oasis always reminds me of the £100 I lost when East 17 beat them to Christmas No 1. I had £10 on them at 9/ 1 the week before. I don't know, E17 probably still get £8-a-year royalties. There's no justice. Kieron Blackburn

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 3/7.

* Tears do not fall in space.

* Employees who install new web browsers on their computers perform better on average than those who use the default pre-installed browser that came with their machine.

* Methane eating micro-organisms carry out a deep clean of the oceans after an oil spill.

* Scientists are conducting searches for signs of extraterrestrial engineering.

* The most popular place to hide valuables is a sock drawer.

* Fractions of virtual currency Bitcoin are known as satoshis.

* People in China hold "fake funerals" for themselves, so they can "enjoy" the day.

* Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak belonged to a group of hackers and hobbyists called the Homebrew Computer Club.

* Brains can be rendered transparent.

* Countries with the death penalty are now outnumbered by about five to one, by those who have abolished it.

10 things we didn't know last week; Ceefax page 129; 12th of April, 2013.

I'm surprised that Davy Graham, one of the most influential musicians of the past 40 years has died, but nobody has mentioned it. RIP, Davy. Rob Slater

I'm a 36-year-old bloke who loves SFA, but I was very surprised by Girls Aloud singing live on ITV. Paul Lowe

AC/DC's If You Want Blood is the best live album. There are unbelievable versions of Bad Boy and Let There Be Rock, with an iconic sleeve. Flyin Frog

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 4/7.

* Quentin Tarantino prefers to listen to music on cassette.

* James Bond was originally going to be called James Secretan.

* Woolly monkeys can distinguish between hunters and other humans.

* Where you stand in the lift reflects your social status.

* The Ireland football team are banned from eating mushrooms.

* Spanish language show Sabado Gigante is America's longest running TV programme.

* Moths not only use their wings but pivot their abdomens up and down to hover.

* Roquefort was banned in Australia and New Zealand until 2005.

* Admission to the Handlebar Club is dependent on the candidate possessing a "hirsute appendage of the upper lip with graspable extermities".

* David Beckham drops his H sounds four times less than he used to.

10 things we didn't know last week; Ceefax page 129; 19th of April, 2013.

The best live album is The S*x Pistols' Live At Winterland, recorded the night before they split up. Johnny Rotten makes no attempt to hide his contempt for absolutely everyone in the room, especially for the rest of the band.

It culminates in him groaning "Oh, b*****ks, why should I carry on?" in the middle of their ironic closing song No Fun. "Ah ha ha, ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" It's the ideal Christmas gift. Marcus McLean

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 5/7.

* The Earth's inner core is as hot as the Sun's surface.

* David Cameron is life patron of Oxfordshire's Bee Keeping Association.

* Dubai police use a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.

* Bill Bailey bought an owl in a Chinese restaurant to take it off the menu.

* Women really are satisfied by deep, husky voices.

* Using a mobile phone is contagious.

* The average Australian is a 37-year-old woman with two children.

* Video games can fix lazy eyes.

* Justin Bieber and Will.i.am used to live next door to each other.

* A "big cat" was on the loose in the English countryside at the turn of the last century.

10 things we didn't know last week; 26th of April, 2013.

Top 10 albums of 2008

1) Songs In A&E Spiritualized
2) For Emma, Forever Ago Bon Iver
3) Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! Nick Cave
4) Oracular Spectacular MGMT
5) Dear Science TV On The Radio
6) Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endelaust Sigur Ros
7) Stainless Steel Neon Neon
Eight) Conor Oberst Conor Oberst
9) Do You Like Rock Music? British Sea Power
10) The Seldom Seen Kid Elbow

Lem Fatale

The Void; Teletext page 825; 22nd of December, 2008; 6/7.

* Midsomer Murders is massive in Denmark.

* Quick fingerspellers can do the alphabet in five or six seconds.

* Fruit fly maggots have cannibalistic tendencies.

* "Lucifer" and "." (full stop) are banned names in New Zealand.

* The northern snakehead fish- aka "Fishzilla"- can live under ice and survive for days on land.

* Crying baby contests are held in Japan.

* A hurricane on Saturn has winds of 330mph and an eye 12 times the size of the UK.

* An XXXXXXLuniform is being made for larger UK workers.

* Laser beam technology is to be used by financial traders to shave time off deals.

* Six million feral pigs live in the US.

10 things we didn't know last week; 3rd of May, 2013.

By John Earls

Top 10 singles of 2008

16) VV BROWN Crying Blood

Previously awriter for Sugababes and Pussycat Dolls, Brown is showing a fine personality of her own. This, all heartbreak lyrics, set to the dizzying fun Amy Winehouse used to have, is typical of her inventive modern pop.

15) TRAVIS J Smith

A deliciously barking rock opera to launch their label, this was as far from cute everyman pop as possible, yet still with a superb melodic ear.

1/4.

New singles out this week

DEL MARQUIS Hothouse 8/10

With Scissor Sisters having a break, guitarist Marquis offers a surprising diversion, lead song Remember Me Young is a ballad that would belong on ABC's Lexicon of Love, and he has a strong luxurious croon to go with it. Worth a look, even if you're not a Sisters fan.

LA ROUX Quicksand 7/10

The young Brixtonite offers a strong sense of OTT '80s synthpop, not afraid to be ridiculous. A promising start.

2/4.

Teletext page 822; 22nd of December, 2008.

* Moustache transplants are popular in Turkey.

* Chilli flourishes besides basil but struggles to grow near fennel.

* John Le Carre has a poster on his office wall saying "Keep Calm and Le Carre On".

* It's a myth that London tap water has already been drunk seven times or more.

* Michael Gove is learning the ukelele.

* Moths have the sharpest hearing in the animal kingdom.

* If The Queen's Speech is amended, the prime minister must resign.

* Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix tried to recruit Paul McCartney for a super group.

* Messiah is in the Top 400 names for boys in America.

* The French use the saying "un self-made man".

10 things we didn't know last week; 10th of May, 2013.

By John Earls

Top 50 albums of 2008

16) SHE & HIM Volume One

Whoever would have guessed that middling Zooey Deschanel would prove such a wonderful writer of aching ballads? She seemed to step straight from the East Village in 1965, abetted by M Ward's sensitive playing. Lovely.

15) ROBERT FORSTER The Evangelist

Forster's first album since the death of Grant McLennan was typically subtle pop nuggets with his fruity, expressive voice savouring every word.

1/4.

ARCADE FIRE Miroir Noire

One of the few modern bands to retain any mystery, the elusive collective's first DVD should be enlightening.

Unfortunately, they're so determined to retain that aura that this mix of live footage and a Making Of documentary about Neon Bible is a big disappointment.

The gig footage stops and starts in the middle of songs, while the recording process similarly ends just when it gets enlightening.

2/4.

Teletext page 823; 22nd of December, 2008.

"God's bones" was the sweariest expression in medieval times.

* There is more protein in a caterpillar than a dung beetle.

* Sportsmen who choose to compete in red have higher levels of testosterone than those in blue.

* Women's immune systems age slower than men's.

* Using "don't" and "won't" corectly in online dating messages boosts response rates by more than a third.

* New Zealand has the highest per capita cat ownership in the world.

* Philip Hammond used to be a Guardian-reading goth.

* A KFC family meal in Gaza costs £18 and must be brought in by tunnel from Egypt.

* Swans can fall in love with helicopters.

* The inventor of Coca Cola also created a popular drink called French Wine Coca.

10 things we didn't know last week; 17th of May, 2013.

The Kills' Jamie Hince

By John Earls

Are you bring it on or bah humbug about Christmas?

Until last year, I was bah humbug. But spending it at my girlfriend's place in the country, where there are kids everywhere, it's brilliant seeing them so excited. I'm the world's biggest atheist, but I'd have to be pretty childish to get grumpy about it around the kids. They've made me excited about it again.

Who do you want under the mistletoe?

(Comedy Manc) accent: Meeee girlfriend.

What do you want for Christmas?

I wanted an old Toyota pick-up, as they're indestructible vehicles and you can get them for £600, but I've gone off the idea. What was I going to do with it, drive over fields? Stupid. I don't know what I want, really.

What was your best ever present?

A mix of the best and worst. When I was really little, I woke up at 4.45, and I got Super Striker. Within minutes, I broke it and cried myself back to sleep.

Are you a good present buyer?

I hope so. I went crazy in Japan when we toured there recently, in a weird and wonderful department store called Tokyo Hands. I opened my suitcase when I got home, and I don't know what I was thinking. It's full of ridiculous things like miniature magnetic fish and money boxes that eat money.

We had hardly any time to go shopping, about 45 minutes, so I had to shut my brain off and just go for it.

What's the best ever Christmas song?

Fairytale of New York. It's got loads of depth to it, it's just so smart. It's a proper p***ed-up, fighting and hating each other, yet being companions song. It's amazing. Brutally bad, but so uplifting. What more could you want?

I like the idea of doing a Kills Christmas song next year. The Pogues' proves they don't have to be naff and, if we can still do a cool one, why not? Let's do something that'll make us popular!

What are your Christmas party tips?

Kate's country place has a barn where I can jam with whoever's around.Booze, good company, a couple of amps, a Hofner guitar, maybe a dry ice machine.

Where will you be for New Year?

Thailand, for a couple of weeks. Kate and I went last year, and it was the best New Year I've ever had. I'd never have thought of going somewhere hot, but we did it as a spontaneous trip and it was the most magical adventure.

What was your worst new year?

I used to live in a squat in Brixton for 15 years with 13 people. We removed a toilet so someone slept in there. There were different gangs in the house. Hardcore lesbians in the basement, all the people with jobs on one floor.

I can't remember what year it was, 1995 or so, but as the counted down to New Year, I knocked a bottle of champagne down the back of the telly. The TV exploded and all the lights went out.

Teletext page 824; 22nd of December, 2008.

* Eccles cakes should not be microwaved.

* Cockroach taste cells have evolved to outwit glucose traps.

* The creator of the GIF says it should be pronounced "jif".

* The French call a walkie-talkie a talkie-walkie.

* Fungi's favourite place to live on the body is the heel.

* The Borussia in Dortmund is the Latin name for Prussia but the team is said to have been named after the local brewery.

* Vitamin C can kill drug resistant TB.

* Neanderthal babies were weaned after 1.2 years.

* Changing the spelling of common names is known as kree8iv.

* The pigment gene SLC45A2 causes tigers to be white.

10 things we didn't know last week; 24th of May, 2013.

A bit of all bright

My fave vampire movie has to be Fright Night, endlessly quotable and a very, very cool lead vamp in Chris Sarandon: "You're so cool, Brewster." Joe, Dysart

Best vampire flick? Blade. Chris, Milton Keynes

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 22nd of December, 2008; 1/6.

* The French had no official word for French kissing... until now. It's "galocher".

* XXXXXL size is being introduced for men at department store Debenhams, a three-X leap from its former largest size XXL.

* There's a secret rotating button underneath pedestrian push button boxes so blind people know when to cross.

* At least one in 13 of us have feet that are specially adapted for climbing trees.

* A new atomic clock, which is the most accurate ever, uses ytterbium atoms and lasers to precisely define a second.

* Time doesn't fly when you're having fun (we just remember a lot more detail than normal after enjoying something so think it went quickly).

* Shrimp, tuna and salmon account for more than half of the fish consumed in the United States.

* 6x8 is the multiplication children get wrong most while 9x12 takes longest.

* Nottingham is Britain's poorest city.

* More than a third of legislators in Brazil switched political parties between 1991 and 1994.

10 things we didn't know last week; 31st of May, 2013.

Bunch of Wall-Es

Deeply upset that Wall-E extra feature does not have English subtitles, but has seven different foreign subtitles! Unbelievable that this is happening. Neil, Solihull

Jack has a point. What about Shocker? He was a good villain. Frank, Glasgow

Does anybody have the name of a film with a green alien monkey whose owners could turn invisible by closing their eyes and concentrating? Rob, Edmonton

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 22nd of December, 2008; 2/6.

* Sleep deprived men think women are more amorous than they actually are.

* You can steer a helicopter with your thoughts.

* Designer John Galliano was so cosseted he had no idea how to use a cash machine.

* One visitor a month is bitten by monkeys at London Zoo.

*Obese mice have fat grandchildren (not children).

* Babies learn to grimace in the womb so that they can show they are unhappy after birth.

* Shares bought by female company directors do better in the long-term than those bought by male directors.

* In France's Bac Litteraire, philosophy counts more than any other subject.

* Caterpillars can turn white.

* Boys are given names containing larger sounding vowels than girls.

10 things we didn't know last week; 7th of June, 2013.

Hip and happening

Gav, Leeds I totally disagree. The Happening was one of the many films of the year. Other faves include Funny Games, Batman, Ironman, even X-Files. When is the sequel to The Punisher out? Merry Christmas, all. Gemma, Leigh

Keanu Reeves is going to appear as one of the 47 Ronin in a film of the same name. How is he going to look like an 18th century samurai? How's that for sick making. Tony, Peterborough

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 22nd of December, 2008; 3/6.