This rather depressing (if you're Scottish) story in the Sun is about life expectancy in

Scotland. Seemingly, living "north of the border" can take years off your life. And 8 of
the 10 areas with the lowest life expectancy for men are in Scotland - as are seven of the
10 worst regions for women. Sadly the worst prospects of all are for residents of
Glasgow, where, on average, men die 13 years before those in posh districts of London where women also live for 11 years longer than Glaswegian females. It must be all those
deep-fried Mars bars.
The headline is a play on the title of a patriotic song, an "unofficial" national anthem of
Scotland, "Scotland the Brave", substituting the word "grave".

'Scotland the Grave'

Shame ... Scots are more likely to die young than other Brits
SCOTS are more likely than other Brits to go to an early grave, "horrific" new figures
revealed yesterday.
A UK-wide survey found that living north of the border takes YEARS off your life - with
our regions dominating death tables.
Shockingly, eight of 10 areas with the lowest life expectancy for men are in Scotland - as
are seven of the 10 worst regions for women.
The worst prospects of all are for residents of Glasgow, where, on average, men die 13
YEARS before those in posh districts of London - where women also live for 11 YEARS
longer than Glaswegian females.
Last night Glasgow Tory MSP Bill Aitken said: "The figures are horrific. They represent
the high levels of alcohol and drug abuse in this city which - combined with excessive
smoking - are condemning people to ill health and early death.
"People must take responsibility for their own health. But we also need to educate people
about better lifestyles."
The Office for National Statistics report shows the average UK man will live until he's
77.9. But in Scotland the figure is only 75.4 years.
For women, the average life expectancy is 82 in the UK as a whole but only 80.1 in
Scotland. Both male and female figures are the lowest.
The average Glaswegian man will die just after his 71st birthday, while women in the city
have a life expectancy of 77.5 years. Once again, both lifespans are the lowest in Britain.

But in London's plush Kensington and Chelsea areas, the average man can expect to live
until he is 84 and a woman until 89.
Life expectancy for other areas of Scotland is also frighteningly low.
Men in West Dunbartonshire live for 72.5 years on average, which is only a few months
more than Inverclyde (73.1 years), the Western Isles (73.5) and North Lanarkshire,
Renfrewshire and Dundee (all 73.7).
For women, the area with the lowest average lifespan outside Glasgow is North
Lanarkshire with 78.5 years, then East Ayrshire (78.8), West Dunbartonshire (78.4) and
Inverclyde (79).
Last night Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "We are aware we still live in a
Scotland where the poorest in society suffer from unacceptable inequalities in health.
"This can't be solved overnight. It will take generations to see a change.
"The only way to deal with health inequalities effectively is to address the underlying
causes - issues such as negative early years experiences, poverty, unemployment and poor
physical and social environments."
Duncan McNeil, Labour MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, said: "It is a sad indictment
of our society that someone in my community can expect to live around 10 years less
than someone else who lives just minutes along the road in a better-off area."
And Elaine Smith, Labour MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, North Lanarkshire, said:
"These figures are a stark reminder of the vast inequalities that exist in this country."
Even Scots OAPs can expect to be drawing their pensions for a much shorter time than
old folk elsewhere in Britain.
Glasgow men who reach 65 can expect to live just another 13.9 years - 10 years less than
a male OAP in Kensington and Chelsea.
A Glaswegian woman who reaches 65 will live another 17.6 years on average, compared
to an extra 26.5 years in the affluent London district.But a spokesman for Age Scotland
blamed our WEATHER for the early deaths of OAPs.
He said: "It's colder up here and housing has traditionally been much worse. As you get
older the body is less able to stand extreme conditions and you become more susceptible
to illness.
"Exercising is key. It helps with physical wellbeing and also the mental side of growing
older."

Interesting Place - Hamburg

Hamburg in Germany has scooped the title European Green Capital of 2011.
(The award is given to a city that: Has a consistent record of achieving high environmental standards
Is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental
improvement and sustainable development
Can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to all
other European cities)

Interesting Numbers
111,111,111 multiplied by itself equals 12,345,678,987,654,321.
(The result is the same forwards and backwards, and it contains all the numbers from 1
to 9, which first increase and then decrease. If you don't believe me, try it.)

Interesting Fact - British Music

Organisers of the Glastonbury music festival have allegedly taken the surprise decision to
cancel the world-famous music event in 2012 because so many of the nations Portaloos
will be in use at the Olympics.

Interesting Place - Sedrun

The world's longest tunnel has just been completed at Sedrun in Switzerland.
(The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) cost over 9 billion Swiss Francs. With a length of 57
km (35.4 miles) and a total of 151.84 km (94.3 miles) of tunnels, shafts and passages, it
is the world's longest rail tunnel, surpassing the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. After 14 years
of drilling, the tunnel is now all the way through.)

Interesting Fact - Happiness

According to the results of a long-term study in Germany, people who prioritize family,
friends, altruistic goals, and exercise are happier than those just chasing money and
success.
(Researchers analysed data gathered by the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey
(SOEP) from its widespread study of 60,000 Germans over 25 years. They found that the
way people prioritise their lives was the key to happiness.
One of the study's authors, Gert Wagner said, "Social goals are more important than

materialistic goals." He added, "It's good to be healthy and in order to be healthy, it's
good for you if you do a little bit of sport."

Interesting Fact - Films

The strict anti-smoking laws in Wales meant that special effects had to be used on the set
of the film "Mr Nice".
(The film tells the story of Howard Marks (Mr Nice), an amateur drug smuggler from a
more innocent time. It's based on the book of the same name and of course involves lots
of smoking of various substances, but they had to use special effects machinery to
simulate the actual smoking because in Wales it is illegal to smoke on a movie set. How
times have changed.)

Interesting Fact - Retirement

According to a study by Barclays Wealth, British people are more likely to carry on
working after retirement age than any other nation.
(The study found that over 60 per cent of people under 65 intend to work past retirement
age, and those numbers will probably increase over the coming years, as 70 per cent of
these under 45 'nevertirees',in the study said they would always 'be involved in some kind
of work.'
Ireland was second with 59 per cent, in Spain the number was 44 per cent, and in Japan
46 per cent, but in Switzerland, only 34 per cent plan to carry on working. So, I'm off to
Switzerland.)

Interesting Fact - Transport

According to a report in the American Journal of Public Health, in the period of from
2001 to 2007, an estimated 16,000 people in the US, were killed by drivers who were
distracted by talking or texting on mobile phones.
(The research also found that a growing number of these drivers were under 30. The
problem is everyone thinks it won't happen to them, because they know what they're
doing. It's like drink driving - just don't do it.)

Interesting Fact - Top Brands

According to Interbrand's Best Global Brands index the following companies are the top
ten brands in the world, the valuation is simply for the brand name, not the company:1. Coca-Cola $70,452m

2. IBM $64,727m
3. Microsoft $60,895m
4. Google $43,557m
5. GE $47,777m
6. McDonald's $33,578m
7. Intel $32,015m
8. Nokia $29,495m
9. Disney $28,731m
10. Hewlett Packard $26,867m

Interesting Fact - Happiness

According to researchers at Princeton University people earning 100,000 and 150,000
are year are no happier than those earning 50,000.
(The reason is probably the strain placed on high earners, which means they don't have
the time to actually enjoy the fruits of their labours.)

Interesting Fact - Forex

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures. 2.45 trillion dollars, nearly 30
percent of the global total of 8.09 trillion dollars of money in the world is held by China.

Interesting Fact - Driving

A 37-year-old Swedish man was caught driving a black Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS from
Bern to Lausanne at around 300 kilometers per hour (180 miles per hour) on a Swiss
motorway.
(He now faces a fine of nearly 650,000 ($1 million). Authorities said the man, who was
not immediately identified, could be facing up to $1 million Swiss francs ($962,000) for
his speeding offense, as fines in the European country are based on a driver's wealth,
which in his case will work out at 300 days of fines at 2,166 a day.
He's not the first to be slapped with a heavy fine: in January, a Swiss court slapped a
$290,000 speeding ticket on a millionaire Ferrari driver who drove 60 mph (nearly twice
the 30 mph limit) through a small village.
And the head of Finnish communications giant Nokia was ordered to pay a $103,000 fine
for a speeding ticket in 2002. Officers pulled over Anssi Vanjoki on his cherry red Harley
Davidson in Helsinki after he was clocked driving 47 mph in a 31-mph zone.

Interesting Fact - Shopping

Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. It is also the largest corporation and private
employer in the United States.
(Yes, in England it might feel as if Tescos is, but Wal-Mart is way ahead of them. In the
U.S., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates more than 4,300 facilities including Walmart
supercenters, discount stores, Neighborhood Markets and Sams Club warehouses.
Internationally, Wal-mart operates more than 4,000 additional stores in 15 markets
worldwide, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica.)

Interesting Fact - Women

According to research from the University of Chicago, in the USA women now
outnumber men in the workforce.
(Unfortunately this isn't because women are now being treated more fairly, it's simply an
effect of the recession, men have been losing their jobs faster than women, some people
are even referring to the downturn as a man-cession.)

Interesting Fact - Nagging

According to health campaign group Everyman, wives spend 7,920 minutes a year
nagging their husbands.
(This equals two-and-a-half hours of earbashing each week - which totals 11 hours a
month or five-and-a-half days a year. The most common subject women nagged their
partners about was not helping to tidy the home. Other complaints included not helping to
wash the dishes, drinking too much and not visiting the doctor to get checked out. Of
course men would call this giving advice or asking for help, but because it's the women
doing it, they say it's "nagging".)

Interesting Fact - Most expensive holiday

Research by flight comparison website Skyscanner has found that France is the most
expensive holiday destination.
(France finished top ahead of Switzerland, Denmark, Brazil and Russia, when comparing
holiday prices excluding flights. They looked at the cost of various items including a
coffee, a beer, a meal, accommodation and car hire, and even when they included flights
France ended up the third most expensive country to visit, higher than Switzerland,
Australia and New Zealand. The most expensive country to visit overall, including
flights, was Japan. By contrast, Cyprus was the least expensive, before and after flights
are taken into consideration. So, look out Cyprus, here I come!)

Interesting Food - Coffee

According to scientists from the UK and Germany, using coffee as a pick-me-up may be
pointless if you drink it all the time.
(Experts say they have discovered that people who drink a lot of caffeine develop a
tolerance to its stimulatory effects. If you drink a lot of coffee, caffeine only brings you
back up to baseline or "normal". So, cut back a bit and benefit from a boost if and when
you need it.)

Interesting Fact - Language

According to Dr Enlli Thomas, there is evidence that being bilingual "may provide
protection against age-related memory loss".
(Language processing is one of the most complex activities that our brains carry out and
the ability to be able to speak, listen, and think in two languages and of using two
languages on a daily basis may help protect against the decline in the brain's abilities
when ageing. I can only hope they're right, and that I didn't start learning German too
late.)

Interesting Fact - The Internet

According to Google Ad Planner, Facebook.com is visited monthly by 540 million
people, or slightly more than 35 percent of the Internet population.
(This makes Facebook king of the Internet, followed, not so closely by, Yahoo.com which
gets a measly 490 million visitors per month. It all makes me feel so small and
insignificant.)

Interesting Food - Beer

Czechs top the world league tables on beer drinking.
(Czechs consume more beer per person than people in any other country. Men consume
on average 3.1 litres of beer each week with women drinking on average 0.3 litres per
week. Come on ladies! You're letting the side down.)

Interesting Fact - Beer Bellies

According to researchers in Britain and the Czech Republic, there is no such thing as a
"beer belly".
(Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they said they had found no link
between the amount of beer people drank and the size of their stomachs.

Interesting Food - Guinness

According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin, a pint of Guinness every day

may work as well as a low dose aspirin to prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart
attacks.
(Guinness used to use the slogan, "Guinness is Good for You", but were told to stop using
it decades ago as there was no medical proof. Now perhaps they could bring it back. Of
course we'll all end up alcoholics with beer guts, but at least our hearts will be healthy.)

Interesting Fact - The weather

According to a survey by ICM, Britons spend six months of their lives discussing the
weather.
(Britons talk about the weather for about 49 hours every year and the subject comes up
more often than work, TV, sport or gossip. Now my visitors might understand why I run
the "Let's Talk about the Weather" thread on the forum.)

Interesting Fact - Divorce

According to research by research by the London School of Economics (LSE), divorce
rates in the UK are lower in families where husbands help out with the housework,
shopping and childcare.
(The study found that the lowest-risk combination is one in which the mother does not
work and the father engages in the highest level of housework and childcare. Basically keep your wife happy.)

Interesting Place - Dusseldorf

According to Deutsche Welle, Dusseldorf in Germany is home to more than 730,000
square meters of green roofs.
(That's around 100 football fields spread over some 1,700 buildings. Far prettier than
tarmac too.)

Interesting Fact - World's Strongest Beer

A Scottish microbrewery called BrewDog has created the strongest beer in the
world.
(It is called Tactical Nuclear Penguin and at 32% beats the previous
"strongest beer" record set by German beer Schnorschbraer which had
31% of alcohol in it. I'm not sure why people think they have to keep
doing this, unless it's simply to get into the record books. Guys, stop and
think - just because you can, doesn't mean you should.)

Interesting Food - Chillies

The Indian military is going to use the world's hottest chilli as a new weapon in the fight
against terrorism.
(The thumb-sized "bhut jolokia", which is usually used to cure stomach troubles, will be
employed to pepper suspects with the tear gas-like grenades. Of course London's Thai
Cottage sparked a terror alert that led police to break down the restaurant's door when it
dry cooked a pot of bird's eye chillies. )

Interesting Place # 130 - Nepal

Each year in Nepal the youths in two villages in the south of the Himalayan country,
Parsawa and Laxmipur, save up their choicest insults for a 10-day "cursing festival" that
reaches its climax today.
(The insults range from, "Monkey face", "I hope your sons are as ugly as frogs," to more
culturally relevant insults like, "I hope your buffaloes die of diarrhoea". They should be
fine, as long as they don't post their insults on Facebook.)

Interesting Fact - The Internet in China

If you want to set up a website in China, you will have to submit identity cards and a
photo of yourself, as well as meet regulators, before your domain name can be registered.
(In some ways it's similar in Germany, you can't register a .de domain unless you have a
German bank account.

Interesting Fact - Asylum Seekers

An evangelical Christian family with five children were granted asylum in Tennessee this
week after a judge ruled that their fundamental human rights were being violated back
home.
(What makes this interesting is that "back home" was in Germany. The reason that the
Romeike family applied for asylum is that they were unable to homeschool their children,
as school attendance in Germany is mandatory. A US immigration judge said that
Germany was violating their basic human rights. I'd like to know how the children feel.)

Interesting Fact - Apologising

A study, published in the journal Hormones and Behaviour, has concluded that apologies
are better received when they are spoken into the right ear.
(Their explanation is that when people are angry, the right ear becomes more receptive to

sound than the left. So, if you're not interested in someone's pathetic attempt at an
apology, just stick your finger in your right ear.)

Interesting Place - Italy

The average age of stay at home adults in Italy is one of the highest in Europe.
(According to the Italian national statistics office more than seven out of 10 18-39-year
olds still live with their parents. It's so bad that suggestions have been made that Italy
needs a new law to force grown-up children to leave their parents' home. They've even
got a name for them - bamboccioni - or "big babies". This all came to a head recently
when a judge ordered a father to carry on paying a living allowance to his 32-year-old
live-in daughter. I thought when I first read this that she might be retarded, in which case,
fair does, but seemingly she graduated 8 years ago. I guess she knows she's got a cushy
gig, I can only hope she supports her dad as he ages.)

Interesting Fact - Drugs

More cannabis is grown in Scotland than vegetables.
(Every year up to 100m of cannabis is grown in Scotland. Of the 111 cannabis farms
discovered 100% were in domestic properties and 94% of those were in the buy-to-let
market. Personally I prefer carrots.)
Interesting fact - Harley
During the 1960s, motorcycle sales were so low that Harley expanded into the
golf cart market and became the third-largest manufacturer of golf carts.