Quotes from Jack Goldstein

After an earthquake in China, the generous tobacco companies stepped in to pay for the rebuilding of the area's schools. However, there is an ethical question to be asked here. Is it right that a school should now be called 'Sichuan Tobacco Project Hope Primary School'? And furthermore, should the company have been allowed to paint a huge message on the school's walls which says Tobacco can help you become an achiever? I'm sure you can guess the answer...

The biggest explosion of the First World War was set off by miners from the allied forces, who dug shafts underneath German trenches. At Messines Ridge in Belgium, just over nine hundred thousand pounds of explosive mines were placed in nineteen tunnels. When they were detonated, the resulting explosion was so loud that it was heard by the British Prime Minister, who was at his desk 140 miles away in Downing Street, London.

Where is the home of the monarchy in England? If you said Buckingham Palace, you're wrong! Whilst that is the home of Queen Elizabeth II - and has been the residence of choice since Queen Victoria's reign, the Royal Court has always remained a St James's Palace - a few steps down the road!

Her majesty is in fact Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

the crew of the Titanic didn't fire the correct distress signals after the ship's collision with the iceberg - instead they released flares at random. The message sent by the rockets was supposed to say 'distress' but in fact it signalled 'I'm having navigation problems; please stay clear'.

Mongols invaded India, one general built a pyramid in front of the walls of Delhi to terrify the remaining enemies into surrender. Pyramids aren't scary though, surely? Well, this one was, being made from ninety thousand human heads.

Theodore Roosevelt (after whom the Teddy Bear

Barry Manilow didn't write the song he sings called I Write the Songs.

One particularly successful swimmer was Johnny Weismuller, an American (with Austro-Hungarian ancestry) who won five gold medals over the course of the 1924 and 1928 games. When his sporting career came to an end, he went into acting and starred as Tarzan in twelve films. In 1958 Weismuller was playing a round of golf on the island of Cuba when a small band of rebels attempted to kidnap him. He scared them off by loudly making the Tarzan yell.

During lent, the only meat that the Catholic Church allows its followers to eat is salted fish. However, because people got very bored of fish at every supper for forty days, the church actually changed the definition of 'fish' to include puffins, beavers and turtles as they can all swim.

In its lifetime, an albatross is believed to fly around fifteen million miles.

and continued to lead his men; as you would imagine, his demonstration

In the film of The Deathly Hallows, Hermione is seen obliviating her parents - this isn't mentioned at all in the book. Many critics have said this was a fantastic thing for the film to feature however, as it sets the tone of the final chapter (or two) in the Harry Potter series.

All information contained within this book has been researched from reputable sources. If any information is found to be false, please contact the publishers, who will be happy to make corrections for future editions.

Originally, the Gossip Girl series of books was going to be turned into a single feature film. Starring Lindsay Lohan.

Mosquitos prefer to bite children rather than adults

Thames. Property

Although it is called the English Civil War, there were in fact three civil wars. And it wasn't just limited to England; Scotland and Ireland got involved as well! One notable incident occurred on the 11th of September 1649, when soldiers of the New Model Army captured the town of Drogheda in Ireland.

When the shopping trolley was first invented, it was a complete failure - people were used to either carrying a basket around with them, or asking the grocer to fill their bag with their chosen items. The shoppers didn't seem to want to try this new method, so the inventor, Sylvan Goldman, hired dummy shoppers to walk around his store with trolleys, and had an employee offering one to patrons as they entered - and yet it still took a long time to catch on!

compared Voldemort to a character from Chitty

having five guinea pigs called Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, Admiral Dewey, and Father O'Grady. He also owned a small bear called Jonathan Edwards, a lizard by the name of Bill, Baron Spreckle (a hen), a badger called Josiah, Eli Yale the parrot

Berlin's Zoologischer Gardens is the largest zoo in the world, containing 14,000 animals of 1,500 different species.

Before producers decided to keep things simple and call the show Friends, they toyed with the idea of Friends Like Us (ok, that's not too bad), Six of One (what?), Across the Hall (logical I guess), Insomnia Café (no, just no) and Once Upon a Time in the West Village

When the Mongols invaded India, one general built a pyramid in front of the walls of Delhi to terrify the remaining enemies into surrender. Pyramids aren't scary though, surely? Well, this one was, being made from ninety thousand human heads. Julius Caesar was once captured by pirates