Name that town
The representative of Slough in the UK Youth Parliament called for the town’s name to be changed to rid it of negative connotations. Other towns with an image problem which have done a Stalingrad (now Volgograd) and changed their identity:
STAINES Now Staines upon Thames
KILIWHIMIN, HIGHLANDS Now Fort Augustus
ALLIGATOR VILLAGE, FLORIDA Now Lake City
WANKIE, ZIMBABWE Now Hwange
PILE O’ BONES, SASKATCHEWAN Now Regina
Residents in the Austrian village of FUCKING voted against a name change in 2004
Over a barrel
During the referendum campaign, Alex Salmond proposed that Scotland would become independent on 26 March 2016, and said it would have £7.5 billion of oil revenues. How have the estimates for 2015/16 revenue changed over time?
| June 2010 | £9.7bn |
| March 2013 | £7.5bn* |
| December 2013 | £4.2bn |
| March 2014 | £3.8bn |
| March 2015 | £0.7bn |
*Scottish government estimate
Unhappy landings
A man leapt from the Shard with a parachute — and survived both the jump and the attentions of the police.
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