Objects in space
— The six tonne US Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite was due to fall to Earth, with Nasa calculating that it has a one in 3,200 risk of striking a human. It poses less of a risk, however, than the 75 tonne Skylab did when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere in 1979. In the event, it fell on an uninhabited region of Western Australia.
— There is plenty more potential danger from space junk, with an estimated 19,000 pieces of man-made material greater than 100mm across orbiting the Earth, including a glove and a camera dropped by astronauts. Most will burn up in space when they re-enter, but one which could cause problems is Vanguard 1, a satellite launched in 1958 which is expected to fall to Earth in 240 years’ time.
Major losers
Kweku Adoboli, a trader with Swiss bank UBS, racked up $2.3 billion of losses. At least six traders have lost more money than him in recent years. These are some of them, and other notable losers:
— Howie Hubler, Morgan Stanley on credit default swaps, 2008 $9bn
— Jerome Kerviel, Société Générale on index futures, 2008 $7.2bn
— Yasuo Hamanaka, Sumitomo Corp on copper futures, 1996 $2.6bn
— Nick Leeson, Barings on index futures, 1995 $1.3bn
— Terrance Watanabe (personal losses) at Las Vegas, 2007 $127m
The wrong pitch
Travellers at Crays Hill, Essex, won a reprieve against eviction for 51 illegally sited caravans. How many gipsy/traveller caravans are there in England, and how have the numbers changed in the past decade?
| 2000 | year | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| 13,253 | Total traveller caravans | 18,355 |
| 10,737 | On authorised pitches | 14,736 |
| 728 | On unauthorised pitches | 2,395 |
Drugs of choice
Jonathan Dimbleby admitted to snorting a line of cocaine when he was in his early twenties. Some others who have raised eyebrows by admitting drug use:
— Andre Agassi: used crystal meth when a top tennis player
— Helen Mirren: used cocaine in the 1980s, until she found out that a Nazi fugitive was earning a living by dealing it
— Frank Bough, admitted cocaine use in 1988
— Barack Obama, admitted to using cocaine soon after graduating from law school.
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