Gross domestic products
The Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded UK GDP growth for 2011 to 0.9 per cent, down from 1.7 per cent. How many extra manufactured products does a 0.9 per cent growth in GDP — £12.56 million — translate to?
| 4.6bn | 250g jars of Marmite |
| 60m | Dyson vacuum cleaners |
| 34m | pairs of Church’s shoes |
| 1m | Mini hatchbacks |
| 1,200 | Rolls-Royce jet engines |
Counting sperm
Most popular
David Butterfield
Most-read 2024: Decline and fall – how university education became infantilised
Wi-Fi zones became the latest culprit to be named in scientific literature as a possible contributory factor in falling sperm counts – which have dropped from around 100 million to 60 million sperm cells per ml in developed countries over the past century. Here are a few of the others:
Tight underwear; nylon underpants; vinyl shower curtains; canned food, iodine food supplements; chemicals in cash register receipts; scented soaps; heated car seats; PCB pollution in fish; smoking; overweight mothers; mothers who ate too much beef; dioxin exposure from industrial accidents
Sunday service
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in