Ten things you never knew about... sandwiches

This is British Sandwich Week. You can find out all about it at britishsandwichweek.com, but in the meantime, here are some facts to munch on.

1. Quite apart from the sandwiches we make at home, the British buy more than 3.5billion sandwiches a year at an average price of £2.07.

2. More than 300,000 people are employed in the sandwich industry in this country.

3. Around 31 per cent of all sandwiches sold in the UK have chicken in them. The second most popular ingredient is cheese.

4. Sandwiches are said to be named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718–1792), who ordered slices of cold beef between slices of toast.

5. The earliest recorded use of “sandwich” in that sense was in 1762.

6. Before that, the word “sandwich” referred to a type of 15th century cord or the Sandwich tern bird. Both were named for the town of Sandwich.

7. The Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) were also named for the same John Montagu.

8. The record for eating grilled cheese sandwiches is 47 in 10 minutes, set by Joey Chestnut in 2006.

9. Joey Chestnut also holds the records for corned beef sandwiches and ice-cream sandwiches.

10. In 2011 New York State ruled that for tax purposes burritos (tortilla wraps) are sandwiches.