THE BIG QUESTIONS
With Christmas coming up, I’ve been dropping hints about my fave gift – a book token. But who came up with the idea in the first place? – T
Publisher Harold Raymond noted that, between them, a group of his friends had received 120 gifts, but only three were books.
People were wary of giving someone a book that wouldn’t be liked so Raymond came up with the idea of a coupon, and the first book tokens were sold in 1932.
I realise that birds fly great distances in their annual migrations, but which animal walks the greatest distance? – I
That’s the caribou, who migrate between their summer and winter ranges in Canada and Alaska. They can cover distances of almost 4,000 miles (6,400km).
You are quite correct in thinking that birds fly further, and top of that list is the Arctic tern, which covers 18,000 miles (60,000km) as it travels from its breeding grounds in the Arctic along convoluted routes to its summer grounds in the Antarctic.
But the most impressive must be the globe skimmer dragonfly which covers 9,000 miles (14,000km) between India and South Africa.
Which artist has had the most hit singles? – D
That is Status Quo, who have had 66 singles in the UK Top 75.
Their first, Pictures Of Matchstick Men, entered the charts on January 30, 1968, and their most recent, In The Army Now, a re-recording of a 1986 hit, became a hit on October 9, 2010.
The band have spent a total of 434 weeks on the charts, with 22 singles reaching the Top 10.
Their only No 1, Down Down, came in 1974.