5 things we learned this week

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1

Nostradamus has, apparently, done it again. The 16th Century French astrologer – previously credited with predicting events including the Great Fire of London, the rise of Napoleon, the Apollo Moon landings and 9/11 – is said to have foreseen the death of the Queen. A selection of the seer’s prophecies published in 2006 said Her Majesty would die ‘circa 2022, at the age of around 96’.

2

There are more Catholics than Protestants in Northern Ireland for the first time. According to results from the 2021 census, Catholics make up 45.7 per cent of residents, marginally more than ten years previously, whereas the proportion of Protestants has fallen five points to 43.5 per cent. The demographic milestone is likely to intensify demands for a referendum on uniting Ireland.

3

Joe Biden has never been a fan of the British. Former Tory Minister Rory Stewart related how a friend was in a meeting with the then vice president some years ago and was explaining the fractious relationship between Sunni and Shia Muslims. ‘I get it – they don’t like each other,’ said Biden, left. ‘It’s like me and the Brits,’ he said, explaining: ‘I’m Irish.’

4

Earth is home to nearly 20 quadrillion ants. That, at least, is the best estimate of a new study published in the academic journal Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences in the US. Twenty quadrillion is 20,000 trillion, or 2.5million for every human. Together, the insects weigh more than all the wild birds and mammals on the planet.

5

The trend for early suppers – known as ‘twilight dinner’ – is increasingly fashionable. Many people think it’s partly a result of the Covid pandemic, which saw restaurant staffing shortages leading to earlier closing times, and people who work from home wanting to eat earlier in the evening to ‘assert that the day has come to some kind of conclusion’.

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