This is the silver age of car travel if the colour of vehicles is anything to go by.
For silver is the most popular colour for cars, according to facts from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It added that demand for white-coloured cars is on the rise, with this hue particularly popular on the south coast of England.
The city with the highest proportion of pink-coloured vehicles is Leeds.
The SMMT said the total number of cars on UK roads in 2010 was just under 31.26 million – up 0.7 per cent on 2009.
Scotland and south west England were the biggest growth areas over the last five years. (PA)
German siesta
Germans should take a lunchtime nap at work to help reduce stress and recharge their batteries, a top trade union official has said, in what would be a revolution in a country that espouses a strong work ethic.
“A short lunchtime nap reduces the risk of a heart attack and helps renew energy,” Annelie Buntenbach, a member of the executive board of the DGB confederation of German trade unions has said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently criticised southern Europeans from debt-depressed countries for allegedly working less than Germans. But statistics published last year point to a different result.
A German works an average 1,390 hours a year, compared to 2,119 hours for a Greek and 1,773 hours for an Italian, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has said. (AFP)
Banksy blunder
The recovery of a Banksy mural accidentally painted over by a community worker could cost thousands of pounds, a conservator has said.
Gorilla In A Pink Mask is one of the graffiti artist’s early pieces, drawn on the side of a former social club in Eastville, Bristol – Mr Banksy’s home city.
The ape was a familiar sight for more than 10 years, but the man responsible for the whitewash said he had never even heard of the renowned artist. (PA)
Giant coins
Peers have approved plans to allow the Royal Mint to produce one-kilo gold and silver coins to commemorate the London Olympics.
The coins, which will have a face value of £1,000 for the gold coins and £500 for the silver, are set to become prized items for collectors.
The retail price will depend on the cost of the precious metals at the time they are released, but it is anticipated they will retail at about £40,000 and £1,250 respectively. (PA)
Royal souvenir
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were presented with a rare coconut famed for its erotic shape while on honeymoon in the Seychelles, it was confirmed yesterday. The unusual souvenir was presented to the royal couple by the Seychelles Foreign Minister after their 10-day stay on the north island. The newlyweds were given the gift just before they flew home.
The famous coco-de-mer, from a palm tree once believed to grow in the depths of the sea, is the largest seed in the plant kingdom and is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. Legend has it that sailors, who first saw the unique double coconut floating in the sea, imagined that it resembled a woman’s disembodied buttocks. (PA)
Guinness hot dog
There is a new hot dog in the Guinness Book of Records after a sausage in Paraguay claimed victory as the “world’s largest” at record of 203.8 metres long, event officials have said.
Guinness representative Johanna Hessling, who travelled to the exhibition, confirmed that the Paraguay sausage broke the previous record of 150 metres held by a Spanish encased meat.
After being prepared by 245 people and served with bread, the 270-kilo sausage was cooked in a specially designed oven and cut into 2,000 pieces, said a spokesman for the Expo 2011 exhibition that opened this week in the Paraguay capital. (PA)
Eel fears
Critically endangered eels are among the species which may have been affected by the dry weather so far this year, the Environment Agency has said.
In its weekly drought briefing, the agency said that low numbers of elvers, or young eels, were recorded migrating from the sea to freshwater in Pevensey Levels, East Sussex.
It is thought to be an early indication of the long-term impacts of the unusually dry spring, which has left some rivers and canals with very low water levels. (PA)