1 Mixing a perfect bloody mary presents the ultimate cocktail challenge, according to scientists. Chemically, the tomato juice and vodka drink, with its spicy additions such as Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and celery salt, is “highly unstable”, according to Neil Da Costa, of the New Jersey-based International Flavors and Fragrances.
His research in America uncovered the secrets to successful bloody mary mixing. He told chemists in California that fresh, high-quality tomato juice is essential, as is lots of ice, but an expensive spirit is superfluous, since the “intense, spicy flavour” of the other ingredients masks the taste of the vodka.
2 The smell of fresh coffee, a walk in the park and a plunge in a swimming pool are three simple keys to happiness. Statisticians revealed the responses after they were asked to create a wellbeing index as part of a project to gauge the nation’s happiness. Other responses to the question “What things in life matter most to you?” included having the freedom to do as you choose and having a park at the end of your street. So far, 7,500 people have taken part in the online debate (www.ons.gov.uk/well-being).
Paul Allin, director of the programme for the Office for National Statistics, said: “We are trying to get to the ground roots of what people think.”
3 Eva Herzigova’s billboard for Wonderbra has been declared the most eye-catching advert of the past few decades. Unveiled in 1994, the image of the Czech model was blamed for causing accidents as commuters stared at the huge roadside posters. Now the ad has won a public vote as the favourite “iconic” advertising image in a poll by Outdoor Media Centre, the trade body for outdoor advertising.
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The runner-up ad was the Conservative party’s “Labour Isn’t Working” campaign by Saatchi and Saatchi, which depicted a dole queue to highlight rising unemployment. In third place was Lord Kitchener’s “Your Country Needs You” first world war army recruitment poster.
4 Britain’s only venomous species of snake is fast disappearing. The number of adders has halved in the past 50 years to about 100,000. In addition, a third of sites have fewer than 10 adult snakes — the level at which inbreeding is likely to cause serious genetic defects. Ecologists are to catch adders at 16 locations and screen them to discover why some have been found with abnormalities including malformed scales and missing eyes. If the results confirm inbreeding, snake handlers will take adders from sites where they are plentiful and move them to areas where only a handful live.
“The last resort ... is to move snakes ... artificially encouraging them to mix,” said Jim Foster, of Natural England.
5 One in five British women drinks more than the medically approved limit of 14 uits of alcohol a week, equal to nearly six glasses of wine. Rates are highest among 16- to 24-year-olds, 23% of whom drink more than the limit.