Sporting danger
An ice hockey player died in Sheffield after his throat was cut by an opponent’s skate blade. How dangerous is ice hockey?
– There were 7,668 visits to US emergency rooms as a result of ice hockey-related head injuries in 2018. This compares with 51,892 for American football, 24,516 for baseball, 38,898 for basketball and 26,955 for football. These figures are not adjusted for the participation rate.
– An analysis of 13 seasons in the US found that an average of 3.17 ice hockey players per season suffered from concussion
– A 2013 Canadian study claimed 44.3% of all traumatic brain injuries in children resulted from playing ice hockey
– Since 2010 at least 5 professional ice hockey players have been killed on the ice. Meanwhile, 15 were killed in a bus crash in Canada and 26 in a plane crash in Russia
Home from home
How many second homes are there in England? The 2021 census records that 0.6% of all residential properties in England were second homes with no usual residents. However, these are dwarfed by properties left vacant for other reasons, at 5.4%.
– The region with the highest proportion of second homes was the South West (1.3%), the fewest the West Midlands (0.2%)
– The districts with the highest proportion of second homes are:
East Lindsey (Lincolnshire) 7.4%
East Riding of Yorkshire 6.3%
South Hams (Devon) 6%
North Norfolk 5.8%
South Lakeland, Eden 4.4%
Cornwall 4%
Tanked up
Was a litre of petrol cheaper in the past (in real terms)?
price per litre p/l today
1954 4.90p 106.60p
1963 5.36p 89.1p
1973 7.70p 76.63p
1983 36.7p 114.22p
1993 49.76p 98.02p
2003 80.47p 134.73p
2013 139.35p 178.84p
2023 162.02p 162.02p
Source: Dept for Energy and Net Zero/Bank of England Inflation Calculator
Smoking guns
What causes house fires? There were 26,822 in England in 2022/23. Of those:
Misuse of appliances 7,051
Placing objects too close to heat 3,506
Faulty appliances 3,486
Careless handling of fire 2,809
Faulty fuel supplies 2,325
Chip pan 1,182
Source: Home Office
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