100 things we didn't know last year

The most interesting and unexpected facts can emerge from the daily news stories and the Magazine documents some of them in its weekly feature, 10 things we didn't know last week. To kick off 2010, here's an almanac of the best from the past year.

The list includes:

• The bubonic plague still exists.
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th.
• The average number of friends is 150.
• An outbreak of swine flu in 1976 killed one person but a vaccine to combat it killed 25.
• Britain had animal welfare laws before it had child welfare laws.
• Buddhist monks sleep upright.
• You're as likely to be hit by lightning as killed by a mentally ill person.
• Sportswear firms Adidas and Puma have had a 60-year feud.
• French babies cry with an accent.

Click on the BBC logo to see the list.

Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing