Special Sub-Topic: It isn't true, is it? Authored by: rialto88 Sub-topic of: True or False

In December 2001 a Crown Court judge had to abandon a four day rape trial. This was because he was told that he dozed off twice during the defence barrister's closing speech.

t. The Times national newspaper reported this information on its front page on 18th December 2001. The jury at Gloucester Crown Court had to be discharged following the incident. The judge said that "he was not aware of having fallen asleep".

In 1975 another judge was proved to have been caught speeding down Middle Temple Lane (in London EC4) in an ambulance.

f. This statement in the question can not be proved and is a type of "urban legend" in the area around London EC4.

The Green Party held three of the 25 seats on the Greater London Authority following the elections in May 2000.

t. The Green Party did not win any of the 14 "first past the post" constituencies. However, the Greens did win 3 of the 11 top-up seats (based on proportional representation) which were decided in the election.

Every entrant to the London marathon (about 33,000 runners) is given a time starting when they cross the starting line and finishing when they cross the finishing line. This time is given to each runner irrespective of the time that the start is signalled.

t. Every runner attaches a computer chip to their shoe which registers as it crosses the starting and finishing line. The computer will publish exact times for the 26.2 miles of the course. This method of timing runners only started in the London marathon in the year 2002.

Paula Radcliffe won the 2003 Flora London Marathon in a world record time of 2 hours,15 minutes and 25 seconds. At the 10 kilometre point in the race her time was 32 minutes and 1 second. Is her time for this first 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) correctly stated by me?

t. If you go to www.london-marathon.co.uk/ on your computer internet you can (as at April 2003) locate this information. Click on "results" and then click on "Too see a full list of results click here" and now type in Paula's name (her number is 00101) and when her finishing time and place come up just click on her name.

Ken Livingstone (elected as the first ever Mayor of London in May 2000) once had a book published called "If Voting Meant Anything, They'd Abolish It".

f. The book (Fontana/Collins-1987) was called "If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It". Mr Livingstone had been the Labour Party leader of the Greater London Council until the Conservative government abolished it in 1986. He returned as elected Mayor in 2000 having stood as an independent candidate in the elections for the newly formed Greater London Authority. He split from the Labour Party after he was not selected as their candidate for Mayor by their internal electoral procedure. (Please note that the Lord Mayor of London is a separate post and an appointment by the City of London only).

American scientists have found that a mug of cocoa may help to protect against "deep vein thrombosis", or as it is sometimes called "economy-class syndrome".

t. The Times national newspaper on Tuesday 4th September 2001(News-Page7) reports this information given above. A bar of chocolate, or a mug of cocoa would be just as beneficial in this way. It was found that 6 hours after consuming one of these products the persons under observation had much lower levels of clot-promoting proteins in their bloodstreams. It was shown that their blood took longer to clot than persons not consuming one of these products.

English scientists have found the soya, sage and ginseng may hold the key to boosting memory.

t. The above facts are reported on Page 11 of a Times national newspaper supplement dated 12th March 2002. Dr Andrew Scholey, director of the Human Cognitive Neuro-science Unit at the University of Northumbria and his team are reported in the "Nutritional Neuroscience" publication concerning ginseng. He had another (unpublished at that time) study concerning "sage", and "soya" is reported on by Professor Sandra File, head of the psychopharmacology research unit at Guy's Hospital, King's College, London.

The planet Pluto was discovered in 1928.

f. Pluto was discovered photographically in 1930 by the American astronomer Clyde W Tombaugh. However, its presence had been suspected for a number of years before 1930.

The Tower of London is on the South bank of the River Thames.

f. The Tower of London is definitely on the north bank of the Thames.