Old world

Brazil has struggled to get ready for the World Cup, even though it hosted it before, in 1950. Some oddities of that tournament:
— There was no final, as such. The winner was to be decided by a second group stage. But it came down to the last match, Brazil vs Uruguay, in which Brazil needed a draw and Uruguay a win. Uruguay won 2-1.
— That match, at Rio do Janeiro’s Maracana stadium, still holds the record of the best-attended match in World Cup history, with 199,954 spectators.
— Only 13 out of 16 teams who qualified turned up. Scotland could have gone but stuck to their manager’s promise that they would only attend if they beat England in qualifying. India withdrew supposedly because banned from playing barefoot.

Quarter given

Some World Cup records held by England
— Team most consistently knocked out in the quarter finals (8 times)
— Most kicks missed in shootouts: 7
— Oldest player fielded in a match: Peter Shilton, who was 40 in 1990

— England is one of only two teams to have won a game in injury time, against Belgium in 1986. (The other team to have won a game in injury time was Belgium.)

Poor data

The government’s Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has published a report claiming that 23.5% of British children will be living in ‘absolute poverty’ by 2020. Where would Britain lie on this measure compared with some other countries?

Source: World Bank

£10,000 questions

The government wants to increase the maximum fine for speeding on a motorway to £10,000. Some other things for which people have recently been fined £10,000:
— Dredging for scallops in a prohibited area off Flamborough Head
— Illegally storing waste in a backyard in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire
— Operating a dirty takeaway, with mouse droppings among the food, in Greasby, Wirral
— Making two labourers work knee-deep in concrete, giving them second degree burns
— Renting a house to students without a licence as a house of multiple occupancy