10 Fascinating Facts About Alcohol You Didn't Know

7. Champagne Corks Are Deadlier Than Poisonous Spiders

Most people have a healthy, rational fear of poisonous spiders - if we see one we know to keep as far away from it as we possibly can. Hardly any of us would feel the same way about an about-to-be-opened bottle of champagne - if anything, we're far more likely to try and get as close to it as possible so we can quickly guzzle its bubbly goodness. A combination of eagerness and carelessness when it comes to opening a bottle of bubbly leads to more deaths per year than you might realise - firing from the bottle at an incredible velocity, champagne corks kill an average of 24 people per year - far more than those who die from an arachnid bite or even a shark attack. Unsurprisingly, most of these fatalities occur at weddings and New Year's Eve parties, so in future you know where it is you need to be extra vigilant. If you're wondering where that kind of immense pressure comes from in a bottle of champagne, a group of no doubt very bored (or very drunk) scientists took the time to count the bubbles, coming up with a figure of around 49 million. Which is where the 90 pounds per square inch of pressure - triple that of a car tyre - most likely comes from.