I find the London Underground a singularly fascinating place. It's by turn enthralling and maddening: the wonder of it's size, age, complexity and diversity coupled with the almost comic manner in which it so easily breaks down makes it one of the most central experiences of living in this 2,000 year old Roman city.

One of the most commonly cited series of 'facts' about the London Underground is the statistics surrounding its dodgy hygiene. A chain e-mail has been doing the rounds for years which claims to quote from a scientific study (supposedly carried out by Department of Forensics at University College London) on a randomly-selected tube seat which found:

• 4 types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog)
• 7 types of insect (mostly fleas, mostly alive)
• vomit originating from at least 9 separate people
• human urine originating from at least 4 separate people
• human excrement
• rodent excrement
• human semen

It's an intriguing notion and a fascinating read. Unfortunately, it's total bollocks. There is no Department of Forensics at University College London and no such study has ever been carried out - that we're aware of. Yet I've heard this story cited as fact almost a dozen times since coming to live in this city. Rumour-mongering that Julius Caesar would have approved of.

+More+

Snopes.com

Go here for more random London Underground factoids

+Music+

Trans London Express by ElectroSound. Wanna hear more? Go to the Blatherverse and click the BlatherPod tab.

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