10 things we're sad to have to tell you

Summer's here, Andy Murray's currently smashing it at Wimbledon and the Eurozone is at time of writing still intact, so there are plenty of reasons to be happy at the moment, right?

Wrong! Ish. But everyone knows a dose of perspective is healthy now and then. Inspired by the Sad Facts Tumblr, here are ten sobering facts you never knew you never knew:

1. The Pillars of Creation, an iconic part of the Eagle Nebula photographed by the Hubble telescope, may no longer exist.

A supernova blast wave may have destroyed them 6,000 years ago - but we won't be able to see that on Earth until 3015.

2. Cows in Europe are richer than 1.2billion of the world's poorest people.

A cow in the European Union receives a government subsidy of approximately £1.43 a day - or more than 1.2 billion of the world’s poorest people.

3. The great white rhino is as good as extinct.

There's only one male white rhino left in the whole world, and he's too old to mate.

3. Old age begins at 27.

University of Virginia research found that reasoning, speed of thought and spatialisation skills drop off noticably after the ripe old age of 27.

4. Pluto never had the chance to fully orbit the sun while it was still a planet.

The dwarf planet never even got to finish one 248-year, 5.9billionkm victory lap around the sun before being demoted in 2006.

5. Obesity is a bigger global health crisis than hunger.

The Lancet found that around the world, health problems arising from obesity now affect more children than both infectious disease and hunger. With the exception of sub-Saharan Africa, globally there has been a 82 per cent increase in obesity in the last 20 years.

6. The tenth most requested thing on Christmas lists is "a dad".

While X-Boxes and ponies still ranked higher in a survey of British children, heartbreakingly the tenth most requested thing for Christmas is a father.

7. We subconsciously believe that bad things only happen to bad people

We all know, logically, that tragedy often strikes without rhyme nor reason. And yet, research into the "just world" hypothesis shows that human beings have a need to see victims of crime or pain as deserving of their suffering - this not only excuses us from helping, it means that we can continue to believe that our own life plans and goals will have predictable consequences.

8. Scientists killed the world's oldest living animal trying to figure out how old it was.

The oldest living creature was a 507-year-old Icelandic clam called Ming. Researchers at Bangor University killed it opening up its shell to try and figure out how old it was.

9. The more knowledgeable and passionate you are about a subject, the harder it gets to talk about it.

Research has found that the more you know about something, the harder it is to empathise with someone who lacks the in-depth expertise you do. This is cited as a possible reason why teachers become disillusioned with their careers, because each year they perceive more and more ignorance in their students.

10. Indigenous people in Australia are incarcerated at a rate of almost 18 times that of non-indigenous citizens.

The disparity is much bigger than that between male African-American and white imprisonment in the US - which is already shocking at six black men for every white man.

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