Top 10 strangest ever surveys

8 out of 10 humans are a lot odder than you think.

of 10

Oddest hotel requests

Turns out it's not just the likes of Mariah Carey and "J-Lo" who demand ridiculous things in hotels. Everyone else is at it too, if a survey of hotel staff by SkyScanner is any indication. One guest asked to be served only the right legs of chickens, while another demanded 15 cucumbers a day. Other requests have included a bath filled with honey, a dead mouse, 16 pillows (for one bed) and the recorded sound of goat bells to help someone sleep.
Sexiest décor

Is your relationship sorely lacking in sexy time? Don't worry, it's probably just the wallpaper. According to a frankly inexplicable survey by Littlewoods, people with purple bedrooms have the most sex. And if you really want to ensure your entire body chafes from rigorous horizontal shenanigans, get silk sheets. The survey says you'll be at it twice as often as people who bed down in nylon or polyester. The fools.

Image: Daryl_mitchell / (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: daryl_mitchell
Strangest baby names

Imagine a parent. Now imagine a parent deciding on what to call their newborn baby. Now imagine the parent deciding to call their newborn baby… Cheese. This isn't some peculiar thought-experiment. This IS WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, according to a survey on baby names by parenting site BabyCenter. Other names bestowed upon hapless infants that year included Danish, Chow, Kodiak, Dragos, Hurricane, Anibal and Ab. We say again: Ab.

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Rubbishest job interviews

Never mind your limp fish handshake and naff suit – there are plenty of other things that can scupper you in a job interview. Like admitting you "take too much valium". That's just one interview blunder revealed in a survey of bosses conducted by HR firm CareerBuilder. They also reported the candidate who acted out a scene from Star Trek, the one who turned up in a tracksuit because he was "going jogging after the interview", the one who called himself his own personal hero, and the one who asked for a hug. And you thought the people on The Apprentice were idiots.

Image: Dani Lurie / (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: slushpup
Oddest impotence

Men of a certain age have reported suffering erectile dysfunction if their wives get on too well with their male friends. That's according to a staggeringly peculiar survey carried out by the American Journal of Sociology. Chaps aged 57 and over reported that knowing their wives and pals were good buddies made it harder to maintain erections. According to the (presumably smirking) researchers, it's not about jealousy exactly – it's more that it undercuts men's feelings of independence, privacy and all-round masculinity. Or something.
Weirdest plane finds

What do flight attendants have to clear up after a plane lands? Well, it's not just plastic cups, discarded magazines and tissues we've nervously ripped to shreds while worrying about the plane suddenly crashing into the ocean like a meat-packed missile of death. According to a SkyScanner survey of the weirdest stuff left behind on planes, attendants have picked up a live parrot, a detached prosthetic leg, one egg (sans packaging), and a bag of diamonds. And one live frog.

Image: Ben Yeoh / (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: ben_optic
Wackiest beliefs

The hugely respected US polling firm Public Polling Policy usually reports on sober, serious things like senate races and presidential elections. But every so often it provides a terrifying glimpse at what millions of Americans actually believe. Like how a full 13% of voters believe that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. And how 15% of voters think the government transmits mind-control signals from TV sets. We can only hope they were trolling the pollsters, or it's time to be very, very afraid.

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Strangest passenger requests

Another plane-related poll now, and this one by Virgin Atlantic revealed the sheer, flabbergasting foolishness of our fellow humans. A survey of crew members revealed the most memorable passenger requests of all time – including "Please can you open the window?" and "Can you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?" One also implored the Captain to please stop the turbulence, while one hungry flier asked "Is there a McDonald's on board?" Too bad – there was probably a Starbucks somewhere.

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Most peculiar phobias

Clowns. Spiders. Janet Street-Porter. There are various things that terrify us all. But, as a poll by Ripley's Believe It or Not has shown, some phobias are rather more unexpected. Britons have revealed serious fears of balloons popping and men with beards, along with spiral shapes, wooden lollipop sticks and knees. Also, at least one person in the country suffers a phobia of potato salad. Presumably coleslaw's OK, though.

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Most dangerous biscuits

A survey by market research firm Mindlab International has shown that custard creams are the most dangerous biscuits you can buy. This is apparently not a wind-up. They found that over 500 Britons landed in hospital after injuring themselves during tea breaks at work, thanks to things like poking themselves in the eye with biscuits and being stuck in wet concrete after stepping in to pick up a biccie. And, for various insane reasons, the custard cream is most likely to land you in trouble. Dunk them with caution.

Image: Alfred Bina / (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: reprolurch