WEIRD FACTS ABOUT
SHOPPING

curly underline

SHOPPING

The number of shops in the UK fell from about 400,000 in 1955 to 279,000 in 2004, but the total amount of floor space increased over that same period. There are fewer shops, but they are much bigger.

In 1699, you could be sentenced to death in Britain for shoplifting to the value of five shillings (25p) or more.

A Portuguese language commission in 1996 listed 'shopping centre' as a particularly offensive phrase in its fight against the influx of English words.

Mr John Moore, a trader of Clapham High Street, was banned in the High Court in December 1984 from calling his shop 'Sellfridges' because he sold fridges. In November he had been banned from calling it Harrodds.


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