A vintage brew
The oldest written document in recorded history is an 8,000 year old recipe for brewing a type of beer. The clay tablet was created by the religious Sumerian civilisation, which brewed the beer specifically for use in temples while making sacrifices to the gods.

Cutting it fine
George Crum is credited with inventing the crisp in 1853. Legend has it that while Crum was a chef in a New York restaurant, a customer ordered pommes frites but complained that they were too thick. He kept sending them back until Crum, as a joke, cut them into wafer-thin slices and fried them until hard.

The universal drink
The US is the world's largest producer of beer, brewing 5 billion gallons every year. Next is Germany, with 2.6 billion gallons, while Great Britain comes third with 1.7 billion gallons annually. In terms of consuming the amber nectar, Germans come first with 40 gallons per person every year, followed closely by the Belgians, who drink 39 gallons per person.

The wonder of flavour
Golden Wonder was the first company in the world to add flavour to its crisps. They started with cheese and onion in 1962 and that flavour remains the UK's favourite crisp. It is followed by ready salted in second place, and salt and vinegar in third.

It's the beer talking
The origin of the expression "Mind your P's and Q's" is uncertain, but one theory is that it comes from drinking. It dates from a time when beer was sold in pints and quarts and was said as a reminder to be careful how much you drank.

Frying through the system
Walkers says it takes them just 20 minutes to turn a few humble spuds into a finished packet of crisps. They use over 350,000 tonnes of potatoes annually, with automated machines taking 50 seconds to peel each potato before it is sliced.

A beer a day...
During war times, the British army provided its overseas troops with an allowance of one penny a day to purchase six pints of beer, which was a vital nutritional source and also a safe alternative to potentially polluted water. Between 1687 and 1860, patients at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London were given three pints of beer a day as part of their diet.