Est. in 2005 by the @Eighty20coza team, Fact-a-Day is a free daily fact about South African consumers and much more. Sign up here: https://xitter.cf/t.co/KhvhJGkyva
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At 04:00 on 30 October 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Muhammad Ali stepped into the ring against George Foreman in a bid to reclaim the heavyweight title. The early start was set for American audiences, who packed into cinemas and arenas to watch it live on the big screen during evening prime time on 29 October.
Source: linkly.link/2ziWd
In a 2017 experiment, six-month-old babies' pupils dilated by an average of 0.14 mm when shown spiders, versus just 0.03 mm for flowers. That's a physiological arousal response about 4.7 times larger, suggesting an early predisposition to pay attention to potential threats.
Source: linkly.link/2zb9P
Phobophobia is the fear of being afraid. It can take the form of a fear of the physical sensations that come with fear, such as shortness of breath, sweaty palms or heart palpitations, or a fear of developing another phobia. The condition is rare, and cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy help most people manage specific phobias.
Source: linkly.link/2zMrI
Freshwater snails release parasite larvae into the water that penetrate the skin of people who come into contact with it, causing schistosomiasis. At least 250 million people required preventive treatment for the disease in 2024, and deaths are currently estimated at 14 353 a year globally, though the WHO says these figures are likely underestimated.
Source: linkly.link/2yiPM
In the latter stages of World War II in 1945, representatives of 50 countries gathered at the United Nations Conference on International Organisation in San Francisco. Four months after the conference concluded, on 24 October 1945, the United Nations officially began. Tomorrow will mark 77 years since its inception.
Source: linkly.link/2yARh
South Africans might have their differences, but chicken appears to be common ground. According to the Eighty20 Data Portal, nearly 1 in 3 adults bought from KFC, Chicken Licken or Hungry Lion in the past four weeks. But while fried chicken unites us, KFC rules the roost: nearly 3 in 4 bought from the Colonel, including more than half of Chicken Licken and Hungry Lion customers.
Analyse this data yourself on the Eighty20 Data Portal: linkly.link/2pIzc
On 15 June 1859, American farmer Lyman Cutlar shot a British-owned pig rooting in his garden on San Juan Island, land claimed by both the US and Britain. Within weeks, 461 American soldiers and 14 cannons faced British warships carrying 52 guns, though officers from both sides still shared church services, whisky and cigars. The British admiral refused to go to war "over a squabble about a pig", and the island stayed under joint occupation for 12 years. On 21 October 1872, exactly 154 years ago today, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm I settled the dispute in America's favour. The only casualty was the pig.
Source: linkly.link/2xmAe, linkly.link/2xmAn
In 1984, United became the first airline to serve all 50 US states. To celebrate, it launched a challenge to frequent flyers. Fly to or from all 50 states within 50 days and win unlimited free domestic first-class travel for an entire year. United calculated that completing the challenge would cost around $16,000 and thought very few people would manage it. 78 people succeeded.
Source: linkly.link/2xblC
As of 15 October 2026, 12 of the 18 football clubs with “United” in their names (66.7%) sit in the bottom half of their leagues. In a curious show of solidarity, Peterborough United, Rotherham United, and Hartlepool United are all in 20th place across three consecutive tiers of English football.
Source: linkly.link/2xGwB, linkly.link/2xGwI
World Food Day, held on 16 October in over 150 countries, marks the 1980 founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This year's theme is innovation: from digital advice and improved seeds to farmer field schools and traditional land and water practices, new ideas are transforming how the world eats.
Sources: linkly.link/2wf8U, linkly.link/2wf8W
In Austin, Texas, the city offered residents a $75 rebate towards a chicken coop to encourage them to feed food scraps to backyard chickens. A Philadelphia study supports the idea: it found that one chicken eats about 38 kg of household scraps a year, so 24 chickens could keep roughly a ton of food waste out of landfill while laying eggs in return.
Source: linkly.link/2wXmK, linkly.link/2wXmP
In Austin, Texas, the city offered residents a $75 rebate towards a chicken coop to encourage them to feed food scraps to backyard chickens. A Philadelphia study supports the idea: it found that one chicken eats about 38 kg of household scraps a year, so 24 chickens could keep roughly a ton of food waste out of landfill while laying eggs in return.
Source: linkly.link/2wNdE
According to the World Food Program, it costs $0.43 per day to feed one person, one meal. According to the Forbes World's Billionaires List, US billionaires hold a combined wealth of $8.4 trillion. With a one time donation of 3% of their total wealth they could feed 535m people 3 meals a day for a year.
Sources: linkly.link/2wDF1, linkly.link/2wDFL, linkly.link/2wDFW
South Africa's biggest digital classrooms are counted in millions. Vodacom e-School, the free CAPS-aligned learning platform, had 1.4 million registered teachers and learners by mid-2023. Siyavula, the Cape Town maths and science practice platform, reaches more than 2 million secondary school learners across Africa (2024). Mindset's free curriculum video library had passed 36 million YouTube views by the end of 2022.
Sources: linkly.link/2vc2K, linkly.link/2vc2Q, linkly.link/2vc2b
Broadly speaking, out of 100 grade one learners, only 60 will write matric, and 12 will go to university.
Source: linkly.link/2vSPU
A public school teacher's package is worth more than their salary alone. On top of their pay, the state puts 13% of their salary into the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF). Teachers also get a medical aid subsidy, a housing allowance and a 13th cheque every year.
Sources: linkly.link/2vGcP, linkly.link/2vGcS
World Teachers' Day, held every 5th of October, marks the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks for teachers' rights and working conditions. Since 1994, UNESCO has organised the day jointly with the International Labour Organization, UNICEF and Education International. Together, they applaud how teachers are transforming education and ask what support they need to keep doing it.
Source: unesco.org/en/days/teachers
More than one in five South African online shoppers (21.5%) now use Shein, making it the second most-used online retail platform in the country, behind only Takealot on 35.3%. It is used by more shoppers than Checkers Sixty60 (15%) and Amazon (12.7%).
Learn more about the South African online retail environment here: linkly.link/2t903
For insights on the role credit plays in South African consumer behaviour, download the latest Eighty20 Credit Stress Report: linkly.link/2t906
PayInc, South Africa's national payments utility, processed an average of 934 transactions a minute on Black Friday (2025) and 700 a minute on Cyber Monday. Card payments remain the base of online commerce, but pay-by-bank services, instant electronic transfers, digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later products now carry meaningful checkout volume.
Learn more about the South African online retail environment here: linkly.link/2t903
For insights on the role credit plays in South African consumer behaviour, download the latest Eighty20 Credit Stress Report: linkly.link/2t906
Takealot Group broke even on a full-year basis for the first time in 15 years, reporting profit of R171-million.
Learn more about the South African online retail environment here: linkly.link/2t903
For insights on the role credit plays in South African consumer behaviour, download the latest Eighty20 Credit Stress Report: linkly.link/2t906