Top Gear episodes go on Facebook

Dog sledge training, check. Arctic Doctor with shotgun, check. Heavily modified Toyota pick-up truck, check. Denim and corduroy, can remain at home. It's the Top Gear Polar race.

Admittedly, I haven't actually seen the episode, but I've posted this article because whenever I've stumbled on an episode of Top Gear, it usually ends up being an enjoyable and entertaining experience.

The BBC has developed a video-on-demand app for Facebook that will allow users of the website to rent a limited number of Top Gear episodes using Facebook Credits.

Users at a cost of 15 Facebook Credits (93p) can rent the episode for 48 hours. Other episodes available include US Road Trip and Vietnam Road Trip.

Here's the Facebook page so you can like the link and get watching. But with over 9 million fans already, chances are you already have!

Grab a tea, here's a few facts

Hammond arrived in the Arctic Circle a week earlier than Jeremy and James to take a crash course in dog-sledging. Much of his journey was done either on skis or standing on the back of a sled, and this while facing a steady stream of flying dog poo. Yuck!

The race was to reach the Magnetic North Pole, and not the True North Pole. The True North Pole is a fixed cartographical point which relates to time as well as position, the Magnetic North Pole (the one your compass points at) actually moves slowly over time due to magnetic changes in the Earth's core. So you could find yourself at the True North Pole and still need to travel north to reach the Magnetic North Pole.

It was because of this that Richard never actually made it to the Pole. Communications between the two teams were unreliable at best, and after Jeremy and James arrived, Richard was so far behind. The crew saw it cruel to make him go the extra distance just so Clarkson could gloat.

The polar bear is the largest land carnivore on the planet. It can run as fast as a race horse, has an incredibly keen sense of smell, and is the type of bear most likely to prey on humans. Apparently the crew encountered lots of them. In fact, the doctor who accompanied Hammond's team, and who travels to the Arctic Circle every year, said he'd seen more bears on this trip than any other he'd made. The shotgun wasn't for show.


Illustration: katejonesdesign.co.uk
Facts via BBC Top Gear site

Is anything more refreshing than a Coors Beer? Apparently nothing, but frozen tight pants come close.

Let's face it when the ad breaks come back on, they are loud, really loud. Maybe perhaps due to being broadcast with compressed audio files which can be ear-shatteringly intrusive even when you're two rooms from the lounge. Who knows? But enough of the technical stuff. One advert came on, that made me dig out the remote from the back of the sofa, fumble for the mute button, to see the mighty Jean-Claude Van Damme muse about his ice cold pants. Complete with mullet and double denim, here's a past glory action figure that clearly doesn't mind taking the mick out of himself. Grab a Coors Light and enjoy...

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Here's a series that's got all the charm of Innerspace but with bags of science fact. Over the last few weeks Michael Mosley has been taking us on an engrossing journey exploring the wonders of the human body (with the help of some superb state-of-the-art graphics). Such scenes include the epic story of sperm fusing with an egg to create life, as well as following Wim Hoff 'The Iceman' swimming in glacial lakes so cold they would kill a normal person. Catch the rest of the fascinating BBC 1 series on iPlayer.

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