Car alarms and the dreaded PC egg timer have been voted the most irritating pieces of technology ever invented.
 
The screeching sirens, which often start in the middle of the night, just beat the 'loading' egg timer which appears on computer screens, for the top position.
 
Computers in general came third in the poll of 5,000 people while speed cameras were fourth.
 
Unhelpful and illogical automated phone systems which leave Brits confused and send them round in circles, came fifth.
 
It was also found that bits of technology drive us mad an average of four times a day… we are guessing it was more if you're a Windows user.

As bosses complain employees are using snow as an excuse not to go into work, it's been revealed Brits had 5.2m holiday days untaken in 2009.

It's estimated 18 percent of people had holidays still left to take before the end of the year - totalling 5.2 million days.

A survey found that 15 percent of workers had more than FIVE days of holiday not used, and that many will not be able to carry it forward or get paid for it.

Alison Couper, of Hotels.com, which carried out the poll, said "It's staggering to see how much holiday is left unclaimed.

"With over a third of people unable to carry their unused leave into the next calendar year, people should take the chance to use it."

Having a baby increases the number of friends a woman has by eight, it has been found.

Researchers claim that before falling pregnant the average woman has just three friends they feel comfortable sharing secrets with and relying on.

But those with children say they have an average of 11 good mates - most of who they meet because of their kids.

Waiting at the school playground is said to be the place most moms make new friends, followed by mother and baby groups and the local nursery.

One in 10 have say they have met new pals whilst sweating it out at the gym… while trying to get away from the kids.

Getting a good night's sleep has been named as life's 'greatest little pleasure'.


A survey of over 3,000 Brits found that waking up feeling completely refreshed was the 'little pleasure' which brought people most joy.

Finding a £10 note in your pocket came second, followed by cuddling up to a loved-one in bed. Laughing so hard you end up crying was at number four while having a lie-in was fifth.

Other popular little things included getting a bargain, catching up with an old friend and making someone else smile.

In odd news, being stopped by some in the street and asked to answer some inane survey questions did not make it into the top 10.

More than a third of women who claim to currently be on a New Year's diet are secret scoffers, it has been found.
 
A massive 36 per cent of women who say they are watching their waistline, are actually hiding food or eating it in the dark.
 
Favourite places to stash food - revealed by a poll of 2,000 women - included handbags, under the bed and in clothes drawers.

And the women admitted to secretly eating it while in the car, walking down the street or even on a sun-bed - anywhere they think they won't get caught.

While it was also found the average diet lasts 15 weeks, 28 per cent of women admitted they have only stuck to a diet for 24 hours... some barely last between breakfast and lunch.

Residential Christmas light displays are responsible for nearly half a million road accidents each year, it has been claimed.

Experts claim that as many as 73 percent of drivers get distracted by houses with brash light displays - which can sometimes look like a seasonal version of Las Vegas.

As a result they say 2 million drivers have had a near miss, and that 440,000 have actually crashed their vehicles as a direct result of staring at dazzling illuminations.

So if you do insist on having that giant inflatable and illuminated Santa in your garden, leave a space for the couple of crashed Volvos which will end up in there too.

Modern men can't carry out simple DIY tasks such as rewiring plugs or bleeding radiators, it has been claimed.

More intent on pursuing a career than becoming a dab-hand at DIY means that younger British men are more likely to employ professionals to do menial jobs around the home.



But this is in stark contrast to thirty years ago, when dads were expected to do everything in the home themselves and carried the jobs out with ease.



A study of 3,000 blokes showed that 51 per cent of those in their twenties are incapable of rewiring a plug, compared to just 15 per cent of men over the age of 50.

Changing a light bulb also leaves 13 per cent of young men stumped… and means that "how many lightbulbs" jokes are no longer quite as funny.

Toast, perfume and washing powder are the smells most likely to hit you when you walk through the door of the average British home.
 
Researchers have pin-pointed the aromas which they claim make a house a home, with washing powder making up 34 per cent of the scent.
 
Freshly made toast accounts for another 22 per cent of the scent, while perfume makes up 17 per cent.
 
Other smells which will typically hit you as you step through front doors around Britain include 10 per cent last night's dinner, 12 per cent flowers, 5 per cent damp coffee and pets.
 
Interestingly the smell of toast even manages to permeate the homes of people who never eat toast.

Mr Blobby has been named as the most annoying Christmas tune ever - and who are we to argue.

The polka-dotted pink blob beat festive classics from Rolf Harris, Cliff Richard and Boney M's 'Mary's Boy Child' to claim the top spot.
 
The 1993 novelty hit, brainchild of Simon Cowell and made famous on Noel Edmond's House Party, was voted the most irritating Christmas number of all time in a poll of 4,000 music-lovers.
 
In second place in the cringe-worthy Crimbo top 20 was Neil Morrisey's Bob the Builder's 'Can We Fix it?'. St Winifred's School Choir was voted into third place with their song 'There's No-One Quite Like Grandma', which hit the top of the charts in 1980.

Top 10 annoying Christmas songs available after the link. If you manage to play them all you deserve a prize, like a new battery for your hearing aid.

If you are looking around the office today and thinking it is a bit quiet, that's because today is 'Fuzzy Friday'

For the uninitiated Fuzzy Friday is the day when one in 10 workers have a hangover from the office Christmas party - and 44 percent have no intention of going to work.

Of those who do make it in to work - four in 10 are unlikely to make it on time and 14 percent will be wearing the same clothes they partied in the night before.

And if you think the office smells a bit iffy, that's because 20 percent of workers were too hung-over to bother having a shower this morning.

If you are reading this in disbelief, then we are sorry to tell you, but 'you' didn't make the most of your Christmas party. There is always next year.