One of the academics, Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Centre for Public Policy, argues that China's demographic pattern had already changed dramatically by the time the one-child policy began in 1980.

ECONOMIST: China's population

Most railways and roads were built in a radial pattern, with Mexico City as the spider in the centre of the web.

ECONOMIST: All roads lead to Mexico City

About 100 staff work a multiple shift pattern, six days a week at the firm's print centre at Thorpe St Andrew.

BBC: Newspaper print jobs in Norwich under threat

Dr Mike Blackburn of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading admits that the reasons for a static pattern of the flow remain unclear.

BBC: Why, oh why, does it keep raining?