The second forty-something manager to win promotion, and the most surprising appointee, is Geoff Hoon, the new defence secretary.

ECONOMIST: The cabinet reshuffle

Created by Mexican comedian Roberto Gomez Bolanos, who also stars in the show, El Chavo follows the exploits of a street urchin who lives inside a barrel, portrayed by a then-forty-something Bolanos.

FORBES: Meet El Chavo, The World's Most Famous (And Richest) Orphan

From my perspective, he was instrumental in me still continuing to work in the field of wildlife management some forty years later, something I am always grateful for, (and which I suspect may be applicable to many other people).

FORBES: The Man Who Loved Birds: Don Merton (1939-2011)

The Mazda3's second satisfaction runs something like: Forty is the new 30.

WSJ: 2012 Mazda3 i Grand Touring Review: It Really Moves the Needle (Not the Gas One) | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil

Before forty, you think that exhaustion is something like a long-lasting hangover.

NEWYORKER: Fjord of Killary

Forty percent of people who admitted to piracy said they also expect to pirate something on a mobile device in the next six months.

FORBES: Despite Technological Advances, Piracy as Popular as Ever

Father wrote, forty years ago, of the beauty that struck him then (and perhaps of something greater as well).

NEWYORKER: See the Other Side

Forty years ago, an English physicist called James Dungey, now 77 years old, gave that something a name: magnetic reconnection.

ECONOMIST: Hot stuff

Forty Conservative MPs wrote to the Sunday Telegraph praising the principles of the bill, without mentioning Andrew Lansley - something the newspaper suggests is a "snub" to the health secretary.

BBC: NHS bill is a mess, says former chief executive