Did you know that Jerry Springer's favourite song is Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, David Cameron would like to take a crate of Scotch whisky to an island with him and Andrew Motion and Alice Cooper are united by their love for Bob Dylan?
No, I haven't been cold-calling celebrities in the night again, I've been playing with the new Desert Island Discs website.
The searchable archive of more than 2,800 castaways (and counting) from 69 years of BBC Radio 4 interviews is a formidable tool, allowing users to not only find out who chose what songs, books and luxury items, but to cross-reference them against the choices made by other castaways and their own selections.
Moreover, if the episode in question aired in the last ten years, you can download or stream the whole programme and enjoy it in its original glory.
Last week I caught up with Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young, who told me more about the archive and why she thinks the show is still so popular after seven decades. She also shared some of her favourite moments from her tenure as presenter.
Here's an extended selection of Kirsty's most memorable moments (plus links to audio) from her five years presenting the programme.
Eight castaways to remember David Dimbleby - broadcaster and journalist
Originally broadcast: 24 Feb 2008
What Kirsty said:
"I asked him for his luxury and he said, 'I'll take you.' I nearly fell off my bloody seat! And I think I kind of flushed from my toenails up, I totally wasn't expecting it, and I said [she uses a shrill comedy voice], 'What? That's not allowed within the rules.' That really knocked me for six; you could have knocked me over with a feather. I didn't see it coming because he'd been quite proper throughout the whole interview."
According to the archive, he eventually took a collection of pencils, drawing books and varnish. Betty Driver - actress
Originally broadcast: 23 January 2011
What Kirsty said:
"A gift of an interview. The most extraordinary life, very articulate. She's 90, as sharp as a pin. A total pleasure to interview - a great sense of humour and a life that was full of light and shade. She was a brilliant storyteller, a real pleasure to spend time with."
Ben Helfgott - chair of the '45 Aid Society for Holocaust Survivors, campaigner and athlete
Originally broadcast: 1 April 2007
What Kirsty said:
"He was one of the most memorable people I ever met in my life, never mind doing my job. He was an incredible man. His mother and one of his sisters had been killed. He survived with his father in one of the concentration camps, and then just days before liberation his father was shot dead trying to break free. Ben had come to Britain, he was emaciated when he left the concentration camp, he ended up competing in the next Olympic games, a matter of years after the end of the Second World War, and won a medal in the weightlifting. He was really thoughtful, but entirely unsentimental, just inspiring and energetic. He was so enthusiastic about what Great Britain had given him, and spoke glowingly about all the things that are good and it's easy to forget about in Britain. He was just an extraordinary man. That was a privilege."
Tom Jones - musician
Originally broadcast: 26 September 2010
What Kirsty said:
"He was talking about It's Not Unusual and I thought, I don't know if I've got the nerve to do this. Anyway, he's talking away and I said, 'I don't think I know that one. Could you sing it?' He said, 'You don't know that one?' and he really thought I was serious. Then he realised, but he sang it anyway … He sat opposite me singing It's Not Unusual, it was fantastic … A raving treat, thank God I didn't interview him when he was 40 or I wouldn't have been able to get a word out. Because he was pretty sexy at 70."
Eliza Manningham-Buller - former head of MI5
Originally broadcast: 18 November 2007
What Kirsty said:
"She is as establishment a figure, if one chose to conjure one up, as you could imagine - or so you think. Someone once described her as like a galleon in full sail. You wouldn't mess with Eliza Manningham-Buller. And I'm sure she was just the woman to run MI5 for the amount of years she did. She chose the White Stripes. And she really knew the White Stripes … When I saw the original song choice list, it was all I could do to stop myself jumping up and punching the air."
Morrissey - musician
Originally broadcast: 29 November 2009
What Kirsty said:
"It was unusual and in its own way oddly rewarding … I was nervous that Morrissey was going to walk out. It took us comfortably three years to get him there … On the day that we were due to be recording, I thought, chances are, he's not going to turn up. He did turn up, and obviously his reputation precedes him, which is something he's worked hard at. He doesn't really try to make people feel comfortable!"
Yoko Ono - artist and musician
Originally broadcast: 10 June 2007
What Kirsty said:
"It wasn't one of my favourite interviews, but it was an extraordinary encounter … She talked to me about becoming pregnant with her son [Sean]. And that she and John Lennon had had a discussion about having a termination. It was very intimate, I wasn't expecting it, so that was very surprising … It was a window on a little part of popular culture and history that was fascinating."
David Walliams - comedian and writer
Originally broadcast: 22 February 2009
What Kirsty said:
"He was single, and very well known at the time for being a lothario about town, endlessly pictured with a stream of available pretty young things. He came in and gave a very unexpected interview where he talked about not being able to be on his own and unravelling in his own company … He was incredibly thoughtful, I thought incredibly likeable, because he was being so honest, but it wasn't the conversation - or the interview - that I was expecting."