1. Petri dishes: over 7,500 petri dishes were used for microbiological experiments in developing Dyson Airblade.

2. The poultry test: 78 fresh chickens were used to contaminate the hands of 14 “willing” Dyson employees. They were required to man-handle the chickens inside and out, prior to washing, drying and microbiological skin testing.

3. Getting a-head: Dyson RDD invested in a plastic doll to check that a baby’s head couldn’t get stuck in the machine.

4. DDM: Dyson Engineers spent 5 years in developing the Dyson Digital Motor. They then spent 3 years to develop the Dyson Airblade.

5. Formula 1: The DDM used in the Airblade is fast, very fast. Compared to a Formula 1 motor, it is 5 times faster.

6. Eyelash: The unheated air that is drying hands is channelled through a 0.3 millimetre gap, no thicker than an eyelash.

7. Silver: The antimicrobial agent added to Dyson Airblade’s coating contains silver.

8. 38: This is the number of patents on the Dyson Airblade.

9. Big bus: The moulding machine used to produce the die cast aluminium front of the Dyson Airblade is as big as two double-decker buses.

10. 37: This is the number of litres of air that goes through the Dyson Airblade each second when in use.