One of the early names proposed for the Victoria Line was the Viking line.
The American talk show host Jerry Springer was born at East Finchley during the Second World War: his mother had taken shelter in the station from an air raid.
According to a 2002 study, air quality on the Underground was 73 times worse than at street level (20 mins on the Northern Line has "the same effect as smoking a cigarette")
Albus Dumbledore, a character from the Harry Potter series, has a scar just above his left knee in the shape of the Tube map.
Every day over 1000 people accidentally leave something on the Tube; some past items in include Samurai swords, false teeth, three dead bats and a 14 foot boat.
Scenes from the film Sliding Doors were shot at Waterloo station on the Waterloo & City Line and at Fulham Broadway tube station on the District Line.
The record for visiting all the stations on the Underground network – known as The Tube Challenge – is currently held by Andi James and Steve Wilson, who completed the challenge in 16 hours, 29 minutes and 13 seconds on May 27th 2011.
Wildlife observed on the Tube network includes woodpeckers, deer, sparrowhawk, bats, grass snakes, great crested newts, slow worms.
Sting and Paul McCartney are rumoured to have busked on the Underground in disguise.
In the latest James Bond film, Skyfall, Daniel Craig narrowly avoids being crushed by the Circle Line during a chase scene that took him through several tube stations.
