The Knowledge marks 150th year

London’s infamous test for cabbies, The Knowledge, is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

London’s infamous test for cabbies, The Knowledge, is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

The cornerstone of the London’s black cab industry, The Knowledge involves memorising 25,000 streets and 100,000 landmarks within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross before taking a written test, interviews and a final examination.

Regarded as the equivalent of a degree, The Knowledge is a notoriously difficult six-stage process, with as many as 80% of applicants drop out after the first stage.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has praised the examination on its anniversary. He said: "It's a huge amount of mental effort. Studies have shown that what is called the posterior hippocampus in the average taxi driver's brain is substantially enlarged and that is because of the vast amount of knowledge they have stored there."

The Knowledge has faced competition from sat nav systems in recent years, but David Hall, acting Knowledge of London manager, said: "You still can't beat it. You can use sat nav but as a guide - a memory jigger."

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