Promises, promises

We make them and we break them, because some promises are very hard to keep. Here are the top six most common broken promises ...

1 I'll come back tomorrow

You always hear this from builders, plumbers, and electricians. But the truth is very different. They won't come back until next week (or later). And you will probably need to phone them five times first.

2 I won't tell anyone

We love hearing secrets and we happily make this promise. And at the time we really mean it. 'Don't worry,' we say, 'your secret is safe with me.' But of course it isn't. Research shows that everybody will always tell one other person the secret. Very soon the whole street will know!

3 This won't hurt

A favourite phrase of doctors, dentists, and nurses. They usually say it just before they give you an injection. But the phrase is not complete. The full phrase is: 'This won't hurt me (but it will probably hurt you a lot).'

4 I'll write

You make a new friend on holiday or on a bus journey, you swap e-mail addresses, and you make this promise. Six months later you find a name and e-mail address on a card or an old piece of paper. 'Oh dear!' you think - but then you remember that they didn't write to you either!

5 I'll pay you back tomorrow

In Hamlet, Shakespeare told us never to borrow or lend money. He was right. When we lend people money they always make this promise, but then they forget. If we then ask for the money back, they think we are mean. If we don't ask, we never get the money back.

6 I'll always love you

Whitney Houston sang a song about this and every day, all over the world thousands of people make the same promise to each other. We know eternal love exists, but is this promise the most difficult one to keep of them all?