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Curious questions: how an underground pond from the last Ice Age almost stopped the Blackwall Tunnel from being built
You might think a pond is just a pond. You would be incorrect. Martin Fone tells us the fascinating story of pingo and dew ponds.
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Curious questions: How a horse on a treadmill almost defeated a steam locomotive
The wonderful tale of Thomas Brandreth's Cycloped and the first steam-powered railway.
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'Squopping and squidging': Who invented tiddlywinks?
Today's Curious Question takes a look at one of the nation's favourite parlour games.
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Curious Questions: What is a tin tabernacle?
Martin Fone looks at the history of the tin tabernacle, and discovers a tale about the origins of corrugated iron, the history of the church in Britain and how Queen Victoria's ballroom at Balmoral got turned in to a joiner's workshop.
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Curious Questions: Did the Victorians pave the way for the first ULEZ cameras in the world?
Martin Fone takes a look at the history of London's coalgates, and finds that the idea of taxing things as they enter the City of London is centuries old.
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Curious Questions: What's in a (scientific) name? From Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides to Myxococcus llanfair pwll gwyn gyll go gery chwyrn drobwll llan tysilio gogo goch ensis, and everything in between
Scientific names are baffling to the layman, but carry all sorts of meanings to those who coin each new term. Martin Fone explains.
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Curious questions: Where did Quality Street get its name from?
You sit there, devouring them all Christmas, and you didn't even think to ask, did you?
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Curious Questions: How did a scrotum joke confuse paleontologists for generations?
One of the earliest depictions of a fossil prompted a joke — or perhaps a misunderstanding — which coloured the view of dinosaur fossils for years. Martin Fone tells the tale of 'scrotum humanum'.
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Curious Questions: Why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween?
The devilishly smiling image of Jack O'Lantern is inseparable from Halloween, but what's the story behind it? Martin Fone explains — and discovers that the festival many complain about as an American import has been this side of the Atlantic for centuries.
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Curious Questions: Margarine used to be pink — but why?
Margarine has been a staple of our breakfast tables for over a century, but it hasn't always had a smooth ride — particularly from the dairy industry, who managed to impose a most bizarre sanction on their easily-spreadable, industrially mass-produced rival. Martin Fone explains.
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Curious Questions: Why was the original Euston Station destroyed in one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism Britain has ever seen?
One of the great masterpieces of 19th century, the original Euston Station, was built in the years after Queen Victoria came to the throne. Less than 125 years later it was razed to the ground; Martin Fone takes a look at the reasons why.
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Curious Questions: We used to fly cars across the English Channel in 20 minutes — why did we stop?
It seems hard to believe, but taking your car across the English Channel to France by air actually pre-dates the cross-channel car ferry. So how did it fall out of use almost 50 years ago? Martin Fone investigates.
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Curious Questions: Wine has been made in Britain for over 1,000 years — so why have we only just turned it into an industry?
With the UK wine industry booming, Martin Fone takes a look at its history.
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Curious Questions: Who invented the rear-view mirror?
Although obvious now, the rearview mirror wasn't really invented until the 1920s. Even then, it was mostly used for driving fast and avoiding the police.
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Curious Question: Did the limerick originate in Limerick?
Before workers wasted time scrolling Twitter or Instagram, they wasted their time writing limericks.
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The ship that was in two different centuries, two different years, two different months, two different days and two different seasons, all at the same time
On December 31, 1899, the SS Warrimoo may have travelled through time — but did it really happen?
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The 1930s eco-warrior who inspired David Attenborough and The Queen, only to be unmasked as a hoaxer and 'pretendian' — but his message still rings true
Martin Fone tells the astonishing story of Grey Owl, who became a household name in the 1930s with his pioneering calls to action to save the environment — using a false identity to do so.
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Curious Questions: Why is race walking an Olympic sport?
The history of the Olympics is full of curious events which only come to prominence once every four years. Martin Fone takes a look at one of the oddest: race walking, or pedestrianism.
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Curious Questions: What is mock turtle soup? And did it come before or after 'Alice in Wonderland'?
Martin Fone delves into the curious tale of an iconic Victorian delicacy: mock turtle soup.
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Curious Questions: Where does the phrase 'daylight robbery' come from? It's literally about the theft of daylight
Martin Fone tells a tale of sunshine and tax — and where there is tax, there is tax avoidance... which in this case changed the face of Britain's growing cities.
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Curious Questions: Is there a way to win at rock, paper, scissors?
A completely fair game of chance, or an opportunity for those with an edge in human psychology to gain an advantage? Martin Fone looks at the enduringly simple game of rock, paper, scissors.
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Curious Questions: When does summer actually start?
You'd think it would be simple. It's anything but, as Martin Fone discovers.
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Curious Questions: What happened to saucy seaside postcards?
Saucy seaside postcards were once a mainstay of British life over the summer, but these days they're rarely seen. Martin Fone asks why, and discovers the history of artists such as Donald McGill who turned wry, naughty humour into a huge industry.
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Curious Questions: Why did the Garden Cities of Tomorrow never catch on?
The worst excesses of the Industrial Revolution prompted some truly forward-thinking urban planning as far back as the 19th century — yet today, precious few of us live in the idyllic 'garden cities' that were dreamed of. Martin Fone looks at what happened, the benefits that came to pass from those fresh ideas, and what got lost on the way.
