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.
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.
Scientific names are baffling to the layman, but carry all sorts of meanings to those who coin each new term. Martin Fone explains.
You sit there, devouring them all Christmas, and you didn't even think to ask, did you?
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'.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With the UK wine industry booming, Martin Fone takes a look at its history.
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.
Before workers wasted time scrolling Twitter or Instagram, they wasted their time writing limericks.
On December 31, 1899, the SS Warrimoo may have travelled through time — but did it really happen?
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.
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.
Martin Fone delves into the curious tale of an iconic Victorian delicacy: mock turtle soup.
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.
You'd think it would be simple. It's anything but, as Martin Fone discovers.
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.
