A special shout-out must go to the brilliant Martin Fone — you can catch up on all his Curious Questions articles here — and Rosie Paterson and James Fisher for their lockdown blogs.
What did people use before toilet paper?
Credit: Toby Keel
The mania for the humble toilet roll that accompanied the coronavirus had our columnist Martin Fone musing on where it came from in the first place.
Jason Goodwin: The night I accidentally sent a friend to go dogging on a remote West Country hilltop
Credit: Getty
Oh, Jason. It could have happened to anyone.
How likely are you to be killed by a falling coconut?
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Martin Fone's Curious Questions blog was published just at the end of 2019, but kept people fascinated well into 2020.
How do you survive social isolation? A former Royal Navy submarine commander on the five things you need to do
Credit: Ryan Ramsey
For some people, the isolation of lockdown was second nature. James Fisher spoke to a Commander Ryan Ramsey, a former submarine skipper in the Royal Navy, to get his tips.
Seven astonishing books to read in 2020 which will change your understanding of the history of the world
Credit: Tim Mackintosh-Smith/Yale
Barnaby Rogerson chose these extraordinary tomes at 2019 turned to 2020.
The seven rules of cycling that no cyclist will ever tell you
Credit: Peter Cade via Getty Images
Our lockdown bloggers Rosie Paterson and James Fisher shared the truth about cycling, and wondered how it is that March was simultaneously 28 years and yet only two months ago.
How wise are owls
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The age-old image of the intelligent owl has persisted for centuries — but are they really the intellectuals of the avian world? Martin Fone investigated.
‘I’m fairly sure the elderly lady with excellent hair doesn’t usually winch her shopping up through a second floor window’
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Down and Out in Devon and London' was the working title for our blog series — and this one, lit up by ingenuity of an English village dweller, was one of the best.
Would Anne Brontë be more famous without her two sisters?
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To mark the forgotten Brontë’s 200th birthday, Charlotte Cory looked back at the life and works of this ‘runt of the literary litter’ and found she was by no means meek and mild.
10 sustainability myths busted, and six things you can do to make a real difference
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It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little — do what you can,’ wrote Sydney Smith some two centuries ago. That inspired Jonathan Self's list.
Curious Questions: Are cows actually super-intelligent?
Far from being ‘stupid’ or ‘silly cows’, cattle are clever and emotionally intelligent, with bags of personality, too, says John
Curious Questions: When does summer actually start?
You'd think it would be simple. It's anything but, as Martin Fone discovers.
Curious Questions: Which bird's song is loudest?
We tend to think of bird song as endearing and delicate — but there are birds out there who would put
Curious Questions: Why don't woodpeckers hurt their heads?
Woodpeckers submit their poor heads to punishment which would devastate most creatures, yet as far as we know they fly
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
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Why it’s imperative that schoolchildren have access to art and design classesThe UK’s creative industries are worth £124.6 billion, but suitable classes are being stripped from the curriculum. Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, outlines what the Museum is planning to do about it.
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The Country Life Christmas message by Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy: ‘The most powerful person in the world’ is not an emperor, high priest or CEO, but a helpless baby in the arms of a loving motherRevd Dr Colin Heber-Percy on how Christmas shows us that ‘the most powerful person in the world’ is not an emperor, or a high priest or the CEO of a tech company, but a helpless baby in the arms of a loving mother.
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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 are the finest last words ever uttered?Final words can be poignant, tragic, ironic, loving and, sometimes, hilarious. Annunciata Elwes examines this most bizarre form of public speaking.
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'Keep thy device clean': Country Life's Tech CommandmentsWe all use our phones too much. The least we can do is agree on a set of rules for modern etiquette in a digital age.
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Curious Questions: Why do we still love pirate stories, 300 years on from Blackbeard?Tales of swashbuckling pirates have entertained audiences for years, inspired by real-life British men and women, says Jack Watkins.
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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: Where does the phrase 'daylight robbery' come from? It's literally about the theft of daylightMartin 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.
