Curious Questions
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Curious Questions: Is being left-handed an advantage?
In days gone by, left-handed children were made to write with the ‘correct’ hand — but these days we understand that being left-handed is no barrier to greatness. In fact, there are endless examples of history's greatest musicians, artists and statesmen being left-handed. So much so that you'll start to wonder if it's actually an advantage.
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Curious Questions: Were Mallory and Irvine the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
It’s now 100 years since George Mallory and Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine disappeared high on Everest; speculation about their achievements has been rife ever since. Robin Ashcroft takes a broad perspective
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A game of two halves — how the sandwich went from humble fare to a country-wide lunchtime obsession
What started life as a way to eat and play cards at the same time (so the story goes) is now the lunch of choice for the working world.
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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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Where to find the world's best club sandwich — and the story of this triple-layered paean to poolside delight
The club sandwich, arguably the most famous of all sarnies, is a poolside staple, but its origins are tricky to trace, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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From the 'gatekeeper' to the 'Scotch argus', where did butterflies and moths get their strange names?
Members of the Society of Aurelians were artists, designers, silk traders and men-of-letters. So what inspired them to coin the many names of butterflies and moths we use today? The answer, reveals Peter Marren is beauty.
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Do you know your apple-catchers from your tittamatorter? Take a crash course in the UK's local languages
With experts warning that regional accents could disappear within decades, our sometimes quaint and, often, bizarre dialect words are becoming ever-more precious.
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Curious Questions: Was music's famous 'Lady of the Nightingales' nothing more than a hoaxer?
Beatrice Harrison, aka ‘The Lady of the Nightingales’, charmed King and country with her garden duets alongside the nightingales singing in a Surrey garden. One hundred years later, Julian Lloyd Webber examines whether her performances were fact or fiction.
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Curious Questions: Who was the first person to take a driving test?
For years, all you need to drive a car was to jump behind the wheel — but that all changed. Martin Fone traces the history of the driving test.
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Curious Questions: Why does our tax year start on April 6th?
The tax-year calendar is not as arbitrary as it seems, with a history that dates back to the ancient Roman and is connected to major calendar reforms across Europe.
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Why do we get so many April showers?
It's the time of year when a torrential downpour can come and go in minutes — or drench one side of the street while leaving the other side dry. It's all to the good for growing, says Lia Leendertz as she takes a look at the weather of April.
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What is Whitby jet? The once-prized northern native gemstone that is darker than the night
This 'beautiful, natural, heritage material deserves to be reassessed' and is slowly regaining popularity. Harry Pearson talks to the makers still working with this ancient gemstone.
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Curious Questions: Why does Easter move dates every year?
Phoebe Bath researches why exactly Easter is a called a 'moveable feast'.
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Curious Questions: Why do we eat hot cross buns at Easter?
Annunciata Elwes traces the curious history of the hot cross bun in Britain.
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Who was the original Jack Russell who gave his name to one of Britain's favourite dog breeds?
Kate Green takes a look at the the legacy of Revd John Russell, the man who gave his name to the Jack Russell and Parson Russell terriers.
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Curious Questions: The kiwi fruit is from China, and is China's national fruit — so how did it get its New Zealand-inspired name?
Martin Fone peels the layers back on the strange tale of how the kiwi fruit got its name.
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Curious Questions: When — and why — did we stop wearing hats?
The hat was once as essential for leaving the house as a pair of trousers, but the sight of a dapper gent sporting one is now all too rare, laments John F. Mueller, while Toby Keel takes a look at the reasons we stopped wearing them.
