Curious Questions
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Curious Questions: What really happened to the Flying Dutchman?
Tales of phantom ships are as old as time itself, but the story of the Flying Dutchman has haunted sailors for generations.
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What it's like to live and work in a National Park
Cumbrian farmer Douglas Chalmers weighs the pros and cons of living in a national park.
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Curious Questions: Why does the weather keep getting colder even when the days start getting longer?
The coldest months of the year in Britain are always January and February — despite the fact that we're getting more sunshine and daylight than we do during December. Martin Fone investigates why the weather gets colder even though the days are getting longer.
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The weather lore of January that claims to predict the future
Predicting the weather using folklore is not as lackadaisical as it might seem, says Lia Leendertz, as she reveals what we can look forward to this month.
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Why does BBC Radio 4 broadcast 'the pips' at the top of the hour?
The Greenwich Time Signal has been an ubiquitous part of BBC Radio for a century, but few know what it really is and where it came from
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How to tie the only knots you'll ever need
The 'Surrey Six' is a collection of ways to tie rope that, for most people, are the only six knots you'll ever need. Agnes Stamp tries her hand at tying them, and looks in to the lore of knot tying.
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When England cancelled Christmas
No feasting. No drinking. No celebrations. Ian Morton explores what the festive period was like when Oliver Cromwell’s Christmas clampdown gripped the nation.
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Curious Questions: Why do ships have figureheads?
Always adorned with eyes, often female and sometimes in a compromising pose, carved figureheads were cherished by their crews. But why? Harry Pearson takes a look.
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Curious Questions: What should you do if bats take up residence in your roof?
Watching bats flit across the night sky might be captivating, but their presence can be a challenge for the homeowners in whose roofs they roost. Jane Wheatley reports on what to do if a colony has taken up residence.
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When did Stir-up Sunday first begin?
On the last weekend before Advent, families gather to make Christmas pudding on the day we know as Stir-up Sunday. But when did we start giving it that name? With Stir-up Sunday 2023 falling on November 26th, Neil Buttery takes a look.
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The penny-farthing rider who made a 400-mile trek across war-torn Ukraine
Is it still possible to use a penny-farthing today? The answer is an emphatic yes, at least if you're former Special Forces officer and adventurer Neil Laughton. He rode his Victorian high wheeler for 400 miles across war-torn Ukraine, doing everything from making pizza for local children to raising money for charity. Here he tells his tale.
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Fifty of shades of green: The sex lives of plants
Plants have developed surprising ways of spreading their seed, says John Wright, as he explores the unusual and risqué manner in which some species reproduce to answer one of botany's oldest questions: how do plants have sex?
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Curious Questions: How did they come up with the numbers for shoe sizes?
If you've ever wondered why a six is a six and a ten is a ten, so has Martin Fone. He decided to find out how we came to settle on the shoe size numbers we use today.
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Why has it been a bumper year for British berries?
The sunny, yet wet summer might have been a dampener at the time, but the resulting autumnal berry haul is a feast for mice and men, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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Curious Questions: How to win at conkers
Few games rival conkers for sheer excitement. Simon Lester ponders the merits of round-topped nuts versus flat-sided cheesers and exposes the nefarious tricks some use to win at all costs.
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Curious Questions: Why did London never have a building to rival the Eiffel Tower?
England and France competed fiercely for bragging rights in the 19th and early 20th centuries — but no version of France's most famous building ever came to fruition. That wasn't for the lack of trying, though, as Martin Fone discovers.
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Curious Questions: How did the Leyland Cypress go from botanical accident to taking over the world?
The near-ubiquitous Leyland Cypress — or leylandii — is an evergreen with an extraordinary back story. Martin Fone explains.
