Curious Questions: Why are Christmas cracker jokes so corny?
With the dust having settled on Christmas, there is only one question left to ponder: why are the jokes in crackers so intentionally bad? Martin Fone explains all.
Curious Questions
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Boxing Day: What it is, why we celebrate it, and how 'Good King Wenceslas' earned his name on the Feast of Stephen
Better known as Boxing Day, the origins of St Stephen’s Day are sinister and macabre, especially for poor wrens, as Aeneas Dennison discovers.
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Curious Questions: Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
Peaking at Christmas, regard for mistletoe is deeply rooted in myth and legend, finds Ian Morton – not to mention the age-old tradition of kissing underneath it.
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Curious Questions: Why is smell the most evocative of our senses, 'primal, unconscious and instantaneous, capable of stopping a person dead in their tracks'?
Tom Parker Bowles delves into the mysteries of our ability to smell — and ponders what is the best smell of all.
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Curious Questions: How are ice sculptures are made?
Medieval castles, thrones, dragons, curtains, serving dishes and cheeky luges can all be fashioned from ice, if you have the magic touch and can take the chill factor, discovers Jane Wheatley. Photographs by Richard Cannon.
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Curious Questions: Why do we send Christmas cards?
From the first Christmas card, born out of a lack of time, to today’s, adorned with crystals or wildflower seeds, the soft thud of festive post on the mat continues to spread good cheer, says Ben Lerwill.
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Curious Questions: Why do we have Advent calendars?
This week's Country Life Christmas special is an annual treat, with our special Advent calendar cover. But how did the Advent calendar phenomenon start? Martin Fone investigates.
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Curious Question: How did the Victoria Sponge get its name?
Our most beloved sponge cake carries a grandly regal name: the Victoria Sponge. But how did it come to be called that? Ahead of National Cake Day on November 26, Martin Fone investigates.
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Jonathan Self: Was Eve's apple really a pear? Because I'm pretty sure it was
Jonathan Self points out that the Good Book doesn't actually specify what fruit Eve plucked from the Tree of Knowledge. Among other things.
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Curious Questions: Who invented the watering can?
You might take it for granted, but the watering can transformed the art and science of gardening — but who came up with its perfect design, which has been essentially unchanged for over a century? Martin Fone, author of More Curious Questions, investigates.
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Curious Questions: Where do conference pears get their name?
Conference pears bear one of the oddest and most incongruous names in the world of fruit and veg. Martin Fone, author of More Curious Questions, delves deeper to see how they came to be called what they are.
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Curious Questions: Why doesn't Stilton cheese come from Stilton?
Britain's most famous blue cheese takes its name from a picturesque Cambridgeshire village — yet it's made nowhere near the place, and not even in the same county. Martin Fone investigates this strange culinary anomaly.
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Curious Questions: Who compiled the first crossword?
Martin Fone retraces the history of the popular pastime from the word puzzle squares of Roman times to today's cryptic grids.
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Curious Question: Why does the air smell so good after it's been raining?
That wonderful scent in the air when the rain stops falling has entranced people since the dawn of time — but what causes it? Martin Fone investigates.
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Curious Questions: Where do wedding anniversary traditions come from?
Martin Fone discovers the origins of wedding anniversary names and investigates the origins of the Flitch Trial tradition.
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Curious questions: Who was the first person to receive the Victoria Cross?
Martin Fone retraces the history of the order and discovers the stories of its early recipients.
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Curious Questions: Why do we give rosettes to winners?
Whether pinned on a politician’s lapel or won in the show ring, rosettes can be more precious than shiny trophies, as Julie Harding finds out.
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Curious Questions: Who invented the lawnmower?
Martin Fone delves into the history of the lawnmower and discovers a link to weaving machines.
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2,000 years of the dock leaf
Generations have sworn by dock leaves to take the sting out of a brush with stinging nettles — but modern medicine disagrees. Ian Morton explains more as he delves into the history and lore of this plant.
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Curious Questions: What is a weed?
They're the bane of gardeners' lives, but do they even exist, at least in any consistent and logical sense? Martin Fone takes a step back to think about which plants are and aren't weeds — and how the mystery of fast adaptive evolution means that the 'wrong plant in the wrong place at the wrong time' definition isn't quite enough.
