How do starlings form murmurations?
Murmurations of starlings — the vast clouds of thousands of birds, flocking and swooping through the sky — are one of nature's great displays. But how do the birds do it? Martin Fone investigates.
Murmurations of starlings — the vast clouds of thousands of birds, flocking and swooping through the sky — are one of nature's great displays. But how do the birds do it? Martin Fone investigates.
Dogs have never been more popular — as soaring puppy prices (and the worrying number of scams) show. But our love affair with dogs is anything but new — it's older than even our most ancient civilisations, discovers Martin Fone.
You'll scratch your chin, nod in recognition and quite probably chuckle out loud at the most-read columns from the Country Life website this year.
Martin Fone takes a look at the first Indian restaurant in Britain, discovering what was on its first menu, and finding out how lager became the traditional accompaniment to curry dishes.
It's not your imagination: there really were far more acorns on the ground than usual this autumn. Martin Fone looks at the phenomenon of the 'mast year'.
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.
Those 'chance of rain' percentages you see on the weather forecast hide a bewildering range of possibilities. So how are they calculated? The answer is far from simple, much less logical, as Martin Fone discovers.
A walk to a local hilltop prompts Martin Fone to wonder just how far you can see, assuming perfect atmospheric conditions.
The rows upon rows of ghoulish, glowing squash down your street can only mean one thing: it’s Halloween. But have you ever stopped to wonder whether a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable? Alexandra Fraser investigates.
A moment's reflection on a cancelled pub quiz gets Martin Fone wondering about Scotland's only lake.
Fifty years ago, only three per cent of Brits used tea bags. Today, only three per cent of us don't. Martin Fone takes a look at how tea bags took over the world.
The prickly juniper bush has been in decline for decades, a worrying development at a time when gin is soaring in popularity. Vicky Liddell takes a look at the history of this fascinating plant, and discovers that it's making a comeback on Surrey’s North Downs.
Six months of online shopping have left Martin Fone buried in cardboard boxes — and that's put him in the mood to answer a curious question. Where do they all come from? And when did we start making them?
Martin Fone crunches into a tart, crisp apple and ponders a question: who was Granny Smith? And did she really discover the apple that's named after her?
With a taste for radio and raspberries and a habit of clambering over anything in their path, tortoises are never going to be the cuddliest of pets, but they are nonetheless treasured by successive generations. Madeleine Silver investigates.
As patriotic songs come under the spotlight, Martin Fone takes a look at national anthems across the world.
Once essential elements of every brave Highlander’s armoury, deadly dirks and sgian-dubhs provided protection against foes, the elfin race and broken oaths. Joe Gibbs traces their history and explains how they came to be part of the traditional Scottish outfit, along with the kilt and sporran.
The rest of Europe drives on the right, so why do the British drive on the left? Martin Fone, author of 'Fifty Curious Questions', investigates.
An experience far from home prompts Martin Fone to delve into the history of laundry — including the rather unpleasants secrets of removing stains.
Quieter roads, no stressing about dodgy wi-fi and the comforting pong of the cooler opening — were things really better in the 1970s? Ysenda Maxtone-Graham investigates.