Curious Questions

Curious Questions: Why do the clocks go forward in Spring?

As we move from Greenwich Mean Time to British Summer Time, Martin Fone ponders the reasons why — and wonders if we'll always continue to change the clocks twice a year.

Curious Questions: What did people use before toilet paper?

The mania for the humble toilet roll that has accompanied the coronavirus has our columnist Martin Fone musing on where it came from in the first place.

How to win at board games, from Monopoly and Cluedo to Scrabble and Snakes and Ladders

As millions of people around the country are set to have an enforced period at home, it'll be time to bring out the classic board games. But how can you make sure you beat the kids? Luck helps, but tactics are better as Matthew Dennison explains.

Curious Questions: Who first discovered that washing your hands stops the spread of disease?

Washing your hands regularly is the single biggest thing you can do to help stop the spread of coronavirus. In an article adapted from a chapter of his book, Martin Fone explains more.

Curious Questions: Who was Earl Grey — and why are we drinking his tea?

If you've ever stopped to wonder exactly which member of the aristocracy put his name to the floral, perfumed tea, Martin Fone has the answer.

Curious Questions: Why can women 'only' propose on the 29th February?

It's 2020, and women can propose whenever and wherever they want. But where did this strange tradition come from? Ladies, gather your red petticoats and Poundland rings – Victoria Marston is here to clear things up a bit.

Curious Questions: Why is pancake day called 'Shrove Tuesday'?

Martin Fone investigates how Shrove Tuesday got its name — and also unveils the history of the day that precedes it, Collop Monday.

Curious Questions: Why do we say it with flowers?

Post-Valentine's Day, Martin Fone takes a look at the true meaning behind flowers, decoding what each individual bloom says about the receiver - or the sender.

Curious Questions: How the Monkey Puzzle tree get its name?

One of the most curious trees you'll see in Britain is also one of the most curiously-named: the Monkey Puzzle tree. But how did it get its name?

Curious Questions: Why are wine bottles all pretty much the same shape and colour?

We drink 36 billion bottles of wine a year — and almost all of them come in wine bottles that share essentially the same design. Martin Fone wonders why.

Curious Questions: Would Anne Brontë be more famous without her two sisters?

To mark the forgotten Brontë’s 200th birthday, Charlotte Cory looks back at the life and works of this ‘runt of the literary litter’ and finds she was by no means meek and mild.

Curious Questions: How did a stork with a spear through its neck solve the mystery of the migration of birds?

For thousands of years, most people were convinced that birds hibernated in the winter — until a staggeringly resilient stork proved otherwise. Martin Fone explains.

Curious Questions: Why are banana skins so slippery?

The deadly slipperiness of the discarded banana skin — substantially more slippery than ice — is a staple of comic sketches across the world, but what is it that makes our favourite tropical fruit such a hazard? Martin Fone investigates.

Curious Questions: Why do we have poinsettias at Christmas — and why did it get the name 'excrement flower'?

Their bright red leaves brighten up our houses at this time of year, but how did the tradition of having poinsettias at Christmas start? Mark Griffiths explains.

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 the average foghorn to shame. Martin Fone finds out which is the loudest.

Curious Questions: Have you been taking books off shelves the wrong way for your entire life?

The question of how to take a book off a shelf without damaging it may not be one you've ever given much thought to — but you owe it to your collection to do it the right way.

Curious Questions: Why do we have Advent calendars?

The first three-and-a-half weeks of December can mean only one thing: people anxiously opening small cardboard doors in order to behold the wonders within. But how did the Advent calendar phenomenon start? Martin Fone investigates.

Curious Questions: Why do the numbers in London postcodes make no sense?

Gone are the days when postcode snobbery hindered the London housing market, finds Eleanor Doughty. Or are they?

Curious Questions: How do you make the perfect slice of toast?

Lightly golden, charred at the edges, hot and dripping with melted butter or cold with a thick topping of the stuff? Rob Crossan evaluates the ultimate way to make toast — and pays tribute to the men and women who made it our go-to snack of choice.

Curious Questions: How likely are you to be killed by a falling coconut?

Our resident curious questioner Martin Fone poses (and answers) another head scratcher - or should we say, head banger?