Q. For those of us who adore Christmas, the season is already well in swing. Where are some particularly beautiful places to travel if you want to seep yourself in Christmas spirit? . A. We can start with Google, who offered up the most-searched destinations on Google Flights for trips

Q. Do you have any choice food pairings that others find… unusual? Any so quirky that you would never indulge in public? What are some seemingly weird food mash-ups that people are willing to divulge (in anonymous surveys?) Chicco polled 2,000 Americans from 44 States on just that… . A.

Q. Pass over pink at your own peril. What are some words or phrases – current and old-fashioned-  that are inspired by the colour pink? . A. Carnation In olde times this described gradations of colour in flesh 👀 Got A Pink Slip Just got fired Have A Pink Fit

Q. Which animals run the fastest and how do we humans fare in comparison? . A. The 2020 World Almanac (with its teeny-tiny writing) and the American Museum of Natural History have answers. Sad to say, it’s rather bad race news for we non-Olympian humans. Most of these animals were

Q. Some days are daydream days. How can we get away – if not in reality, at least in our minds? One particularly stunning destination for a flight-free fantasm? Venice. Nobel Prize-winning poet, Joseph Brodsky (1940- 1996) – after ‘scanning this city’s face for seventeen winters’ – has written about

Q. The post-nuptials first dance is a big deal these days. It’s not unusual to find painstakingly chosen songs, dance lessons, choreographers … Which songs are we most likely to hear during this high-stakes first dance? . A. Last year, The Knot surveyed 10,000 married couples around what they see

Q. Happy Halloween! Which mini treats are most likely to go in your ‘one for me’ pile? What are the most popular Halloween candies this year? . A. Out with their annual ratings, Candy Store has catalogued the most popular Halloween Candies in the US – based on their sales

Q. Ok, ok, Duo. Voy a practicar mi espańol. No need to get all side-eye attitudinal. In the interim, you’ve sent me 20 different ways of saying the word ‘ouch’ in a variety of languages. I’m not sure what you have planned, but how does one ‘ow’ cross-culturally? . A.

Q. Speaking of ‘pulling out all of the stops’: when you look into creators of stunning organs, the Quebec-born Casavant Brothers come up a lot. Who were they, and how did they develop such a glittering reputation as organ crafters? . A. Papa Casavant – born 1807 in La Présentation-de-la-Sainte-Vierge

Q. Back in the day, the quince was it… the ‘Golden Apple’ of Ancient Greece, no less. This proud Maloideae member of the flowering Rosaceae family – with cousins that include apples, pears, and serviceberries – starred in stories of Hercules, Aphrodite, and Venus. With origins in the Caucasus Mountains,