Q. Stare all you want. No self-respecting cat is about to show you its real secrets. What luck have  renowned artists had at unlocking feline truths? . A. Let’s see… Goya. Manrique de Zuñiga. 1787-88 . Marguerite Gérard. The Cat’s Lunch. ~1800 . Marguerite Gérard. La Dame avec son Chat.

Q. How did the white dove come to symbolize peace? . A. The peaceful white dove is rooted in the Bible. As we see in the Book of Genesis: the earth has been battered by a deadly flood. Sensing that the waters may be pulling back, Noah releases a dove

Q. It’s rainy, grey and into-the-bones damp. The foliage is thriving, but what are we humans to do? What’s your favourite thing to do on a rainy day? . A. Eureka asked more than 41,000 participants what their go-to activities were for a ‘dreary, rainy weekend day.’ Survey said… Favourite

Q. Happy National Pie Day. Which pies do we Canadians particularly favour? . A. An earlier survey by Tenderflake found … Canada’s Favourite Pie i.   Apple pie ii.  Lemon Meringue iii. Pecan iii. Blueberry iv. Pumpkin . In 2021, Google Trends took an eye to the Canadian pie question… Canadian

Q. When Mum brought in sun-dried laundry off the backyard line, we couldn’t wait to dive onto the basket and breathe in that glorious scent. Weird? Relatable? Which scents trigger warm memories for you? . A. A 2020 Samsung poll unearthed the favourite scents of  2,000 UK adults. Which of

Q. City nicknames are a tricky thing, more often used by people who live elsewhere. When I moved for a while to the Bay Area, new friends were quick to tell me: “Whatever you do, do not call San Francisco ‘Frisco’. And don’t even think about calling it ‘San Fran’.

Q. You might have heard that ‘parasocial’ is Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 recipient of word of the year. Its meaning? The vivid ‘relationship’ a person feels with someone they don’t actually know, such as a celebrity, a bot, or a fictional character. ‘Oh, Kate. What has Hal done now?!’ What kind

Q. As holiday season and buffet-rich ‘of course they will’ romance movies abound, one key question arises: what exactly are mince or mincemeat pies? Plenty of people who have eaten them at holiday parties aren’t so sure. . A. We see mince pies featured in multi-layer meaning nursery rhymes: Little

Q. Which film and TV scores do you particularly enjoy? Would you listen to the music on its own, or only in its screen context. Looking across the decades, which scores do renowned film and TV composers respect and enjoy the most? . A. BBC Classical Music asked 60 top

Q. Where is your ideal setting for a first date? How much external distraction do you favour – a full-on show vs. some built-in distractions just in case conversation runs dry? Are you looking for a setting with high romantic cues, or a neutral setting that could fit all manner