Q. You’re happy, you’re thrilled, you’re ‘over the moon.’ What’s the origin of this space-hurtling idiom? . A. The idea that happiness = ‘over the moon’ is rooted in the much-chanted ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ Mother Goose nursery rhyme… Hey Diddle, Diddle Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The

Day made! We are over the moon to hear that the Just Curious site is nominated for a Webby Award. What an honour to be included in such an amazing group of nominees. . . *So appreciate it if you click here if you have the time to vote* .

Q. Come Easter weekend, Dad and I were more than happy to tuck into the Spice Bun and Cheese Mum laid out to celebrate the season. What do we know about this delicious Jamaican tradition? . A. Jamaican Easter bun is said to be an offshoot of British hot cross

Q. Which artists have been engaging people over the last year? . A. We can find some answers in Artnet’s 2023 Intelligence Report. As they combed through searches in their Price Database, Artnet found… Top 10 Most Searched Artists. By Mid-Year 2023 i.    Pablo Picasso ii.   Andy Warhol

Q. With a moniker like ‘The City of Light’, it’s no wonder that Paris has inspired so many notable artists to pull out their palates. What have they created? . A. Here are some painterly examples from the twinkling river banks to the humming back streets of Paris… . .

Q. What are some simple things that lift people’s spirits? . A. It’s a question that One Poll – sponsored by Babybel – asked of 2000 UK adult in 2023. What did they discover? Which of these do you rank highest? Top 20 Things That Make People Feel Good. 2023

Q. Is it reasonable to assume that the utterly delicious Nanaimo Bar originated in Nanaimo, British Columbia? . A. Reasonable? Yes. Safe? Hmm… When something is so delicious – a layer of creamy chocolate that gives way to a vanilla custard middle which sits atop graham wafers and coconut –

Q. Is the English language really that hard to learn? Yes. Yes it is. Our encyclopedic collection of idioms does not help. Exhibit Number One: ‘hit the sack.’ Which sack are we hitting and why? Is this some sort of madcap carnival game? Where did this idiom originate? . A.

Q. If you like opera – or, you know, watch cartoons, TV shows, or movies – you’ve likely heard arias from the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). You might have heard Kiri Te Kanawa singing ‘O mio babbino caro’ – from Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’ – in  ‘A Room with a

Q. Who are some well-known authors with pseudonyms? . A. For a litany of reasons – some personal, some driven by brutal societal biases –  authors have long tossed their birth names for noms de plume. Some of these pseudonyms have been adopted for entire writing careers, others for an