Q. The mystery genre is as popular as ever – top 3 in best-sellers for centuries. As the perennial favourite Agatha Christie said: “Give me a decent bottle of poison, and I’ll construct the perfect crime.” Amidst shelves and shelves of cryptonyms and creepholes, which detectives, books and authors have

Q. Speaking of broad music polls, how did movie music scores stack up in 2023? . A. In August of 2023, Classic FM reported out on their poll of 10,000 listeners around their favourite movie scores. Coming in at #1? Let’s just say: ‘Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don’t hurt me.

Q. Fall 2023 doesn’t arrive until September 22/23rd, depending on your time zone. But, for many of us, the crisp of the season is already in the air. What do you like best about Fall? How do your likes stack up against the list below? . A. One Poll asked

Q. Before paint companies stormed into the colour invention business, how did some of the more unusual shades get their names? . A. One person’s turquoise is another person’s … You’ll find much debate around the precise qualities of any one colour, but these colour circles should at least get

Q. Year after year, we get a chance to marvel at the wunderkinds who hammer out the spelling of words most of us have never heard. Yttriferous? Devastavit? What on earth do these words mean? .. A. We can start with 12 of the most difficult category of words – the

Q. Chocolate, sour cherries, sponge cake, kirsch, whipping cream, dark chocolate curls. What’s not to like? What inspired this deliciousness? . A. Black Forest cake – or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte –   gets its name from Schwarzwälder Kirsch, a sour cherry liqueur distilled in Germany. Some say that the inspiration for this 16th

Q. Snooty CEO Ned Quartermaine of the Quartermaines slipped poolside, smacked his head, and passed out. Would he wake up from the medically-induced coma that followed? Yes. Would he be himself? Of course not. When Ned’s eyes blinked open, he was his long-snuffed, 80s rocker alter ego: Eddie Quartermaine. It’s

Q. Why did the remarkable Kandinsky so favour circles? . A. Well, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy (1866-1944) was also a prolific writer, so he serves up his own answers. In a 1930 letter to art critic and historian Will Grohmann, Kandinsky wrote: ‘Why does the circle fascinate me? It is (1)

Q. What are some forgotten or little-used words relevant to hot, hot weather? You know, just in case anyone should be experiencing such a thing. . A. Apricate To luxuriate in the hot sun. Are we luxuriating yet? Besweat To drench in sweat. Caldarium The hottest room in Roman baths.

Q. They are the most intriguing birds, with their Formula 1 wings, Mr Fantastic tongues, and iridescent protein feathers.  Who are some artists who have worked to capture hummingbird beauty on canvas? . A. American painter and naturalist Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) was one. Heade was utterly taken with these tinkerbirds,