Q. What are some of the common characteristics that define songs that hit the top of the charts? . A. Some would argue that dissecting art is a fool’s errand, that the magic is in the mix. If it was easy, surely more people would have followed ‘hit song’ research

Q. What are some lesser used words to describe crushing arrogance? . A. Airish Acting superior and snobby with nothing but hot air to back it up. Biggity Self-important, boastful, unbearably vain. Blandiose Grandiose meets bland. Blatteroon A person who brags and babbles endlessly. Bumptious Loudly, gratingly, cluelessly cocky. Frustraneous

Q. What are the ingredients in some famous literary love potions and how do things work out post-ingestion? . A. Short answer: herbs, flowers, hard to find nature bits. And, not well. One-way love potion are Illegal, of course. But even those literary couples who decide to drink love potions

Q. Do you have a favourite dessert spoon? Does spaghetti taste that much better when you’re using your fork? Stressful situations can make us more territorial, but why do some people insist that specific foods taste better with cutlery of a specific size, shape, weight, even colour? . A. We

Q. Which numbers do people most commonly consider lucky? . A. Do you have a lucky number? If so, what is it? Fans of the Big Bang Theory will know that Sheldon Cooper has a most particular answer to this question. . . In travelling, many of us have noticed global

Q. It’s that time. What is Oxford English Dictionary’s official word of 2020? . A. 2020 is such a hot mess, it broke the dictionary. ‘Given the phenomenal breadth of language change and development during 2020, Oxford Languages concluded that this is a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in

Q. Has 2020 plague life changed us deeply? We can revisit that question in 2022. But, in the thick of it, how does all this affect how we experience art? . A. We’ve certainly found ourselves looking anew at masterpieces through our 2020 eyes. Take Magritte’s 1928 painting of The Lovers

Q. Have you ever stumbled into the fact that you use the same handful of quirky words over and over again: in writing, in emails, in phone conversations? Or perhaps you too have found yourself presenting to a group and suddenly, for no conscious reason, the same word keeps popping

Q. Which types of food do people see as most romantic? . A. Well, thanks to Betty Crocker’s  Dinner for Two Cookbook, we know what a romantic dinner looked like in 1958 North America. ‘Thousands of homemakers’ revealed their go-to dishes. Betty Crocker Romance i. Broiled steak ii. Roast beef

Q. Born 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario, George Alexander Trebek – ‘Alex’ – went on to host more than 8200 episodes of Jeopardy. He was known for his wide-spanning curiosity, but what was Alex Trebek’s favourite Jeopardy category? . A. We look for answers in the Order of Canada winning Trebek’s