15 Jun 2024

Journey Of A Thousand Snaps

Q. It always feels like a balance: take jillions of photos to remember/share this magnificent destination, or take a breath to revel in the moment and the beauty. Which travel spots are people most frequently snapping, sharing, and viewing? . A. Enjoy Travel analyzed Instagram and TikTok data to unearth

14 Jun 2024

Mozart’s Deathbed Brilliance

Q. It’s a tragically beautiful scene in a strikingly beautiful movie. In Milos Foreman’s 1984 masterpiece Amadeus, we see Mozart in bed, dying, while feverishly voicing his beautiful Requiem. Confutatis. Maledictis. It’s a haunting look into his genius and the toll it has taken on him. As each note takes

12 Jun 2024

Taking Names

Q. What was the most common first name amongst your high school friends? Beware the person asking you that question. Particularly if they are smoking a pipe, wearing a trench coat, and shadowing their eyes beneath a herringbone cap. Well, perhaps, beware this person in general. But know that, here,

10 Jun 2024

The Sweetest Flower

Q. Which flower has the most entrancing scent?   A. ‘The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem For that sweet odour which doth in it live….’ So writes William Shakespeare in Sonnet 54. Does the rose have an uncommonly sweet odour? Do we deem it fairer because of

05 Jun 2024

Hobble Skirts + Fanny Packs

Q. Have you jumped on any fashion trends that you now regret? Rip up those pictures. Slap that abomination into a box and send it to someone who sees things differently. What are some once-adopted clothing options that people later rue? . A. In 2021, The List asked 687 American

03 Jun 2024

Play On

Q. ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’ So says Shakespeare’s Orsino in ‘Twelfth Night.’ ‘O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound, That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odor…’ What are some renowned paintings that capture melodic woo? . A. Along

31 May 2024

The Last Chocolate

Q. Restaurants and online shops spend a great deal of time word-smithing their food offerings. Are the waves of artisanal chocolate running down a ‘slope’ or a ‘bank’ of ice-cream? But can the way our food is described affect our taste experience? A. Yes. Yes it can. Imagine you are

28 May 2024

Never Tell All You Know

Q. In Agatha Christie’s 1922 The Secret Adversary, Sir James Peel Edgerton has some pointed advice for Miss Prudence Cowley –  ‘known to her intimate friends for some mysterious reasons as “Tuppence.” Sir James’ nugget? “Great mistake to say too much. Remember that. Never tell all you know – not

24 May 2024

Lovers Bridge Is Falling Down

Q. The 2024 Summer Olympics are coming. Start date: July 26th. Parisians are bracing for an athlete and tourist onslaught. Can visiting couples still declare their forever love by clamping their initials-engraved padlocks on Paris’ Pont des Arts Bridge? . A. Short answer: no. “The romantic gestures cause long-term heritage

20 May 2024

Close, But No Cigar

Q. Mrs. Hodgepodge nearly did it. Her cabbage jelly was almost the best at the fair – second place – but it didn’t win. ‘Close, but no cigar.’ It’s a phrase we’ll throw out there without thinking, but where does it originate? . A. ‘Close, but no cigar’ is said