Q. That’s The Blues. We know it when we hear it,  but why is this form of music called: ‘The Blues’? . A. The Blues – with its roots in Africa and the late 1800s US Deep South – is deeply emotional music. As Wynton Marsalis says in a 2020

Q. ‘Gird your loins.’ Do you hear Stanley Tucci voicing that phrase? I certainly do. Boss Miranda Priestly, aka the incredible Meryl Streep, is foot out of the car, eyes on the elevator, and soon to thunder into the offices of Runway Magazine. “Why is no one REAdy?” Tucci as

Q. It’s the thought that counts. Ok. But, which gifts do recipients appreciate the least? . A. What are the gifts that people most frequently shove into drawers, regift, or ‘accidentally’ destroy? One Poll and Mixbook came together to ask 2000 adults just that. Of course, one person’s drawer shove

Q. How is it that we can so quickly come to take for granted the things that we once anticipated so keenly? Boy, I can’t wait to: try that food, see those gardens, visit that exhibit. Then, halfway in it’s:  ‘Ya ya. Been there, done that. What’s next?’ . A.

Q. Has sweet food gotten sweeter? Are there any sweets that are too sweet for even your sweet tooth? . A. “It’s way too sweet”. In a machine learning analysis of almost 400,000 Amazon food reviews, behavioural geneticist Dr. Danielle Reed and her research team found that complaints of over-sweetness

Q. Why is the long purple eggplant called an ‘eggplant’? What part of that shape and that colour says egg? . A. The eggplant gets its name from a different species of eggplant, one that is white, egg-shaped, and was far more common in centuries gone by. This eggplant  –

Q. Today has the dubious distinction of being ‘National Tell A Lie Day’. Not sure, in today’s climate, if we should be encouraging such a thing? Perhaps this is meant in the spirit of extended April Fools’ Day pranks. Let’s hope we can muscle through to April 30th – National

Q. Why are there so many superstitions around travelling? Which ones have deep historic roots? . A. With all of the mystery and unpredictability of travel, it is no wonder that it has attracted so many superstitions. Anything for an illusion of control. Many clutch their lucky talismans in ever-squishier planes,

Q. Which classical pieces are most widely beloved? . A. It’s Ralph Vaughan Williams for the win. After more than 156,000 votes, Classic FM compiled their 2021 Hall of Fame Top 300 list of the year’s favourite classical pieces. Still reigning at Number One? Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’, for the

Q. What is it with English and all of its words that have opposite or near opposite meanings, like ‘dust’ or ‘seed’, for instance? . A. These contranyms are yet another reason why people find English so difficult to learn. These pesky contradictions are also called Janus words after the