In one of the side chapels at Westminster Abbey there is a tomb with a knight and his wife modelled on the top. The man has his feet resting on a blue hedgehog, or porcupine. Who was he? When did he...
Is there a good site or book concerning the origin and meaning of symbols? I mean such things as & (ampersand) and + and =, and symbols for the signs of the zodiac. I once had a tiny dictionary that...
Does anybody know anything about Tijou, the French designer of gates and railings? I'd like to know when/where he was born and when/where he died. He worked in England around the end of the 17th...
Is there any connection between Jock Mahoney (The Range Rider and Tarzan of the 50s and 60s) and John Mahoney of Frasier. They look quite similar, facially, I think.
The Verve had a hit single a while ago with a song called (I think) 'Simple Symphony'. It had a very repetitive theme. Some time late I heard the same theme on Classic FM and heard that it was from a...
How common is nail-biting in the UK? Is the frequency the same for men and women? Is the frequency the same in other countries in Europe, or in other societies? How about the similar, but to me...
I know what an oxymoron is. Does anyone out there have a list of genuine ones , such as 'bitter sweet relationship', 'deafening silence', 'idiot-savant' and/or any funny ones such as 'military...
I've read somewhere that a person's body is constantly changing. Cells die and are replaced (except brain cells) . I think our skin is renewed every three weeks, for instance. Some body parts change...
When the Americans were sending space probes far into the outer solar system, it was often said (by the likes of Patrick Moore) that the planners would take advantage of the gravitational pull of a...
Most of the women I see standing in the street, smoking or chatting with friends, seem to stand with their legs crossed round about the ankles. Men never stand like this. Has anybody any suggestions...
Why are Pandas in zoos almost all have names like Ying-Ying or Xiang-Xiang - ie a repeated word? When we are sometimes told the meaning of the name it is something like 'Heavenly Peace' - why does it...
