Nothing sums up the Victorians’wonderfully prudish attitudes to sex as to the the thought that they were aroused by piano legs. Matthew Sweet, in Inventing the Victorians (2002), describes the origin of this story. In 1837, a Captain Frederick Marryat, the author of The Children of the New Forest (1847), …
What with this dreadful Corona virus disrupting normal working activity, I was mulling over the concept of working when I came across the wonderful world of coworking. It seems to have appeared from nowhere but it does have a rather interesting history. Way back in 1995, a number of bright …
In 1926 Ireland, the Catholic Church was so concerned about saving souls that they established a committee to decide which publications should be deemed as “sordid” and “objectionable” The good fathers decided upon the following titles: Woman`s World Woman`s Realm The Sporting Life Girls Companion Home Companion News of …
You will no doubt be heartened to hear that a number of scientific surveys have been undertaken regarding bellybutton fluff . What follows are my learned findings: They have all found that the fluff is generally blue in colour and is more prevalent in the navels of certain types of …
The word ketchup comes from the Chinese dialect Hokkien, Ke-tsiap, the name of a sauce derived from fermented fish. Now popularly known as “ketchup” or “catsup”. The sauce was appealing to the traders and sailors for a number of reasons, one of which was that it was well-preserved and …
Chess, a haven of peacefulness, a group of men and women with solemn expressions bidding to outsmart each other by being extraordinarily clever in moving their pieces around a small board. To the victor, a small trophy and the warm glow of being a smart arse? Certainly not, chess …
