The Wiki Man

Sod hard-working families: let’s have a four-day week

25 April 2015 9:00 am

Whenever I hear the phrase ‘hard-working families’ a little voice in my head asks ‘what about the lazier, chilled-out families?…

Let’s rethink the working week

23 April 2015 1:00 pm

Whenever I hear the phrase ‘hard-working families’ a little voice in my head asks ‘what about the lazier, chilled-out families?…

Why plane crashes are getting weirder – and if we’re lucky, other problems will too

11 April 2015 9:00 am

In the late 1980s, the parks service in the United States were concerned about the deterioration of the stonework on…

Why plane crashes are getting weirder

9 April 2015 1:00 pm

In the late 1980s, the parks service in the United States were concerned about the deterioration of the stonework on…

A lesson in decision-making from the world’s worst road sign

28 March 2015 9:00 am

Driving from Dover on the M20 a year ago I missed the turning for the M25. A month later I…

Looking for answers you can’t see

26 March 2015 3:00 pm

Driving from Dover on the M20 a year ago I missed the turning for the M25. A month later I…

How to make Ukip supporters love green policies

14 March 2015 9:00 am

Few people know this, but hidden within the FedEx logo, between the E and the x, there is a small…

Is that Green or red?

12 March 2015 3:00 pm

Few people know this, but hidden within the FedEx logo, between the E and the x, there is a small…

Want more diversity? Hire groups, not individuals

28 February 2015 9:00 am

If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…

Going the wrong way one step at a time

26 February 2015 11:30 am

If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…

From Umbrella Man to the Coughing Major, the truth is often very strange

14 February 2015 9:00 am

Are you sitting comfortably and wearing your tinfoil hat? If so, open YouTube and watch a full-screen version of the…

From Umbrella Man to the Coughing Major

12 February 2015 3:00 pm

Are you sitting comfortably and wearing your tinfoil hat? If so, open YouTube and watch a full-screen version of the…

How consumer habits are subject to the law of unintended consequences

31 January 2015 9:00 am

Some time in the 1960s, a group of people in an advertising agency (among them Llewelyn Thomas, son of Dylan)…

Shopping and viewing

29 January 2015 3:00 pm

Some time in the 1960s, a group of people in an advertising agency (among them Llewelyn Thomas, son of Dylan)…

The joys and sorrows of two-way ratings systems

17 January 2015 9:00 am

‘J’ai failli attendre’ — ‘I almost had to wait’ — allegedly said by Louis XIV when his carriage drew up just a…

Reputations at stake

15 January 2015 3:00 pm

‘J’ai failli attendre’ — ‘I almost had to wait’ — allegedly said by Louis XIV when his carriage drew up just a…

Let’s appoint a Ministry of Scandalous Ideas

3 January 2015 9:00 am

My children have a phrase called ‘fomo’ — which stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It is a constant, mildly…

What Miliband needs is a grilled tomato

1 January 2015 3:00 pm

My children have a phrase called ‘fomo’ — which stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It is a constant, mildly…

How to pick the perfect present

13 December 2014 9:00 am

I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…

Cashmere socks and the secret of happiness

11 December 2014 3:00 pm

I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…

Have the people who design trains and airports noticed that laptops exist?

6 December 2014 9:00 am

It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…

Have airport designers noticed that laptops exist?

4 December 2014 2:30 pm

It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…

Why does Amazon think my friend is a kidnapper?

22 November 2014 9:00 am

About four years ago, an irate father in Minneapolis walked into his local Target shop with a complaint. He wanted…

The dark secrets that your clicks reveal

20 November 2014 3:00 pm

About four years ago, an irate father in Minneapolis walked into his local Target shop with a complaint. He wanted…

S&M&B&Q: Why aren’t there sex-and-shopping novels for men?

8 November 2014 9:00 am

I never got beyond page 20 in Fifty Shades of Grey. No one got shot in the first chapter, and…