Barometer
You can still book your flight to Mars
Space to dream Richard Branson’s dream of commercial space flights has suffered a setback after a prototype craft crashed. But…
Rochester’s special qualities, and the price of Ebola.com
What’s special about Rochester What is special about Rochester and Strood? — Rochester has the second oldest cathedral and school…
David Cameron’s not the only one in trouble over morris dancing
Dirty dancing David Cameron was accused of causing racial offence by posing with blacked-up Morris dancers, though it was pointed…
Dealing with trolls the Swedish way
How to deal with a troll In Scandinavian mythology, trolls were shady creatures who lived below ground and varied in…
Don’t worry Brooks Newmark: paisley was sexy once...
Paisley power Paisley pyjamas were in the news. While associated with the town in Renfrewshire, whose mills produced the patterns from 1805,…
How does your cannabis grow?
Pot plants A 65-year-old Devon woman rang a BBC gardening show to enquire about a mystery plant only to be told…
Oscar Pistorius has received a Draconian sentence (yes, really)
Draconian sentence Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius was cleared of murder but convicted of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in English law.…
Tories weren't quite sure about the Union 300 years ago, either
Birth of a nation A reminder of how England and Scotland came to be one country: — Proposals had been…
An undiplomatic history of British diplomatic dinners
In poor taste US Ambassador Matthew Barzun attracted the ire of chefs for complaining that he had been served lamb…
Six rivals for the name Isis
Not in their name The BBC decided to start calling the Islamic terror group Isis by the acronym IS instead.…
Who cleans skyscrapers?
Tough at the top The clocks on Big Ben were cleaned by abseiling window-cleaners. Some other big cleaning/painting jobs: —…
Lord Gowrie, Mark Simmonds: who had more right to complain?
Ministerial needs Home Office minister Mark Simmonds resigned, complaining he couldn’t afford to live in London on his junior minister’s…
Hold on to your umbrella, Mr Putin: what the Russians lose without British trade
Off the shelf How do we boycott Putin? Some things we traded with Russia, by value, between March and May…
Which party has the most MPs’ children in Parliament?
Commons inheritance Emily Benn, granddaughter of Tony and niece of Hilary, has won the right to stand for Labour in…
What Germans are worst at
What Germans do worst Some things Germans aren’t very good at: — Making reliable car engines. According to a survey by Warranty Direct…
So are public-sector workers really underpaid?
Public benefit Public sector unions held a strike over pay. How well are public-sector workers paid compared with their counterparts…
The public sector's daftest prizes
All must have prizes Paul Pugh, the £104,000-a-year chief executive of the Passport Office, was nominated for ‘leader of the…
Greenpeace's jetsetter isn't the only environmentalist who loves to fly
Green wings It was revealed that Pascal Husting, Greenpeace’s international programme director, commutes 250 miles by air from his home…
The bits of Magna Carta that David Cameron won’t want taught in schools
The not-so-great charter David Cameron wants every child to be taught about Magna Carta. Some bits he might want to…
If you thought this World Cup was weird, take a look at Brazil 1950
Old world Brazil has struggled to get ready for the World Cup, even though it hosted it before, in 1950.…
Is it normal for monarchs to abdicate? Yes!
Game of thrones The Spanish king, Juan Carlos, announced that he is to abdicate in favour of his son, Prince…
If Alex Salmond is cutting bureaucracy, why does he have so many quangos?
Escape committees An LSE/Institute for Government report estimated the cost of Scottish independence at £2.7 billion, a sum arrived at…
A Romanian neighbour? Most people wouldn’t even notice
Parliamentary privilege Some facts and figures about the European Parliament, according to the parliament: — The parliament annually costs €3.10…
Four stories the EU would like the right to have forgotten
Memory holes The EU wants to introduce a law which would force Google to delete from its searches old information…
When judges go to jail
Judges in jail Barrister and part-time judge Constance Briscoe was jailed for 16 months for perverting the course of justice…
