Barometer
What does it mean to be ‘fit as a butcher’s dog’?
Boris and the butcher’s dog Who first coined the phrase ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’? It has been traced…
Open and shut case: how did lockdown affect shops?
Shot in the arm Global stock markets reached a new high after pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced a vaccine it is…
Who came up with ‘lockdown’?
The start of lockdown The earliest known use of ‘lockdown’ in its current sense was in a 1973 story in…
Where is there water in the solar system?
The Moon under water Nasa scientists using spectrometers claim to have found good evidence of water on the surface of…
How many school teachers are male?
Special Offa A regulation passed by the Welsh government to prevent people travelling from Covid hotspots in England has brought…
Mind the gap: how wide is the North-South divide?
Red light, green light The three tiers of Covid restrictions have been described as a ‘traffic light’ system. — The…
What happens when a US president dies?
Vice squad Donald Trump catching Covid-19 has concentrated minds on what happens if a US president dies in office. Normally,…
Who started America’s presidential debates?
Word for word US presidential debates are often traced back to the first televised debate, between Richard Nixon and John…
Whose bright idea was the circuit-breaker?
It’s electrifying! Who invented the circuit-breaker? Thomas Edison patented it in 1879, realising what damage could be caused to electrical…
Who will have more informants: the Stasi or Covid marshals?
Information overload The government’s plan to put ‘Covid wardens’ on the streets to enforce the new rule against more than…
How important is coffee to Britain?
Lyrical errors ‘Rule, Britannia!’ begins with the lines: ‘When Britain first, at heaven’s command/Arose from out the azure main.’ —…
Who first committed ‘cultural appropriation’?
Culture clashes The pop star Adele was accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ for adopting a Jamaican hairstyle for the online Notting…
The BBC tradition of trying to remove patriotic songs from Last Night
About Last Night It was suggested that the BBC might ‘decolonise’ the Last Night of the Proms by removing ‘Rule,…
Why Turkey Twizzlers are back on the menu
Pink and twisted Bernard Matthews, which stopped making Turkey Twizzlers in 2005 after criticism about unhealthy school dinners from Jamie…
How hot does a ‘heatwave’ have to be?
Some like it hot Are heatwaves becoming a devalued currency? Last year the Met Office defined a heatwave as three…
How busy have restaurants been this summer?
The other Argos The Argos catalogue, known as the ‘Book of Dreams’, is no longer to appear in printed form.…
If curiosity doesn’t kill the cat, what does?
The first nanny state The Prime Minister’s strategy on obesity has been labelled a work of the ‘nanny state’ —…
How many people would refuse a Covid vaccine?
Worth a shot? How worried should we be about people refusing to have a Covid-19 vaccine if one is developed?…
The bill for a Banksy: how much does graffiti cost railways?
Take cover The government has said it will make wearing masks compulsory in shops. Mandatory masks rather run against the…
What are online shoppers most likely to snap up?
Price of protest Greenpeace was fined £80,000 for defying a court order and occupying an oil rig in the North…
Leicester has a history of lockdowns
Leicester lockdowns Leicester was forced to impose the first local lockdown, in response to a reported surge in cases of…
Which former prime minister earns the most for corporate speeches?
Voyage into history How did the Labour government respond to the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948?…
Made to measure: where did the metre come from?
Made to measure The government started reviewing whether we should stay two metres apart while social distancing or whether one…
Who is most likely to be killed by police in the US?
The Colston chronicles Who, exactly, was Sir Edward Colston? Colston was born into a family of merchants and spent the…
Has Covid-19 evolved to become less deadly?
Covid deaths Has Covid-19 evolved to become less deadly? — Global infections reached a new peak on 29 May, with…
