Curious Questions

Where to find the world's best club sandwich

The club sandwich, arguably the most famous of all sarnies, is a poolside staple, but its origins are tricky to trace, says Tom Parker Bowles.

From the 'gatekeeper' to the 'Scotch argus', where did butterflies and moths get their strange names?

Members of the Society of Aurelians were artists, designers, silk traders and men-of-letters. So what inspired them to coin the many names of butterflies and moths we use today? The answer, reveals Peter Marren is beauty.

Do you know your apple-catchers from your tittamatorter? Take a crash course in the UK's local languages

With experts warning that regional accents could disappear within decades, our sometimes quaint and, often, bizarre dialect words are becoming ever-more precious.

Curious Questions: Was music's famous 'Lady of the Nightingales' nothing more than a hoaxer?

Beatrice Harrison, aka ‘The Lady of the Nightingales’, charmed King and country with her garden duets alongside the nightingales singing in a Surrey garden. One hundred years later, Julian Lloyd Webber examines whether her performances were fact or fiction.

Curious Questions: Who wrote the Happy Birthday song?

There are few things less pleasurable than a tuneless public rendition of Happy Birthday To You, says Rob Crossan, a century after the little ditty came into being

Curious Questions: Who was the first person to take a driving test?

For years, all you need to drive a car was to jump behind the wheel — but that all changed. Martin Fone traces the history of the driving test.

Why does the tax year start on April 6th?

The tax-year calendar is not as arbitrary as it seems, with a history that dates back to the ancient Roman and is connected to major calendar reforms across Europe.

Why do we get so many April showers?

It's the time of year when a torrential downpour can come and go in minutes — or drench one side of the street while leaving the other side dry. It's all to the good for growing, says Lia Leendertz as she takes a look at the weather of April.

What is Whitby jet? The once-prized northern native gemstone that is darker than the night

This 'beautiful, natural, heritage material deserves to be reassessed' and is slowly regaining popularity. Harry Pearson talks to the makers still working with this ancient gemstone.

Curious Questions: Why does Easter move dates every year?

Phoebe Bath researches why exactly Easter is a called a 'moveable feast'.

Curious Questions: Why do we eat hot cross buns at Easter?

Annunciata Elwes traces the curious history of the hot cross bun in Britain.

Who was the original Jack Russell who gave his name to one of Britain's favourite dog breeds?

Kate Green takes a look at the the legacy of Revd John Russell, the man who gave his name to the Jack Russell and Parson Russell terriers.

The kiwi fruit is from China — so how did it get its New Zealand-inspired name?

Martin Fone peels the layers back on the strange tale of how the kiwi fruit got its name.

Curious Questions: When — and why — did we stop wearing hats?

The hat was once as essential for leaving the house as a pair of trousers, but the sight of a dapper gent sporting one is now all too rare, laments John F. Mueller, while Toby Keel takes a look at the reasons we stopped wearing them.

Curious Questions: Why do barristers and judges wear wigs?

Like marmalade on toast, saying sorry and the Shipping Forecast, there are few things more typically British than the courtroom wig. Agnes Stamp explains why our barristers and judges wear them.

Curious Questions: What really happened to the Flying Dutchman?

Tales of phantom ships are as old as time itself, but the story of the Flying Dutchman has haunted sailors for generations.

What it's like to live and work in a National Park

Cumbrian farmer Douglas Chalmers weighs the pros and cons of living in a national park.

Curious Questions: Why does the weather keep getting colder even when the days start getting longer?

The coldest months of the year in Britain are always January and February — despite the fact that we're getting more sunshine and daylight than we do during December. Martin Fone investigates why the weather gets colder even though the days are getting longer.

The weather lore of January that claims to predict the future

Predicting the weather using folklore is not as lackadaisical as it might seem, says Lia Leendertz, as she reveals what we can look forward to this month.

Why does BBC Radio 4 broadcast 'the pips' at the top of the hour?

The Greenwich Time Signal has been an ubiquitous part of BBC Radio for a century, but few know what it really is and where it came from