What has Ho Chi Minh got to do with Sussex?
Q&A What has Ho Chi Minh got to do with Sussex? • SHORT ANSWER Before he was the founder of modern Vietnam, he was a pastry chef on the Channel • LONG ANSWER Ho Chi Minh ruled Vietnam for more than two decades, stood as a communist figurehead around the world, and opposed the US […]
What happened on Apollo 12?
Q&A What happened on Apollo 12? • SHORT ANSWER Although sandwiched between two more famous missions, the second Moon landing had its shocks • LONG ANSWER The events of Apollo 11 (the Moon landing, “one small step…” and all that) and Apollo 13 (the near-disaster turned into a remarkable rescue) are undoubtedly major chapters in the […]
What was Gustav III’s coffee experiment?
Q&A What was Gustav III’s coffee experiment? • SHORT ANSWER The Swedish king wanted to prove that the brew was life-threatening. He was wrong • LONG ANSWER The King of Sweden Gustav III (reigned 1771-92) had a mission to prove that drinking coffee, an increasingly popular beverage among his people, could seriously damage one’s health. […]
Why do people touch Saint Peter’s foot?
Q&A Why do people touch Saint Peter’s foot? • SHORT ANSWER Centuries of pilgrimages and prayers have taken their toll on the first pope • LONG ANSWER Among the priceless treasures found inside St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican is a bronze statue of Saint Peter. Generally attributed to the 13th-century Italian architect Arnolfo di […]
What were Victorian burial societies?
Q&A What were Victorian burial societies? • SHORT ANSWER A system to help the poor pay for funerals was corrupted into a deadly money-making enterprise • LONG ANSWER As 19th-century Britain entered the Victorian age, the population grew while threats to life caused by the Industrial Revolution intensified. The result was a high death rate, […]
Why were they called the Plantagenets?
Q&A Why were they called the Plantagenets? • SHORT ANSWER The medieval dynasty was named after a shrub • LONG ANSWER England’s longest-reigning royal dynasty – which ruled for 331 years, from 1154 to 1485 – began when a French count, Geoffrey of Anjou, married Empress Matilda. Their son was Henry II, the first Plantagenet […]
Did you know?
Q&A Did you know? DATE OF DESTINY On 3 September 1650, Oliver Cromwell won the battle of Dunbar; exactly a year later, 3 September 1651, he won at Worcester. If that date didn’t already have enough significance, the lord protector then died on 3 September 1658. I GOT YOU, BABE In 1931, two of baseball’s […]
How long were Roman togas?
Q&A How long were Roman togas? • SHORT ANSWER If the uncomfortable but symbol-laden dress was only a few metres of cloth, a Roman was lucky • LONG ANSWER A Roman toga does not exactly scream practicality, since the folds of cloth were so cumbersome that they had to be constantly draped over the arm. […]
Who really designed the Eiffel Tower?
Q&A Who really designed the Eiffel Tower? • SHORT ANSWER This is not a trick question: it was NOT Gustave Eiffel • LONG ANSWER From more than 100 options entered into a competition to build a monument in Paris, the French engineer Gustave Eiffel’s tower was chosen. And, of course, he has been immortalised in […]
How old is the typewriter?
Q&A How old is the typewriter? • SHORT ANSWER Inventors in the 19th century were tip-tapping away trying to making typing quicker • LONG ANSWER Christopher Latham Sholes is a name that often comes up when talking about the first typewriter. Receiving a patent in June 1868, the American inventor developed his machine with the […]