The City of London certainly is a very strange place. I'm not talking about London the city, but that one-mile patch in the centre of the London we know and love. But did you know that companies can actually vote in the City, and that its government is so freaking old, no one knows quite how old it actually is? Oh, and just don't ask about how you become the Lord Mayor of London; blimey, what a mission. [CGP Grey] Read More >>
Did you know that the City of London and London are two different places? Sure, one actually lives within the other, but they have separate mayors, plus the Queen actually has to ask to enter the City of London. But how did this strange arrangement arise? Read More >>
Featured comment by paulschapman:
"The Vatican is a separate state - not just an city with-in another. The word "Amen" is derived from then Hebrew word "Aman" and means "so be it"" More »
Discovered in 1930, poor old Pluto got a pretty rough ride in the last decade or so. Once it was a fully fledged planet; now it's just puny "minor planet" in the newly designated Kuipier Belt -- astronomers just couldn't leave it alone. But I guess all this really depends on your definition of what a planet really is -- watch and learn. Read More >>
Featured comment by L1ma:
""Is Pluto a planet or not"
Planet is Greek for wandering star, so yes it is as all planetary bodies within the solar system are according to this t..." More »
I know it’s a Friday, and it’s almost the weekend, but you learn something new everyday, and these five misconception corrections will make great trivia fodder for down the pub this evening. So sit back, watch and learn that no, the romans didn’t vomit just so they could stuff themselves again, and no Lady Godiva didn’t ride naked through Coventry. Read More >>
Featured comment by FRISH:
"That's kind of why it's a misconception. If everyone knew, then it wouldn't be a misconception. Im sure there are some misconceptions you don't realis..." More »
Have you ever wondered why we have to have an extra day every four years? It seems baffling that we just shoehorn another 24-hours into February, but as CGP Grey so eloquently explains it’s all to do with trying to balance an imperfect calendar, something the Universe just won’t let us do. Read More >>
Featured comment by Mil:
"The International Fixed Calendar is another approach which is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fixed_Cale..." More »
Our new favourite YouTube director CGP Grey is back, just in time for Christmas, to educate us about the fat man we call Father Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, Coke didn't manufacture Santa, just cheekily pinched him for its advertising campaigns. Plus, what we Brits think of as Father Christmas doesn't even wear red and white at all (that's the American's Santa), and should be clad in green and white. Read More >>
Sure, the penny CGP Grey is talking about might be the American one cent coin, but the same goes for our pretty much useless 1p coin. When was the last time you saw a vending machine take less than a 5p coin? And all those crummy £0.99 sales tactics -- that's £1 whichever way you carve it up -- who cares about that 1p you're potentially saving? Read More >>
Daylight Savings Time. In the UK we've been practicing this semi-annual time change for as long as we can remember -- we call it British Summer Time. It gives us more summer light and theoretically less power consumption. But is it really so great? Read More >>
Featured comment by warriorscot:
"Doesn't really matter in the northern UK what you adopt it will be dark anyway. Two hours is just too big a jump unless you phase it and that just add..." More »
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