HMDUK 16 What is the origin of hot-cross buns?

Cjorsch, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF HOT-CROSS BUNS? The custom of making bread marked with the sign of a cross for consumption at festivals is both ancient and widespread. There is no ground for supposing that the custom originated with the early Christians; they merely altered its significance by associating it with the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

HMDUK 15 Why do we have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?

Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

WHY DO WE HAVE PANCAKES ON SHROVE TUESDAY? This day was formerly one of universal merrymaking and all kinds of amusements, being the last day before the start of the austerities of Lent. In Roman Catholic countries it is still a day of carnival. After having made confession, or shrift (whence 'Shrove') in preparation for the morrow, the faithful are allowed a brief interval of feasting, of which they take full advantage. As eggs and fats are forbidden during Lent, it is customary to use them up on Shrove Tuesday in fritters and pancakes, which thus become particularly associated with this day. The French call it "Mardi Gras," (Fat Tuesday) because of the fat oxen led in procession through the streets.

HMDUK 14 - When did wallpaper begin to be used?

WHEN DID WALLPAPER BEGIN TO BE USED ? Wallpaper had been in use among the Chinese long before it was known in the west. It may have been introduced into Europe during the sixteenth century, but for long after it was both crude and little used. It was made in small which necessitated many clumsy joints and must have been far inferior to the tapestry, fresco or wood-lining it was meant to replace. Not until the eighteenth century did wallpaper become common in England; then, largely because it cheap, its use spread rapidly. The variety of designs included landscapes, pictures of classical statues and buildings, pictures and flowers, as well as imitations of marble and embossed leather. For long, however, the wallpapers most in favour were the beautiful patterns imported from the home of wallpapers - China.

HMDUK 13 When did matches cost half a crown a box?

Mat Hyde, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

When did matches cost half a crown a box?* This was the retail price of the first friction matches fit for practical use, which were invented in 1827 by John Walker, an English chemist. They were sold in tin boxes of fifty, each of which contained also a loose piece of glass paper for striking the matches. The price was later reduced to a shilling. Among the early imitations of Walker's matches was a brand called 'Lucifers'.*

*The context of this question is that in 1938 when this question was published half a crown (12.5p) would have sounded ridiculously high. A shilling is 5p.

HMDUK 12 How many planets are there?

How many planets are there? There are eight chief planets which revolve about the sun and comprise what is called the solar system. The names of these planets in the order of their distance from the sun are Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Mercury and Venus are called the inferior planets because the lie between the earth and the sun. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known as the superior planets. The inferior planets move about the sun, faster than the earth and the superior ones more slowly. All the planets belong to one family, but they differ in size and temperature. Some are smaller than the earth, some hundreds of times larger. Some are very hot, others very cold. Jupiter is the largest of all the planets and Saturn one of the most famous because of its beautiful luminous rings. In 1930 a new planet called Pluto was discovered. Some astronomers consider it to be a major planet, but this has not yet been proved and is possibly merely an unusual minor planet.

HMDUK 11 How hot is the Sun?

How hot is the Sun? The temperature of the surface of the sun is believed to be at least 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In such intense heat every substance known on earth would be reduced to gas. This is one of the reasons why it is thought that the sun is not solid, but is chiefly made up of various forms of gases. If the light of the sun were to be shut off from the earth we should perish from cold and starvation. If only 10 per cent of its heat was lost large parts of the earth would become frozen and desolate wastes.

(We now know it is chiefly made up of Hydrogen and Helium)

HMDUK 10 Who invented red currant jelly?

Who invented red currant jelly? This is a matter of dispute between England and France. In August, 1937, the French unveiled an obelisk to the memory of Perrin Lamonthe, for whom they claim the honour, at Velainesen-Barrois. Lamonthe, they say, first made this delightful confection in 1364. On the other hand, English cooks claim that Edward I used the jelly a century before that date.

HMDUK 9 What is the difference between beer and ale?

What is the difference between beer and ale? Today, virtually none. Lager beer is never called ale, nor are stout and porter, which technically are black beers, but other ise the term beer is taken to include ale. Only at one period, the fifteenth century, was the distinction clear cut. The English in England before the Norman Conquest drank both ale and beer, but what the difference was is not known. During the fourteenth century the terms appear to have meant strong and weak beer, as better beer cost four pence a gallon, penny ale only one penny. Meanwhile, German brewers were beginning to use hops in the making of beer, and it is though that English soldiers fighting on the Continent during the hundred years' War brought home the taste for this new liquor, for which apparently the name imported into England before 1400, and the ensuing century saw beer breweries of which latter at least seven were established in London by 1436. The struggle came to a climax or was ended, in 1483, when the use of hops in the making of ale was prohibited.

(For a modern take on this see here at Wikipedia)

HMDUK 8 What is the origin of mind your P's and Q's?

What is the origin of mind your P's and Q's? Various theories have been put forward. Some say that it was a warning to printers apprentices when sorting type, the letters p and q being almost identical in form, others that it was used in inns, the amount owing being chalked on a board in order that customers should not order more than they could pay for when settling day arrived.

HMDUK 7 Where is Spring cleaning compulsory?

Where is spring cleaning compulsory? In Hungary, where in 1937 it was made compulsory for all lofts, garrets and cellars to be spring cleaned, inflammable material removed, and cloth and paper stored in fireproof receptacles. The fine for non-compliance with the order was 30 pounds in towns and 10 pounds in county districts.

HMDUK 6 How did surnames begin?

How did surnames begin? Hereditary surnames were unknown among the Anglo-Saxons. It was not until the twelfth century that these came into use, and not universally even then. Many of them were formed by adding son to the father's Christian name, such as Johnson, Ferguson, and so on. Others sprang from localities as Attwood, Byfield, Green, Abbey, Townsend, who were domiciled respectively at or by the wood, field, green, abbey and town's end. More important people took the name of the village or township in which they lived, for example John of Derby would later be plain John Derby. A very large class ofsurnamess recall the occupations of their original owners, as Smith, Miller, Baker, Tanner, Fuller, Mason, Dyer, Abbott; while a vast number arose from nicknames and epithets (not always complimentary) given to their original bearers on account of their personal appearance or characteristics. A few taken at random are Hogge, Fox, Short, Swift, Longman, Rich isself explanatory; but not to Power; which means the exact opposite and was originally poor. Not all English surnames are English in origin. Russell for example is Anglo French and means red haired.

HMDUK 5 What is the origin of nicknames?

What is the origin of nicknames? Primitive man's habit of regarding his real name as his own private property and so rarely if ever to be used. To his companions he was therefore known by what was formerly called in England an eke (ie added) name. Slovenly pronunciation turned this into a nickname.

HMDUK 4 What Does Goodbye Mean?

What Does Goodbye Mean? Goodbye is a shortened and corrupted form of "God be with you". The expression has had in its long life many spellings, of which "God be why you" and "Goodbye" are representative. God became good probably by association with Good morning, Good evening, and Good day which were probably themselves shortened forms of "God give you good morning, etc". The suggestion has been made that Goodbye is a corruption of "God buy you" but the earliest forms of the salutation show that this is not the case. Many common exclamations, such as bless you, save us, and preserve us used formerly to begin with God. Mercy on us is an abbreviation of "God the Lord have mercy on us".

HMDUK 3 Who introduced the potato?

Who introduced the potato to Europe? No one knows for certain, though the credit is usually given to Hieronymus Cardan, a monk. Sir Walter Raleigh was not its introducer. He planted potatoes on his Irish estates in 1586, but the vegetable had been known to the Spaniards for many years previously. Both Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake have been credited with its introduction into England, the former in 1563, the latter in 1580, but it is now held that they brought home the "sweet potato," not the ordinary variety. Drake's claim is upheld on a statue of the navigator at Offenburg, in Germany. An inscription on the base reads: "Sir Francis Drake, introducer of the Potato into Europe in the year 1580".

HMDUK 2 Why do we shake hands on meeting?

Why do we shake hands on meeting? Students of folk-lore trace the origin of handshaking to primitive magic; the physical contact of the hands symbolised that each of the parties yielded himself up to the power of the other and united with him in peace and friendship; or signified the ratification of a compact or pledge. We still clinch an agreement or a business deal by “shaking hands on it.” This element of contact is clearly seen in the Roman marriage ceremony, in which – as also among the ancient Hindus – the clasping of hands by the bridge and bridegroom was a prominent feature.

HMDUK Why is the sky blue?

Why is the sky blue? The rays of the sun, in striking the earth's atmospheree, are scattered by the countless tiny specks that fill the air, the blue rays being scattered farther than the red. It is thus the blue rays which we see, and which lead us to believe that the sky is of that colour. If the air were free of all particles of dust, the sky would be quite dark, relieved only by the brightness of the sun and the moon and of the stars which would then always be visible.

(When I was a boy we had a little book from my dad's home called How much do you know? By a man called Harold Wheeler, it came out in the thirties and is a fascinating read. I saw an edition in a second hand shop this morning and bought it. This is the first question in the general knowledge section).