One of those very divisive bits of folklore gleaned from the wonderful world of Wikipedia for today's Wikiworm - which side are you on? The five-second rule is a widely repeated belief that food dropped on the ground will not be significantly contaminated with bacteria if it is picked up within five seconds of being ... Read More...

Next time you complain about your GP, spare a thought for the Victorians... From The Reverend Prince And His Abode Of Love by Charles Mander (1976): As a doctor his bedside manner was startling. He seemed more intent on reducing his patients to gibbering mental wrecks over the state of their souls ... Read More...

Nige remembers Bea Lillie, the once extremely famous comedienne and formidable character... Today marks the birthday of Beatrice Lillie, born on this day in 1894 in Toronto. Beatrice who? you may well be asking - and with good reason. Though she had a huge reputation in her day, 'Bea' Lillie specialised ... Read More...

Visiting Stonehenge this half-term? Here's Alexandra Harris' post on its influence on British culture, from Turner to Hepworth... Stonehenge is a good example of how a particular landmark in the English countryside could inspire different kinds of appreciation. Its image was particularly potent because it signified strength and endurance while at ... Read More...

For your pleasure, here is Jassy's account of her recent foodie tour of Venice: bridges and sighs, bigoli and cicchetti, echoing mazes and marriage proposals from fishmongers... A city of bridges and sighs, Venice is also home to the note. Taped to walls and windows, and written in underlined, over exclamation ... Read More...

Last year we ran a post by Jonathan Law about the mysterious disappearance in the 1970s of the strange and brilliant poet Rosemary Tonks. Last month, new information about her vanishing act came to light. Here is Jonathan's original post, with an update... If you’ve ever come across the work of Rosemary Tonks, then I think I ... Read More...

'His need to be appreciated, admired and loved was borderline paranoid,' says Mahlerman, as he asks: 'Who was Leonard Bernstein?'... Rummaging through a shortlist of Ukrainian musicians for my post a couple of weeks ago, I briefly considered the inclusion of the great musical polymath Leonard Bernstein, as both his parents ... Read More...

This week's weird Wikipedia article uncovers the silly student japes that brought the Bloomsbury Group to national attention... The Dreadnought hoax was a practical joke pulled by Horace de Vere Cole in 1910. Cole tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the battleship HMS Dreadnought, to a fake delegation of ... Read More...

Since Numan posed his seminal question concerning friendship and electricity, many renowned thinkers have attempted to answer it. But have they ever really succeeded?... A generation ago, the aeroplane pilot and sage Numan asked “Are friends electric?” It was pertinent then, and is perhaps more so now. Over the years, many ... Read More...

From speaking in tongues to cheese rolling in Gloucester, this month Professor Nick Groom looks at the origins, customs and meaning of Whitsun... Whit Sunday is the seventh Sunday after Easter, also known as ‘Pentecost’ (from the Greek for fiftieth, counting inclusively). It is therefore part of the cat’s cradle of Eastertide dates ... Read More...