Most people know that carrots have not always been orange. The original cultivars were purple, with some white and yellow mutations. So why is the modern carrot ubiquitously orange? The orange strain was finally developed and stabilised by Dutch growers in the 16 – 17th centuries. A nice story has it that they were bred in the appropriately patriotic hue to honour William of Orange, the stadtholder of the […]
Monthly Archives: April 2011
One of the best known speeches given in the English language is Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”, the common title given to a speech delivered to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940. The most quoted section is “we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the […]
Fight them on the beaches
Were does the phrase ‘back to square one’ originate? Where was the original square one? There are two main theories explaining the origin of the phrase ‘back to square one’: 1. Returning back to the beginning in children’s games such as hopscotch and snakes and ladders; or 2. The first live radio commentary featured a Division One match between Arsenal and Sheffield United, broadcast on January […]