Rosemary is delicious in all kinds of savoury cooking, and it’s simple to grow in climates not too different from its home base around the Mediterranean. If you plant it near a path not only can you enjoy its scent when you brush past on sunny days, but on rainy days you can easily pick [more...]
Today is the 150th anniversary of the famous four-faced clock in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster and its Great Bell better known by its nickname ‘Big Ben‘. The clock started on 31 May 1859, but the bell did not first strike in the tower until the 11 July. However, this was [more...]
Nobody knows for certain, but chances are that our seven-day week is historically connected with the fact that the Babylonians and other early astronomers recognized seven celestial bodies that weren’t in fixed positions like the stars — the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. In fact, in English the names of three [more...]
The Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds worldwide. According to American Kennel Club (AKC) dog registration statistics, the Labrador Retriever has been America’s top registered breed for the last 18 years. Ranking of the most popular dogs in the U.S. (2008) 1. Labrador Retriever 2. Yorkshire Terrier 3. German Shepherd Dog 4. Golden Retriever 5. Beagle 6. Boxer 7. Dachshund 8. [more...]
The House of Commons is the venue of a great deal of political cut and thrust. But can you imagine the country’s reaction if our present-day Prime Minster took part in a duel as a result of what was said by them, or about them or their policies? It may seem amazing to us now, [more...]
It’s hard to imagine that such a commonplace song as Happy Birthday to You is still under copyright, but in most countries that’s the case. The copyright is owned by the Time Warner conglomerate, and if you sing it in a public place (such as at a restaurant) you are liable to pay a royalty [more...]
Most of the photos at Quezi are either public domain, or are licensed to allow re-use. However, please don’t hot-link to Quezi’s copy of the images. That would steal our bandwidth and we might serve pictures of a donkey’s bum to your website’s visitors instead! So please right-click on the image and save it to [more...]
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are perhaps one of the easiest herbs to grow in your garden or in a container. They require little attention and bring a late-spring colour to the garden. Chives are part of the onion family. You can eat the bulb, leaves and even the flower head. Most people just use their leaves for [more...]
It’s an odd custom. Some gardeners will fastidiously tie all their daffodil leaves into knots at the end of the flowering season. What gives? Actually, the purpose served by the knots is more social than horticultural. Daffodils burst into bloom each April (or October south of the equator). The petals then fall off and, provided the [more...]
Nonalcoholic beer, sometimes known as near beer, is made in the same way as the regular beer is, but after it has been brewed the alcohol is distilled off. Bottlers typically heat the beer at a relatively low temperature under low air pressure, so the alcohol can be removed without “cooking” the beer. Because alcohol [more...]
The first flower salad I ever saw was covered with bright nasturtiums like the visual treat in the photo. It impressed me with the idea that some garden flowers are not only edible, but look wonderful on food. You can grow them as well as the better-known herbs to add interesting colours and flavours to [more...]
Getting antsy about ants? They bite and make your skin itchy. They invade our food and spices. Whenever we see ants inside or outside our homes, we either smash them with our thumbs or use insecticide to get rid of them. If the problems get too serious we hire an exterminator to eliminate them. However; ants have [more...]
The kiwifruit is native to China, and for many years was known in western countries as the Chinese Gooseberry because its shape resembles an oversized gooseberry and its taste is similarly acidic. The name “kiwi fruit” was coined as a marketing term in 1959 by Turners and Growers, wholesale fruit merchants of Auckland New Zealand. The [more...]
Famille rose decoration for porcelain developed in China around 1720. A new wave of Chinese ceramics using rose and ruby shades in multi-colour designs was greatly admired in Europe. Introduced just before the western craze for oriental style interior decoration peaked in the mid-18th century, plenty was manufactured for export, along with many other Asian [more...]
A ceilidh (also spelled ceili) is a social gathering which centers around ceilidh dancing. It may be a public event, or may be organized by a community organization such as a sports club, or may be associated with a celebration such as a wedding or naming ceremony. Plenty of ceilidhs are offered at folk festivals. The [more...]
Every country has a notion of the public domain—where creative and scientific works older than a certain age are available to everyone as part of humanity’s shared culture. But what if you want to dedicate your own creative or scientific work to humanity? Many countries don’t allow you to do that, and automatically apply full [more...]
Phishing is a type of fraud in which people are tricked into providing information such as passwords, usernames and bank account data that can be used to gain unauthorized entrance to accounts. In one of the simplest and most common types of phishing, the scammer sends e-mails providing a link to a web site and tells [more...]
If you’ve ever received an e-mail asking you to enter account information at some rogue web site, you’ve been the would-be victim of a phishing attempt. Every hour, thousands of Internet users are targeted. While there is no way of protecting yourself 100 percent of the time from every possible Internet threat, there are some [more...]
The CN Tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing 1,815.4 ft. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975. It then was the tallest free-standing structure ‘on land’ in the world. Because the Petronius Platform oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico is [more...]
The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. At the time it was finished in 1973 it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York City. It is the tallest building in the United States, and the fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world. In summer [more...]