The pattern is consistent: name the colour after the thing, then keep the name long after nobody uses the thing. Here are fifteen.
1. Maroon
From the French for chestnut,…
Source: Wikipedia
Which side of the road a country drives on feels like an arbitrary coin flip that happened somewhere in the past. It is not. The division maps almost perfectly…
Source: Wikipedia
Look at a map of Britain or northern Italy and certain roads stand out immediately. They run straight across the landscape for miles, ignoring the contours, occasionally kinking at…
The metric system is the most successful standardisation project in history. It is used by almost every country on Earth, it underpins science globally, and its units have been redefined…
These are not luxuries. Each one solves a specific and recurring problem, and most cost very little spread across the number of dishes they improve.
1. Anchovies in Oil
A…
Source: Wikipedia
There is a limit to how loud a sound can be, and it is lower than most people assume.
Sound travels as alternating regions of higher and lower air…