Nobody numbered a house until somebody official wanted something. Here are eleven.
1. Numbering Was Imposed, Not Adopted
Systematic house numbering spread through Europe in the eighteenth century, introduced by…
Usually the oldest ground in the village, and it keeps records. Here are seventeen.
1. The Ground Is Higher Than the Street
Centuries of burial add material rather than remove…
Source: Wikipedia
Handedness looks like it should be a simple trait. It is visible, it is binary in everyday terms, and everybody has one. It turns out to be none of…
Almost all of them are descriptions, not decorations. Here are seventeen.
1. A Trade Name Means the Trade Was There
Streets named for tanners, bakers, coopers, dyers, weavers or smiths…
Everything that happened in a room is recorded in what you are standing on. Here are fifteen.
1. Board Width Dates the House Roughly
Very wide boards generally mean early…
One fruit, several products, and two distinct sensations that most people assume are the same thing. Here are fifteen.
1. It Is a Dried Fruit
Peppercorns are the fruit of…