Books

Writings of Note

When a city is as littered with intriguing curiosities as this one, you need a framework to make sense of it all. What better framework than the Underground system? We'll take a stroll along a stretch of Tube line, learning about the secrets and oddities we pass along the way.Walks

Strolls through time

Sick of doing quizzes that ask ‘what’s the capital of Albania?’ You either know it or you don’t, and either way there’s no fun. A really good question should be one you can work out, a challenge you enjoy even if you don’t get the answer in the end. For example:Quizzes

For the curious

Blog

Musings & trifles

Magic

Team-building through tricks

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Books

Writings of Note

When a city is as littered with intriguing curiosities as this one, you need a framework to make sense of it all. What better framework than the Underground system? We'll take a stroll along a stretch of Tube line, learning about the secrets and oddities we pass along the way.Walks

Strolls through time

Sick of doing quizzes that ask ‘what’s the capital of Albania?’ You either know it or you don’t, and either way there’s no fun. A really good question should be one you can work out, a challenge you enjoy even if you don’t get the answer in the end. For example:Quizzes

For the curious

Blog

Musings & trifles

Magic

Team-building through tricks

Mark Mason

Before becoming a writer, I did jobs as varied as selling Christmas cards in Harrods, playing guitar in a blues band that toured Europe, and making radio programmes for the BBC. Wherever I went, though, I found it was always the trivia that excited me most. The intriguing stuff, the little facts that slip down the back of life's sofa. So I've ended up as the sort of guy who knows that Harrods dropped their apostrophe in 1921 (Sainsbury's still haven't) ... that Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents ... that The Archers theme tune was produced by a young George Martin ... It's an attitude that keeps life interesting, I find, whatever you're up to at any particular point in time, whether you're living in the West End of London (as I used to), or a village in Suffolk (as I do now).

Mark Mason
Content

London Bus

A London double decker bus can lean further from the vertical without falling over than a human can. What a great way of learning about centres of gravity. The reason a Routemaster can lean so far is that there's a great long strip of pig-iron welded to its base, keeping you top-deckers safe as you go round corners. If you want reassuring photographic evidence, click here