With all the floods there have been in the last few years, and with growing concern about rising water levels, this is something that everybody should be checking. There is plenty of information online – if you put ‘UK flood risk area’ in a search... (read more)

Basically, what happens in a 3D film is that the screen is showing two images, and when you wear 3D glasses they make the images enter different eyes – ie one goes into each eye. There are two main ways that this is done: The older system is known as... (read more)

Babies do develop at very different speeds, so there isn’t an exact answer to this question. Also, between a child’s first starting to stand or take a step, and really walking independently, there can be quite a long gap, so you have to include the... (read more)

We are exposed to a certain amount of background radiation all the time – it does occur naturally – so of course we would expect to find it on a flight too. In recent years though, there have been a lot of questions about whether radiation levels... (read more)

The popular figure of Santa has many names and has his origins in several different traditions. The most famous of these names, Santa Claus, is derived from the Dutch name of Sinterklaas. In the Netherlands there was a long tradition of an elderly, white-bearded... (read more)

If you downloaded the book from Amazon then you may also be able to read it using your Kindle (you don’t actually transfer it). However, this only applies to Kindle books. I (read more)

Of course as Christmas comes closer you will see huge numbers of people in Santa costumes, on streets and in department stores in cities in many countries of the world. Even some countries who don’t have Christmas or Santa Claus as part of their tradition,... (read more)

This condition, which happens to everyone at some point, is also known as nasal congestion or nasal obstruction. While colds and flu are the best known causes of this, it can also be caused by other problems such as certain allergies (hay fever is the... (read more)

The heating element is near the bottom of the kettle because of the way it heats up the water. The water is heated through the flow of electricity meeting resistance in the form of the element. The heat is created through convection currents, which warm... (read more)

It may be easier to ask which assets are not liable to capital gains tax (CGT), since in the UK you actually have to pay this tax on the majority of assets once you sell them or otherwise dispose of them. Any shares or other business assets are liable,... (read more)

As a self-employed UK citizen you will still receive the UK state pension, but you have to make your National Insurance contributions directly yourself, instead of having them made through your employer. This can all be sorted out at the same time as... (read more)

The sport which is practised in the Olympics today, often called Olympic or competitive fencing, is rather different from classical fencing, although they both have the same three categories of weapon: foil, sabre and epee. Olympic fencing is a sport... (read more)

The story, about an enforcer for a criminal syndicate who, with his son, has to go on the run from his bosses, is a fictional one although it is largely inspired by similar events in real life. It is based on a graphic novel by the US thriller writer... (read more)

In fact water boiling in any receptacle makes some noise – you may have noticed a similar noise when heating water in a saucepan, for instance – but it is more noticeable in a kettle because it is in a confined space and comes to the boil more rapidly... (read more)

Almost every time you listen to the weather forecast in spring and summer, there seems to be a mention of the pollen count. Unless you have hay fever or another allergy, you may not pay much attention to this; and in fact a lot of people don’t really... (read more)

This is a question which many people are asking at the moment, because of a piece of research which has been published in the last few weeks. An article summing up the research and discussing its conclusions can be found here,... (read more)

First of all, what is a smart TV? You may find this definition useful. Put another way, smart TV is another term for internet TV. This is TV that can connect directly to the... (read more)

In fact there is some salt in all water, though in what we call ‘fresh’ water the amounts are too small for us to notice. There is even a small amount of salt in rainwater, as there is of many other minerals. However, it’s clear that in the sea... (read more)

On a beach you can find a variety of substances ranging from clay, through sand, small and larger pebbles, stones and rocks. What you find on any beach is the result of a whole lot of factors. A very important factor is erosion. The sea is constantly... (read more)

It’s surprisingly difficult to find a certain answer to this question! Maybe that’s because, if you could find sports which definitely have no doping scandals, that would be good news, and nobody is interested in reporting good news. Whatever the... (read more)