Our catch-up of interesting articles you may have missed. Some of these are left over from Christmas. So, in no special order:
Rob Dunn on the evolution of the traditional Christmas mistletoe.

While we’re on mistletoe, here’s an piece which wonders about the actual purpose of kissing and why we do it.
Belgium’s Trappist beers are apparently under threat because the Trappist Brothers are dying off and the monasteries aren’t attracting enough new recruits.
The Bank of England is going to start issuing plastic banknotes in 2016. Why does it take so long? Why not 2014?
Ever thought your cat was up to no good? Not compared with these kleptomaniac cats. At least ours only steals contraband from within the house!
Here’s a round-up of ten extraordinary sacred sites from around Britain.
We all know the feeling: time flies by faster as we get older. But why?
Here’s an American who is maybe the world’s most acclaimed nipple tattoo artist. No it probably isn’t quite what you think!
Ben Goldacre has written an interesting little foreword to the new Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway guidebook.
Just 11% of Americans admit to doing their shopping in the nude — well at least their online shopping! Knowing the prudishness of most Americans I’m surprised it is so high. But why wouldn’t you shop in the nude?
So how and just where in the body do we feel emotions. As always, scientists are investigating and it turns out to be rather interesting.
What did 16th century painter Michaelangelo have for lunch? Well now we know because one of his illustrated shopping lists has been found.
Back to America. Who actually did discover America? It seems to be becoming less and less certain. History Today muddies the waters still further.

In another piece from History Today Stephen Cooper takes us to task for having a negative view of the Medieval Period and wants us to stop using “medieval” as a pejorative.
One doesn’t think of great authors like George Orwell being domestically inclined, but here are a couple of typescript pages from Orwell’s 1945 essay “British Food” which has recipes for Plum Cake and Christmas Pudding.
And finally, on a less wholesome note, here’s the annual survey of what Americans got stuck in the bodily orifices last year. I do worry about the mental age of most Americans!