Needless to say a lot of Christmas related links have appeared in the last week or so. Here’s a selection, with a few less Christmasy ones.
First one that is merely seasonal … five common misconceptions about ‘flu and why, especially if you’re at risk, you should get a ‘flu shot.
A little of the chemistry underlying what makes mulled wine so good.
Apparently we’re drinking Champagne out of the wrong glasses — something Champagne growers have always known!
Turkey has been our festive meat for much longer than we imagine — basically since quite soon after Columbus discovered the New World.
We’ve all heard of the Sugar Plum Fairy, but what are Sugar Plums anyway? Rebecca Rupp investigates.
Bourbon. The French Royal family? Biscuits? Whiskey? Well yes, all of those, but is there a connection?
The holly bears a berry. It also bears small flowers on separate male and female trees and is an important resource for wildlife — which is why we have several hollies in our garden.
Forks as eating implements are a recent introduction, at least compared with knives and spoons. Rebecca Rupp, again, looks at the history of both table manners and the fork.

It seems unlikely now, but there used to be quite a few pubs London Underground stations. I certainly remember the one at Sloane Square which survived until 1985, although I’m not sure I ever managed to have a pint there.
We’re now definitely descending into the rather less seasonal …
An official inquiry has highlighted the plight of British public libraries which are withering on the vine in the face of local authority funding cuts.
Most will have heard of Project Gutenberg but there are many other websites offering legal downloads of literature.
David Shariatmadari in the Guardian takes a sideways look at 10 diktats from Brussels that are (not?) ruining life in Britain.
We all know that life isn’t fair, but apparently that’s not the problem.
And finally, a splendid summary of why you should never mess with an engineer.
Happy New Year to you all!

Another instalment of articles you may have missed the first time round. This edition isn’t too science-y!
‘Tis the season to be merry and it seems we’ve been consuming alcohol for a lot longer than we previously thought.
It is also the season of the Brussels sprout. I like them, but I know many don’t so here’s a piece on the chemistry of why Brussels sprouts taste bitter to many people.
What colour is an orange? Well, yes, orange. Except when it’s green of course.
Still on fruit and veg, Maryn McKenna writes a piece about chutney and its history.
No matter what you fondly believe you can’t detox your body — it’s a myth. So just forget all those fads and fancies you subject yourself to in January. OK?
Fart! Yes, we all do it, especially after those Christmas Brussels sprouts. Here are nine (possibly surprising) facts about flatulence.
There’s no wildlife in London is there? Oh yes there is, and a lot of it is non-native animals on the loose.
So from non-native animals to royalty. Scientists have done more DNA tests on the remains of Richard III. And guess what … there’s bastardy involved which might throw some doubt on the Queen’s ancestry. But that doesn’t matter really as the Queen’s more recent ancestors took the throne by force, which matters more.
So we also now know that the Vikings weren’t the violent thugs we thought. Which leads Julia Laite in the Guardian to expose five other historical myths.
Do the people really want HS2? — that massive rail project the government is intent on building from London to Birmingham. Tom Jeffreys investigates for the Independent.
Virgin birth. By men. It must be possible because the Council of Islamic Ideology has decreed that the very existence of women is un-Islamic. I wonder what they know that we don’t?

And finally two items for a little light relief.
Firstly an interesting piece on the history of Polari.
And I leave you with the announcement of this year’s Darwin Awards which commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it. Just don’t try any of these as your Christmas party trick, OK?
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. We’ll bring you another list on the other side of the Auld Lang Syne.

More links to articles you may have missed the first time round.
Starting with the latest update on an old theme: progress on the clean-up of the Fukushima nuclear site. In a word: slow.
And now immediately onto the easier, more accessible and more interesting stuff …
There are loads of misconceptions and myths out there. Here in one infographic is the bust on 52 such myths.
One piece of medical equipment to put fear of God into the heart of all females is the dreaded speculum. Rose Eveleth looks at its history and why there probably isn’t a better design. (Why do they always look to me like angry ducks?)
Talking of stinging things, here’s Simon Barnes on the wonder of wasps and why we should be grateful for them. Yes. Really!
George Monbiot is as usual in stinging mood in his Guardian piece on the critical decline of wildlife because of the uncritical doings of politicians and their friends.
Some things though are intractable, or at least they should be. Ian Urbina looks at the surprising and secret world of passwords. They mean so much more than we know.
I love maps. Every one is fascinating in some way. Here are 12 maps that sum up London in ways you wouldn’t have expected.
And another which looks at London through the lens of the most common non-English language spoken at each tube station.
While we’re talking about London, here’s something of what it’s like to do the knowledge to become a London taxi-driver. This is why I have such a great respect for London cabbies. [Long read]
And the Mormons are coming out of the woodwork too! They have finally opened their kimonos just slightly to revel some of their sect’s inner secrets. Like admitting that their founder Joseph Smith really was a polygamist with an estimated 40 wives. Oh and their special underwear isn’t magic either. Well who would have guessed!
In other things you maybe didn’t know, here are eight things you should never feed your dog or cat.
And then there are five of the UK’s most poisonous plants. I think I’ve met all except the first.
From things you wouldn’t want to eat to things that you should. Surprise, surprise, doctors are now saying the Mediterranean diet is good for us. Didn’t we always know this?
While on things Mediterranean (well vaguely at least) here’s an interesting potted history of nudity from ancient times to the more recent.

And Nikola Novak thinks deeply about why nudity is about freedom. Or is it?
Finally on being a happy person, here are the Pope’s top 10 tips. Seems a good list to me!
Toodle-pip!

Another selection of articles you may have missed. And there’s not so much hard science in this edition.
#333333;" />Many people still have concerns about vaccinations, which is largely unwarranted. Wired has looked at what actually is in a ‘flu shot.
The Ancient Greeks knew far more than we realise, but did Ancient Greek women use tampons? Seems the jury is probably still out on this one, ‘cos it’s all a matter of language.
Nuts. Most blokes like theirs. Girls: how much do you love you guy’s nuts? Because you should: testes contain the most distinct types of human tissue of anywhere in our bodies. But sorry, girls, the study isn’t reported to have looked at your ovaries — poor show!
How did cats become domesticated? It seems it is probably all down to their genes, which are rather different to their nearest wild relations — although scientists don’t yet understand what all the differences mean.
While on cats, have you ever wondered how much exercise your moggie gets? So some guy fitted a FitBit tracker to his cat Java to find out. Which is seriously cool even if I can’t be bothered to try it!
PS. Java is seriously cool too …

Hands up everyone who sleeps in the nude. You don’t? Seems like you should, ‘cos there’s more evidence it is good for you.
Here’s a short introduction to the history of peppers, both the peppercorn and chilli types. Also something on the heat of the chilli.
I don’t need to ask who out there likes gin ‘cos I know the answer is all of you! So you’ll be interested that a French distiller has recreated the earliest known gin from a 1495 recipe. Sadly you don’t appear to be able to buy it but you can bid for a bottle (proceeds to charity).
Do we drink more than our ancestors did? Answer: as far as we can tell no we don’t; we may actually be drinking less! But it is really hard to tell, especially as beer and wine was weaker in days past.
Mushy peas are nothing new! Rebecca Rupp investigates the development of the modern pea.
From peas to elephants. Here are some of history’s most amusing misconceptions about elephants.
Iron Age Maiden. Boudica, our earliest anti-European (well anti-Roman, anyway) hero!
Sectioning books is something I’d never really thought about. Nicholas Dames in The New Yorker brings us an interesting history of the chapter.
What was made out of handkerchiefs and patented in the USA on 3 November 1914? Yes, a weapon of mass constriction: the bra!
Still on things American, our favourite London cabbie brings us news of a small piece of America in Trafalgar Square.
From there it must be downhill all the way home!
Another favourite London blogger, Diamond Geezer, muses on the single life.
Meanwhile Janet Street-Porter writes a lot of common sense about nudity, which is fine on our screens but which most people won’t tolerate in real life.
Now look here you extroverts, you need to understand that us introverts interact differently with the world, and that’s OK.

And finally … When did you last do something you wouldn’t normally do for a period? Yes, then. Maybe.
Now I’m off to do something normal.

Another selection of interesting articles you may have missed.
First one for the physics geeks and anyone else who wants their head exploded … Scientists are beginning to believe that the wave function of an electron — an elementary particle — can be separated into many parts and the parts individually trapped. That has some strange implications for the theory of quantum mechanics, which is hard enough at the best of times.

But just to make it harder for you, we’re all powered by the effects of quantum mechanics. Apart from anything else photosynthesis is a quantum process. (And my PhD was on the periphery of the jigsaw of working out how photosynthesis holds together.)
Slightly more prosaically … What happens when chemists don’t wash their hands?
Next up an amazing video clip of a really bizarre fish that just doesn’t look at all real. It’s called the Smallspine Spookfish (Harriotta haeckeli).
I know many of my friends are, like me, cat lovers. If you aren’t then sorry, but all those things you say about cats are not upheld by science.
And that may well be because your cat thinks you’re a huge, unpredictable ape.
Now for more mythical creatures. Mermaids. Forget Disney, they have a murderous and sometimes sexy history.
With a quick soft shoe shuffle into the medical, almost three-quarters of Danish people want to ban male circumcision, at least under some circumstances. I’m with them on this.
You know how granny always said she could tell in her bones when it was about to rain? Well it turns out that people can feel the weather in their bones and there is now a possible mechanism.

Until the around the 16th century trade between East and West travelled overland along the Silk Road. Except it didn’t, because there was no Silk Road but a network of routes between trading posts through which goods passed.
I’m not sure if this next story is going to be scoop of the century or conspiracy theory of the decade. One scholar is suggesting that many of JS Bach’s finest works were composed by his wife Anna Magdalena. It all sounds a bit fishy, but then again …
Now one for the linguists amongst you. Minna Sundberg has drawn a most excellent linguistic family tree.
Now we’ll quickly slide into something foodie … First up here’s an interesting history of vanilla.
Brains — Eyes — Tripe … Have you ever thought about what foods you and your friends don’t like to eat. Here’s a look at some of those foods people seem to find terrifying … and it is in large part down to “innards and slime”.
On the other hand if you like onions and garlic here’s an interesting look at why they’re quite so pungent — plus a recipe for Brimstone Tart.
Staying with plants and the outdoors, there is a suggestion going round that the whole of London should be designated a National Park. And yes, although it is a very urban environment it isn’t such a crazy idea.
Almost last, here’s a good one for all of you who like travel and especially those who go to dodgy places on dodgy airlines. Welcome to Air Koryo.

And finally one for those of you with children who are trying to think about what they want to do … What would you like to do if money were no object? Because it is a good way to focus your thoughts, and you probably can do it! I wish someone had challenged me with this!

Yet another selection of amusing, interesting and/or absurd articles you may have missed …
It appears none of us would be here if it weren’t for a virus which invaded a gene which controls the development of the placenta. Carl Zimmer reports.

It’s not every day we find a new mammal. Let alone right under our noses. The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat (Cuscomys oblativa) was thought extinct, but has been discovered alive and well. How do we lose a cat-sized mammal?
We all know cats love boxes. But cats don’t just love boxes; cats may NEED boxes for their wellbeing.

Arachnophobia is (one of) the most common fears we have. Because all spiders are hairy, scary and lethal, right? But just how dangerous are Britain’s household spiders? Spoiler: not very.
From the journal of “why didn’t we think of this before?” here’s a very simple way to control the spread of invasive plants.
While on plants, another piece on why leaves change colour in autumn.
Peaches. Flavourful but fuzzy. Except when they’re nectarines. It seems the nectarine is a peach with just one modified gene which removes the fuzziness.
While we’re mentioning flavour, and thus taste … Are you a supertaster? Don’t know? Here’s how to find out.
Now, one of the great British arguments … How to make tea: milk first or last? I’m a milk first man, and it seems science agrees. Probably.
Now, at last, we leave science behind for lifestyle …
Nikola Novak on the enjoyment of being naked.
A real-life Romanian prostitute working in Amsterdam’s Red Light District tells us why the Nordic model for eradicating prostitution can never work.

Long before we had browsers we had books. And right from the beginning books needed bookmarks. Erik Kwakkel shows us some medieval bookmarks.
Just for amusement, here’s another paper creation: a life-sized articulated velociraptor.

Finally, Pope Francis has made the most sensible pronouncement by any Pope for a long time: “I believe in guardian angels … and everyone should listen to their advice”.

Another selection of amusing, and even interesting, articles you may have missed …
It’s that time of year when the IgNobel prizes — for research that makes you laugh and then think — are awarded. This year the recipients included research on the slipperiness of banana skins and …
… this mind-boggling report on controlling nose-bleeds with tampons of bacon.
Equally topically here’s a piece on the chemicals behind the colours of autumn leaves.

And while we’re on colours, it seems we’re all striped, with Blaschko’s Lines, it’s just that they only show in some rare medical conditions. It looks to me as if they may also be related to birth-marks.
Prof. Alice Roberts has a new book out: The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being; a masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are. Here’s a review by Adam Rutherford in the Guardian and here’s my review.
So you think you know where babies come from? Here’s Alice Roberts herself on the way in which our understanding of the making of babies has developed since Aristotle.
Recent research is suggesting that modern European genetic codes are made up from those of three ancient “tribes” which intermingled a bit less than 7000 years ago.
Just for a little more variety, Mick Jagger has had the 19-million-year-old species of extinct water nymph Jaggermeryx naida — Jagger’s water nymph — named after him. Apparently it is long legged and has a “highly innervated muzzle with mobile and tactile lips”.
Rewilding Britain: bringing wolves, bears and beavers back to the land. Should we? Or shouldn’t we?
So Jack the Ripper has been identified as Aaron Kosminski using DNA analysis. Or has he? Ted Scheinman isn’t convinced, and neither am I. This is research which needs to be peer reviewed and published in the scientific literature.
Next up a piece by Maryn McKenna in praise of her anonymous kitchen knife.
Paperclips! Love them or loathe them, they’re here to stay. The stories behind five everyday items of office stationery.
And finally from the annals of “what were they thinking?” we give you the Columbian Women’s Cycling team …