The author of Curious Unknown Histories
Where did this come from?
The stories behind famous dishes, everyday customs, the objects in our hands and the inventions we take for granted, with the record kept apart from the legend.
Four sections
Follow the question
Section 1
Famous Foods
Where the world's best-known dishes really come from, and which parts of their origin stories are record and which are legend.
Section 2
Customs & Traditions
The rituals we perform without thinking, from blessing a sneeze to shaking hands, and where they really come from.
Section 3
Everyday Objects
The objects we use every day without a second thought, and the long, strange paths that brought them into our hands.
Section 4
Inventions & Discoveries
How things we now take for granted began: accidents, hunches, failed experiments and first times, with the legends checked against the record.
The books
Curious Unknown Histories
A collection on the cultural, mythical and historical journeys of everyday foods and beverages. Each book takes one of them and follows it through culture, myth and history.
The newsletter
Curious stories by email
Occasional letters with the stories behind things, record and legend clearly labeled.
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