THE BIG QUESTIONS
In The Sopranos, which I have just binge-watched, how did Paulie Walnuts earn his nickname? – R
The Sopranos is a series about the New Jersey mafia, led by Tony Soprano. One of Tony’s captains was Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, who earned his nickname after hijacking a lorry which he believed was carrying TVS, only to find the cargo was several tons of walnuts.
Paulie was played by Tony Sirico, who also appeared in several Woody Allen films.
Looking at an atlas, trying to pick somewhere to go when lockdown eases, I wondered which country would be the world’s oldest? – P
Founded around the year
3100 BC, Egypt is generally regarded to hold that title.
It was around this time when King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom.
His dynasty was the first of a series that would rule over Egypt for the next three thousand years until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
The modern country we know as Egypt today wasn’t founded until 1953, a year after a revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Watching Manchester City lose at their home ground, the Etihad, last week, I wondered about the name. I know Etihad is Arabic in origin, but what does it mean? – L
City are sponsored by Etihad Airlines, hence the stadium’s name.
The word “etihad” is indeed Arabic and means “friendship” “alliance” or “unity”.
But, embarrassingly for City, it can also be translated as “united” so Manchester City play at the United Stadium.