THE BIG QUESTIONS
It’s perfect with a slice of cheese, or just butter, a squidge of chocolate spread even, and I’ve eaten thousands of them. But when was the Rich Tea biscuit first dreamed up? – M
McVities have been making the most versatile of biccies since 1891, though a version was baked in Yorkshire as long ago as the 17th Century.
For his wedding in 2011, Prince William had a groom’s cake containing 1,700 Rich Tea biscuits.
As the Washington Redskins are deciding on a new, more culturally sensitive name, perhaps you can tell me about another American football team, the Cincinnati Bengals? I know their helmets are coloured to look like tiger stripes, but there are no Bengal tigers in the US. – J
The current Cincinnati Bengals, based in the state of Ohio, are actually the second team to bear the name, adopting it when they were established in 1953.
Previously there was a short-lived team (1937-42). At the time, Cincinnati was home to a world-renowned zoo, and its star attraction was a Bengal tiger, but it was a rare albino, so its fur was completely white.
My neighbour’s garden puts mine to shame. As I asked him about one particular plant, he told me it was a box holly, or a butcher’s broom. Now I’m a butcher, but don’t know why the plant would be called this. – F
Ruscus aculeatus, a European native, is a thick clump-forming small shrub with red berries.
Historically, butchers would make a broom from a bundle of its leaves to sweep their chopping blocks clean.