BBC Sounds - On Your Behalf - Available Episodes

What is a Tory?

Why are British Conservatives called Tories? Is there any real evidence of alien life?

20 Mar 1997,13 mins

Sixes and Sevens

What is the origin of "sixes and sevens"? Why do Australians call British people "poms"?

27 Mar 1997,13 mins

The Origin of Pounds

Where do pounds come from? How much is a billion? Why don't birds collide?

25 Apr 1997,13 mins

Left Handed Pianos

Do left handed pianos exist? Who were the first diplomats?

02 May 1997,13 mins

Apes Under Threat

How do ships use lights for navigation? Has the Turin Shroud been accurately dated?

02 May 1997,13 mins

The Doomsday Comet

What became of the "doomsday comet"? What is the life cycle of the bumble bee?

16 May 1997,13 mins

Postcodes

Can anything travel faster than light? Does water divining work?

28 May 1997,13 mins

Sylvia the Arctic Tern

Can genetic coding cure short-sightedness? Do boomerangs really come back?

04 Jun 1997,13 mins

Five Pound Note

What is a five pound note worth? Could antisense gene therapy cure cancer?

18 Jun 1997,13 mins

Esperanto

Is Aids a disease or a syndrome? Why is the Houses of Parliament's clock called Big Ben?

13 Sep 1997,13 mins

The Effects of Coffee

What are the long term effects of coffee? Why was the Irish potato famine so deadly?

24 Sep 1997,14 mins

Do Ants Sleep?

What happened to George Bernard Shaw's bequest to promote the reform of English spelling?

25 Sep 1997,13 mins

Electrical Storms

Can physicists explain electrical storms? Why are mosquitoes increasing in numbers?

03 Oct 1997,13 mins

The Big Bang

Was there anything before the Big Bang?

04 Oct 1997,13 mins

Romans Maths

How did Romans do maths with their numerical system?

30 Oct 1997,13 mins

Tic-Tac Men

Why are counter staff in banks called tellers? What is sudden adult death syndrome?

06 Nov 1997,13 mins

El Nino

What causes the weather phenomenon called El Nino?

12 Nov 1997,13 mins

Radio Jamming

Is it possible to develop lung cancer from passive smoking?

20 Nov 1997,13 mins

Rotating Planets

Why does everything in space rotate on its own axis?

06 Dec 1997,13 mins

Yagan's Head

What happened to the head of the Aboriginal warrior Yagan?

10 Dec 1997,13 mins

Crop Circles

Are crop circles magical, meteorological, or man-made?

17 Dec 1997,13 mins

Best Man

Has another planet been found in our solar system? What makes a proper poem?

04 Mar 1998,13 mins

Dow Jones Index

Do ships really disappear in the Bermuda Triangle?

06 Mar 1998,13 mins

The Purpose of Mosquitoes

Do mosquitoes have an ecological purpose? Did ancient Egyptians brew beer?

11 Mar 1998,13 mins

Grapefruit Diets

Does eating grapefruit shrink your stomach? What language did Jesus speak?

03 Apr 1998,13 mins

Dollar Signs

What is the origin of the US dollar symbol?

14 Apr 1998,13 mins

Landmines

What is the best way to clear landmines? How accurate was Mayan astronomy?

25 Apr 1998,13 mins

Radio Waves

Why does lightning sometimes look green? Why don't insects drown when it rains?

25 Apr 1998,13 mins

Handshakes

Why and when did humans start shaking hands? Do humans only use 10% of their brains?

23 May 1998,13 mins

Longest Place Name

Why does Britain compete as one team in the Olympics but as four teams in the World Cup?

02 Jun 1998,13 mins