Questions, Questions

How come dogs hate cats?
Jordan and Jodie Marsh aside, it’s one of the most vicious feuds known to man – and it’s all about evolutionary instinct. ‘Just because they’ve been domesticated doesn’t mean dogs and cats can or should co-exist,’ says animal behaviourist Sarah Heath, author of Why Does My Cat…? ‘Cats are in the middle of the food chain with dogs just above them.’ Whether dogs’ll actually try to eat your prized Persian depends on the type of pooch. ‘With some dog breeds, the hunting instinct is too strong for them to resist,’ says Heath. ‘Terriers are born killers, but sporting dogs such as retrievers, Labradors and spaniels don’t bother with cats – it’s not in their instinct.’

Why does time fly when you’re having fun?
Whether it’s an hour of Sky Sports or Sunday lunch at his parents’, there are some things that seem to drag on and on. An hour’s shopping spree in Selfridges, however, is over before you can say ‘Jimmy Choo’. Says John Wearden, professor of psychology at Keele University, an expert on time perception: ‘It’s all down to the link between time and attention.’ We only have a certain quantity of attention to devote to things – and this is shared out. ‘For example, if you’re at an amazing party, you spend time processing the content of that event, paying attention to that and not to the passage of time,’ continues Wearden. ‘On the other hand, if you’re in a doctor’s waiting room, there’s not much to do, so more of your attention is available to devote to “time processing” and time seems to pass much slower.’ And if you’re at a party in a doctor’s waiting room, you should spend the time asking yourself why!

Anorak fact: In New Orleans, biting someone with natural teeth is assault. With falsies it’s aggravated assault.

Why do we throw confetti?
If there’s one thing guaranteed to get the vicar’s knickers in a twist, it’s the sight of you flinging pastel-coloured horseshoes all over his just-swept church drive. But fact is, we’ve been chucking stuff at the freshly hitched for centuries. ‘The rite of throwing something at the newly-weds dates back to Pagan times, when married couples were showered with grain to represent a “fruitful” union,’ says wedding planner Ruth Culver. ‘Druids believed the fertility of the seeds would rub off on the couple on which they fell. Similarly, flower petals were often spread down the aisle to grant fertility and protection from harmful spirits – that’s the origin of the petal-shaped paper thrown today.’ So how do you give Mr and Mrs a good send off, and stay on the right side of the dog collar? ‘Use biodegradable confetti,’ says Ruth. ‘Alternatively, visit your local florist and ask if you can have the petals from any old flowers they are about to chuck out.’

Why is jealousy green?
For the same reason that ‘All that glitters is not gold’ and we do things in ‘one fell swoop’: Billy Shakespeare. ‘The Bard is responsible for more than 357 new words and phrases,’ says David Crystal, linguistics expert and co-author of The Shakespeare Miscellany. One of those phrases was ‘green-eyed jealousy’, uttered by the heroine of The Merchant of Venice, Portia. ‘This is the first recorded instance linking the emotion with the colour. Its meaning has expanded in contemporary usage, whether it’s “turning green with envy” or “the green-eyed monster”, but the link irrefutably began between 1596 and 1598 at the end of Shakespeare’s quill,’ says Crystal.

Anorak fact: One in 20 Icelanders claim to have seen an elf. That Björk, she gets around.

If you flush a fish down the loo, will it survive?
If you did find Nemo again, it wouldn’t be pretty, says Steve Matchett, Aquarium Curator at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. ‘Fish would likely end up trapped on the grill used to separate solids, and be in contact with concentrated sewage,’ reveals Matchett. ‘Most fish rely on clean, well-oxygenated water, so there’s also the chance they’d suffocate on entering the sewage system pipes, assuming they’re not battered to death on the way down.’ So that’s a no.

Why is a high street called a high street?
In around 1000 AD, in an attempt to centralise businesses, shops and lodging houses, the high street was created. ‘Since the ninth century, “high” was used to denote something of superior quality, for example “highway”,’ adds etymologist Susie Dent. So, the main street through a town became the “high” street because it was usually the only one that wasn’t just a mud trail. Now High Street’s the most common street name in the UK: we have more than 5,410 and they all look the same.