What we now call Christmas Pudding is not what it used to be. In medieval times, they knew it as Christmas pottage, made from hulled wheat boiled in milk along with spices and sugar. It evolved into a more recognisable pudding in Victorian times when it was commonly called figgy or plumb pudding. Amongst theContinue reading “Christmas Pudding and the Atom”
Category Archives: History
Atomic Time Machine
This day, 6th August, marks the anniversary when in 1945, the first, and to date only, nuclear weapons were used in war. A uranium bomb nicknamed Little Boy, exploded over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and three days later a plutonium bomb nicknamed Fat Man detonated close to Nagasaki. By the end of that yearContinue reading “Atomic Time Machine”
An historical scandal
This blog post is a little different to my pharmacological posts, because instead I want to recount a little history of science. It’s a story of tragedy, scandal, blackmail and a delicious happy ending. Yesterday, 26th July, marked the anniversary when, in 1895, Marie Sklodowska married Pierre Curie (their wedding photograph is shown on theContinue reading “An historical scandal”
Graham Lappin 