THE BIG RETORT

Are there plans to banish Queen Elizabeth II from new coins? Does Britain's small change herald change? Put simply, is the United Kingdo...

When it comes to offering 'best deal' holiday packages to Paris does Eurostar make the grade, or does it have tunnel vision? TheBi...

Shock! Horror! Crap! George Orwell's 1984 is now at a pub near you. But is pub chain J D Wetherspoon taking the piss? TheBigRetort inv...

A recent flyby of the planet Mercury from 124 miles (200 kilometers) above the surface has revealed an impact crater with more than 50 twist...

In this edition of TheBigRetort we had hoped to bring you the answer to the question to which you have all been waiting: Did he or didn&...

It was 'A Remarkable Wager'. A man wearing an iron mask. Pushing a pram. Full of photograph. Must find a wife along the way. Visit...

The Iron Mask: Day 1. To recap... the year was 1908. On a foggy New Year's morning. At 10.30 precisely, a man wearing an iron mask left ...

In Edwardian England a man accepted an incredible wager: the prize - £21,000. It was set down by two notable men, J P Morgan (the wealthy ...

Council Tax is a property-based charge with one bill for each household set by the various councils to help pay for local services such as r...

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." An eloquent defence of tolerance, or a cosy ...

Military ‘rebels’ who seized a luxury hotel in the Philippines capital have agreed to surrender, for the safety of the hostages. "We...

THERE IS A VERY OLD SAYING THAT 'HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF TIME AND TIME AGAIN'. RECENTLY TWO COMPUTER DISCS CONTAINING THE PERSONAL IN...

Could Mankind be the only technologically advanced society in the Cosmos? D. Bruce Merrifield, writing in Integrated Patterns of Civilizati...

Is service-provider London Councils really running a range of services designed to make life better for 'all'? In a previous article...

THE NEXT TIME YOU TAKE THE TUBE... MIND THE MAP . The London underground 'map' was created by graphic designer Henry C Beck (pictur...

THE CURIOUS CASE OF DR DAVID KELLY AND WHY HE WROTE THAT WILL... Researchers never seem to mention it but the dead scientist's will, pr...

IN A PREVIOUS ARTICLE THEBIGRETORT REVEALED THAT A 'NEW' LAW HAS BEEN INTRODUCED AGAINST SELFISH PARKING - BUT DO LONDON COUNCILS KN...