Short Stories
The complaint
A man wishes to return a bread maker. It is outside the returns window, it is not faulty, and he…
Short Stories
Three letters to the occupant
Behind a loose panel in the meter cupboard of a first-floor flat, three tenants left instructions for whoever came next.…
How Things Work
Why clean clothes still smell, and what is actually living in your machine
If laundry comes out smelling faintly of damp, the problem is usually not the detergent. It is the machine, the…
How Things Work
Why knives go blunt, and what sharpening actually removes
Most of the time a blunt knife is not worn away, it is bent over. Knowing which problem you have…
Science
Why the tide comes in twice a day
The Moon pulls the ocean towards it, which explains one bulge. The second one, on the opposite side of the…
Science
Why ice floats, and why almost nothing else does
Nearly every substance is denser as a solid than as a liquid. Water is not, and a great deal depends…
Science
Why the sea is salty, and why rivers are not
Rivers carry salt to the sea continuously. The interesting question is not why the sea is salty but why the…
Travel Tips
Getting around Jaipur without losing half the day to it
Jaipur is two places joined by one slow road. Choosing transport for each half separately is what stops the commute…
Things to Do
Jantar Mantar: what the instruments actually measure
Without knowing what you are looking at, it is a field of handsome shapes. With it, it is the most…
Things to Do
Jaipur has three hill forts. Only one of them needs a morning.
Amber, Nahargarh and Jaigarh get listed together as though they were interchangeable. They are not, and treating them equally is…