Interesting Facts

An appoggiatura, is a musical device, a note or tone that is not normally part of a chord but appears in a melody that precedes an essential melodic note or tone. It clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. (Twenty years ago, British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained an appoggiatura. According to, Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia this musical dissonance generates tension in the listener and when the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, which the listener an emotive sensation.  In the lead up to Valentine's day I guess lots of us will be listening to appoggiaturas.) Source

The first recorded Valentine's Day gift was sent by the Duke of Orleans in 1415. (After the battle of Agincourt he was captured and held prisoner in the Tower of London. There he composed a poem to his wife:- Go Forth My Heart Go forth, my hert, with my lady; Loke that we spare no business To serve her with such lowliness, That ye get her grace and mercy. Pray her of times prively That she keep trewly her promise Go forth, my hert, with my lady; Loke that we spare no business To serve her with such lowliness, That ye get her grace and mercy. I must as a hertless body Abide alone in hevyness, And ye shal do wel with your maistress pleasure In plesans glad and mery. Go forth, my hert, with my lady; Loke that we spare no business To serve her with such lowliness, That ye get her grace and mercy. !Note - They didn't have spell checkers in those days.)

powered by ODEO A More magazine poll of the "average British boyfriend" has found that 52% still live at home with their mums. (Further research revealed that the "average British boyfriend" is, on average, aged 25, 5ft 10in, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He rarely buys his girlfriend flowers, but will stretch to a dinner out once a month.)

Well it's Valentine's Day, and a chef has flown from Scotland to Italy to create the world's most expensive pizza for a St Valentine's Day meal. (Award-winning Glasgow restaurateur Domenico Crolla will prepare the £2,150 (3,000-euro) feast for lawyer Maurizio Morelli and his wife Sabrina in Rome. Am I the only person who thinks it's very strange to fly a chef from Scotland to Italy to bake a pizza.)

According to The Independent on Sunday, the left ear is more responsive to words of emotion whispered into it than the right. (So this Valentine's Day you know which ear to whisper your sweet nothings into.)

Whale vomit is used by perfumers, to whom it is known as ambergris, and it costs £11 per gram. (So, now you know what you're getting in that lovely expensive Valentine's Day present.) ;-)