James O'Brien's Mystery Hour Why is my hamster so ungrateful?
Feb 26, 2026
Playful phone-in puzzles about disappearing ‘www’ in URLs and how DNS and redirects hide subdomains. A curious dive into why no mammals are green and how pigment and vision shape color. Listeners trace a football nutmeg name back to spice-trade fraud and fake nutmegs. Quirky looks at hamster escape instincts, baggy military trousers’ riding origins, bobbles on hats and nighttime threadworm behavior.
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Why Www Disappeared From Addresses
- The WWW prefix began as a server-designator, not a mandatory part of addresses.
- Modern sites redirect bare domains (example lbc.co) to www automatically, so users stopped needing to type www.
Listeners Told Conflicting Hamster Rules
- James reads listener messages noting hamsters are solitary and some places outlaw solitary keeping.
- Claire in Rugby (living in Switzerland) claimed it's illegal to keep a solitary hamster, highlighting varied pet laws and beliefs.
Look For Practical Origins In Uniform Design
- Consider functional origins for clothing features before assuming fashion.
- Jodhpurs' baggy-thigh shape exists so trousers tuck into boots for riding; cavalry traditions kept the style in uniforms.
