What is the origin of the expression “soap opera”?

America’s pioneer radio stations in the 1920s devised and broadcast daily serial stories with themes calculated to appeal to women at home. The large female audience attracted advertisers that wished to sell them things. Most of the sponsors of the early serials were selling soap flakes, hence the stories became known derisively as “soap operas”, although the serials proved to be remarkably popular.
— Michael Cole, Laxfield, Suffolk

James Thurber wrote an amusing series of articles on the early development of soap operas in the New Yorker in 1948. The format was developed in about 1928 and sponsored by soap powder producers such as Procter & Gamble, Lever Brothers etc. The articles were reprinted by Penguin in The Beast in Me and Other Animals in 1961.
— W. N. N. Knight, Weybridge, Surrey

The expression “soap opera” was first applied to radio serial programmes in the US in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Stella Dallas, which were sponsored by soap manufacturers. The soap advertisements were satirised in a novel, The Hucksters, and a film of the same name starring Clark Gable. The original radio series have long since disappeared, but the expression has expanded to include television series, including some on the BBC with no advertisements at all.
— James Michael, London N6

Who was the Larry in the expression “as happy as Larry” and what was he so happy about?

The expression is not Australian (Questions Answered, April 11), but is American rhyming slang for sappy, meaning feeble-minded, dating from the Second World War. It arose from the 3D classification, to escape from being drafted into the Army. “The happiest people are those wise enough to get themselves into a lunatic asylum.” That was why Larry was happy.
— Gerald Stonehill, Denham, Bucks

It is probable that this phrase, first recorded in New Zealand in 1875, was originally “as happy as a larrikin”, meaning a mischievous youth. In 1870 the Australian author Marcus Clarke wrote: “He’s a lively larrikin lad, and his name is Little Boy Blue.” The word still survives (just) in Australia today meaning something akin to a loveable rogue.
— Patrick Martin, Winchester

A close relative, or at least a good friend, I suspect, of Bob — your uncle.
— John Fingleton, London W1

Did all present-day flightless birds (eg, penguins, ostriches) evolve from birds that once flew? If yes, when was the last time a penguin’s or ostrich’s ancestor flew?

There is inescapable fossil and DNA evidence proving that birds evolved from dinosaurs, the small feathered Archaeopteryx (about the size of a magpie) being capable of flapping rather than just gliding flight. All birds are thought to have evolved from this basic ornithiscian dinosaur. Inexplicably, some subsequent avian species — penguins, ostriches — allowed the flight facility to atrophy. In the absence of fossil evidence suggesting the contrary, it is not unreasonable to assume that this departure from flight began in the Jurassic Period, c 150 million years ago.
— Robert Randell, London SE26

On cloudless, cold mornings, why are aircraft vapour trails short-lived on some days and long-lived on others?

When the atmospheric pressure is rising or high, cold and therefore dry air descends from high altitude. When the pressure is falling or low, warm damp air rises. In the first case, the condensation trail of an aircraft, which consists largely of water vapour, is more quickly absorbed into the air and short trails are the norm. In the latter case the air cannot so quickly absorb the water vapour so the trails persist and are long.

I noticed this correlation many years ago and while working at Farnborough. I attempted to find proof of the theory; I was unsuccessful and therefore this remains a theory.
— Terence Chubb, Byfleet, Surrey

I recall that, during the Second World War, appeals were made on the BBC Home Service for anyone in possession of a banana (a very rare thing in those days) to donate it to save the life of a sick child. From what ailment could these children have been suffering?
— John Eckersley, Oxford

Why are most domestic ducks white?
— Richard Wingfield, Reading

About 20 years ago, it was claimed that out of all the people who have ever lived on Earth, almost a quarter were still alive. Could that have been true and how has the proportion changed since?
— C. D. A. Mackie, Netherfield, East Sussex

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