John Riddell

John Riddell learns about some dangerous chemicals

John Riddell learns to his cost that fishermen can be as easy to catch as the creatures they pursue

John Riddell reckons he's a sensible bloke. But then, doesn't everybody?

In which John Riddell conducts an entirely unscientific experiment and saves himself quite a bit of money

When I was just a young skeptic our family used to go to big Christmas family get-togethers at my great aunt's homestead. There were always lots of fun things for kids to do. There was a swimming pool with water the colour of rotting leaves and a ghost room upstairs in the house. When we thought the grown ups weren't looking, we would sneak upstairs for a peek into the room. The door was nailed closed, but the big kids knew how to bend the nail back and open the door just a bit. Every year a new group of 8- year-olds would try to scare the bewhatsits out of the 5-year-olds with tales of the ghost. There were also stories that the last kids to enter the room had not left alive through the door. Of course, this was because the room had no floorboards and they had slipped off the rafters and fallen through the ceiling to the dining room below.

Even in a secular age, it's hard to surrender the religious habits of old

Next time someone asks you your star sign, think very carefully before you answer

There are plenty of things which are better to drink than distilled water, says John Riddell. But then, most of you probably knew that anyway.

There has been a considerable easing of international tensions since the dark days of the mid-twentieth century. John Riddell thinks he knows why.

John Riddell has a few confessions to make.

In which John Riddell continues his pub night discussions.

There are three types of people in this country. Those that can count and those that can't. It is common to blame the education system for this.

John Riddell looks at a costly alternative to glue sniffing.

In which we look at another easy way to make money from home. No training or prior experience required!

A lucrative new career option!

John Riddell finds some creationist claims really are testable, unfortunately for them.

John Riddell contemplates how the newspapers would read if psychics really had the powers they claim

When I was young enough to think Dr Who was scary, I remember thinking it was good to live in times when people didn't believe in superstitions anymore. Recently, US taxpayers coughed up US$350,000 testing the effectiveness of Therapeutic Touch. It's one of those alternative therapies. The practitioner waves his hands over the patient, without touching them, while thinking gooey thoughts.

Have you ever had a go at water divining?

John Riddell spends a lot of time in the pub. Ask his wife. Often, over a pint or two, some bloke or blokess spouts forth some new age dogma which naturally requires correction.. Now a seasoned debater, he this month begins a regular series sharing his collection of responses honed to the mental capabilities of your average bar-room intellectual.