The Wise Sage tackles one of reading’s greatest problems: losing your bookmark. His ingenious solution is to replace it with ketchup. In classic Viz Top Tips style, this gloriously impractical advice explores sticky pages, edible page-location systems, furious librarians and why your treasured book collection may soon smell suspiciously like a chip shop
Tag Archives: books
This Day in History – 9th September 1742
A quarrel over carrying malt ended in tragedy when Thomas Griffiths threw a brickbat at Judith Haswell in 1742. She survived for days before dying after developing a fever. With disputed medical evidence, Judith’s plea for mercy and even a courtroom lie from Griffiths’s mother, the jury chose manslaughter over murder.
Advice of the Day: Playing Leapfrog with Unicorns
The Wise Sage returns with another essential “Advice of the Day”: never play leapfrog with a unicorn. Combining mythical creatures, terrible sporting decisions and classic Viz Top Tips-style logic, this absurd guide explains why some recreational activities become considerably less appealing when one participant has a large pointed horn attached to their forehead.
Advice of the Day: Picking Things Up
The Wise Sage returns with another gloriously unhelpful “Advice of the Day,” explaining why you should never rush to pick up something you’ve dropped. In true Viz Top Tips style, this absurd guide suggests that patient staring and strategic awkwardness are all you need to persuade complete strangers to do the bending for you.
This Day in History – 28th July 1721
On 28th July 1721, Matthew Clarke was executed for murdering Sarah Goldington during a robbery at Willesden Green. His detailed confession reveals a failed marriage scheme, a robbery planned to raise money, overwhelming remorse, terrifying dreams, and a final plea for others to learn from his tragic and violent downfall.
Advice of the Day: Where to Keep Your Change
The Wise Sage returns with another absurd “Advice of the Day,” this time tackling the mystery of loose change. In true Viz Top Tips style, this humorous guide replaces organisation with chaos—offering a counter-intuitive approach to storing coins that ensures they are always somewhere… just rarely where you need them.
This Day in History: 7 May 1740
John Sawney was executed on 7 May 1740 for robbing Sarah Cockram of her cloak in Drury Lane. A former sailor turned soldier, his life spiralled into crime and drink. Captured moments after the theft, he was convicted and sentenced to death in a stark example of 18th-century justice
This Day in History – 22 April 1789
In 1789, servant Sarah Natchell was accused of stealing over £45 from Bartholomew Coffee House in West Smithfield. Though only convicted of stealing tea-cloths, the betrayal of household trust earned her a harsh sentence: seven years’ transportation to New South Wales aboard the Lady Juliana.
This Day in History: April 15th, 1692
Henry Harrison was executed in 1692 for the murder of Dr Nicholas Clench, a London physician. The case centred on financial motive, suspicious circumstances, and Harrison’s contradictory statements at trial, highlighting how early modern justice often relied on credibility as much as concrete evidence.
This Day in History: April 13th, 1743
In 1743, apprentice Elizabeth Cannon and lodger Ann Ellard robbed their bedridden mistress after a night of drunken planning. Caught within hours, they confessed and were sentenced to death. This tragic Old Bailey case reveals how quickly crime, drink, and desperation could lead to the gallows in Georgian London.
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