I have been informed by my family that the love of soup is genetic for the Scots. Myself, I can take of leave it, I am confused to whether it is a main or an app.

This weekend however I popped a bowl of soup into the microwave, and after 2 minutes when I reached in to get the bowl back out I found that the bowl was so hot that I an oven glove was required to retrieve it. The contents however were only lukewarm. I am ashamed to admit that I know very little about microwave ovens, it is therefore perhaps unsurprising that I am perplexed as to why the device would heat the ceramic bowl more than it would the contents. Emperical study would suggest that some ceramics get hotter than others. What's going on here then?

I observed some years ago that if, having first stirred a mug of hot-chocolate one taps the bottom of the mug from within with a metal teaspoon the note given off rises quite distinctly with each tap. I have not reproduced the same effect with tea or coffee. However, any normal ceramic mug and brand of drinking chocolate seems to produce the effect. What, if any, are the special properties of hot-chocolate that produce this rising note effect?

In many parts of England, at least, it is customary to warm the teapot as the initial stage of making a fine cup of tea.  Now that tea made in the mug with a tea bag is pretty universal, am I the only one warming my mug before adding the bag and making the tea, and am I wasting my time?