Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Questions

New Scientist's backpage column 'The Last Word' has been running for over 12 years with a simple yet addictive concept. Ask a question which intrigues you, and the finest minds around the world (providing they've seen the question that week) answer it.

"Does Anything Eat Wasps?" is a collection of some of the best questions and best answers (not neccessarily together) dealing with a range of topics from the eponymous diet of wasps, through what the gunky stuff in your eyes when you wake up is called, to why the top of a pint of guinness is white, when the bottom is black, even though its all the same stuff.

A large number of the questions you'll have never even pondered over, but they're fascinating responses nevertheless. How fat would you have to be to be bullet proof? Many are classic urban myths and favourites, like does a head maintain consciousness after its been severed. Whether the more unsettling are scientifically provable within the confines of the law doesn't seem to intefere with the well rounded explanations in each case.

The book itself is an A5 paperback, but pretty cheap paper - I wouldn't expect it to stand up against a steamy bathroom for too long without it doubling in size. The questions/answers are all of a suitable length for opening at random and reading in a single sitting, and once done, the more recent sequel "Why don't pengiuns' feet freeze?" is also available from the same magazine.

Matthew Knight

Related Links

• Why don't pengiuns' feet freeze? (From Amazon.co.uk)
• New Scientist
• Ask Webponce (from way back when, and probably less accurate)