Does Anything Eat Wasps? And 101 Other Questions - New Scientist

Why do I have to fasten my seatbelt when I am in an aircraft? Why on earth do centipedes and millipedes have so many legs? How much of the UK is now covered by roads? What causes the squeal when I drag a finger across a window? Is it possible to live on beer alone? And if so, for how long? If, like me, you have all sorts of nagging little questions like these that you seem unable to find a satisfying answer to, then this little book is definitely something that could be of interest to you. Since 1994, New Scientist magazine has included a column in every issue, in which readers’ questions are ... more

Does anything eat wasps is a book containing a compilation of questions and answers submitted to New Scientists magazine's 'Last Word' column. These questions have been submitted by magazine readers, and answered by all kinds of people - some scientists, some ordinary members of the public, and some - utter crackpots . Whilst I've never read New Scientist, I have quite a questioning nature, and love these kinds of little books, filled with short articles that can teach me something new. Each of the questions usually has two or three replies , and these vary, some of them being incredibly easy ... more

~~ Why I bought this book ~~ Many years ago, when I was at Uni, I used to subscribe to New Scientist. There was a general consensus of opinion that it was the right thing to read, and I'm afraid to say that I went along with the flow. I was doing a Science degree, but I have to say that I found some of the articles rather tricky to understand, especially the ones based on physics, which I'm afraid baffles me. The one part of the New Scientist magazine that always appealed to me was 'The Last Word' which was basically a reader's column of science questions that they would like answering. They ... more

Does Anything Eat Wasps? And 101 Other Questions, is a recent publication (2005) which is composed of questions and answers, both of which have been submitted by readers of the popular science magazine 'New Scientist'. I came across this book after being sucked in by the interesting and obscure title. I was further drawn in when I realized the association with the New Scientist, a magazine, which as a research student, I often read and enjoy. Sometimes it is nice to read something factual, over pure fiction and so I ordered it on Amazon. Here's what I thought. Does Anything Eat Wasps? is ... more

Was bought this at Christmas - after buying it for my brother and then having a cheeky look at it, I kicked up a big fuss and hey presto, my fiancee buys it for me! All you really need to know is that the New Scientist has a section at the bag of the magazine where readers write in with a question and then the follwoing forthnight/month readers reply with the answers. The New Scientist has decided to collaborate the best of the questions and answers into a book to create an 'interesting facts' bible. The book takes it's name from one of the questions - "Does anything eat wasps?". The replies ... more