Know It All: 132 Head-Scratching Questions about the Science All Around Us

magazine’s beloved “Last Word” column is a rare forum for “un-Google-able” queries: Readers write in, and readers respond! collects 132 of the column’s very best Q&As. The often-wacky questions cover physics, chemistry, zoology and beyond: And the unpredictable answers showcase the brainpower of readers, like the anatomist who chimes in about back pain (“Evolution is not in the business of perfecting anything.”) and the vet who responds, “Quadrupeds can get backache too!”