I finally finished “Does Anything Eat Wasps?”, it was one the books I got last Christmas but I didn’t enjoying reading it first time around, but I gave another go last night when I couldn’t sleep and I enjoyed it.

The ‘New Scientist’ is a weekly magazine, first published in 1956, that covers the recent happenings in the scientific world. In 1994, the magazine launched a new column called “The Last Word” in which its driven by its readers – not all of whom are geeks in white coats. Here, they could not only pose a science-related question, but also provide the answers. “Does Anything Eat Wasps” is a selection of the questions asked and answered over the column’s first eleven years, and proved to be one of the UK’s surprise hit of the year.

The book is divided into chapters, depending on the focus of the questions selected – our bodies, our planet and ‘wierd’ weather for example. While the book is informative, it is equally as likely to raise a smile – the overall tone is not that of a difficult, highbrow scientific paper. Some of the questions that are dealt with include : how long can a human being live if their sole source of food or drink is beer ? (One respondant includes in his answer it would be unethical to conduct such an experiment – though I suspect he would have plenty of volunteers). What causes the changes, in terms of colour and consistency, in earwax ? Can it be scientifically proven that your arse looks smaller in black trousers ? And just how far above the Earth’s surface would you have to be before a compass stops pointing north ?

An enjoyable and informative book – though it’s one I tend to dip into once in a while, rather than reading it from cover to cover.