Why do ladybirds have spots? p. 2 --
Why do we salute magpies? p. 3 --
How does an ant measure distance? p. 4 --
Why are some spies called 'moles'? p. 6 --
Is there really such a thing as a '00' number and a licence to kill in the British Secret Service? p. 7 --
How do organisations like the police name their operations? p. 9 --
Why do American army personnel say, 'Roger, do you copy me?' Why Roger? p. 10 --
Who was the original king of the castle and who was the dirty rascal? p. 12 --
Why do we say someone is an 'unsavoury character' if they are unpleasant? If they were unsavoury, wouldn't they be sweet? p. 13 --
Why are doughnuts called 'nuts' when they are made with flour? p. 14 --
Why are so few nuts actually nuts? p. 16 --
How many types of pasta are there? p. 18 --
Why are all my loaves of bread either 400 or 800 grammes in weight? p. 20 --
Why do we never get tinned broccoli? p. 21 --
Why does holding a spoon get rid of the smell of garlic? p. 22 --
Why do we have two nostrils rather than one big one? p. 24 --
Which of our lips is the most important? p. 26 --
Why do people get left and right mixed up, but no one seems to struggle with up and down? p. 27 --
When you throw a boomerang, will it really come back? p. 28 --
Why do the clocks go forwards in March and backwards in October? p. 30 --
Why is Christmas pudding sometimes called 'plum pudding', when it doesn't have any plums in it? p. 32 --
Why do we pull crackers at Christmas time? p. 34 --
Is it true that feeding your Christmas tree lemonade keeps it alive for longer? p. 36 --
What's so special about mistletoe? p. 37 --
How many Christmas songs are there? p. 38 --
Why does the UK never win Eurovision? p. 40 --
What sort of song tends to win Eurovision? p. 42 --
Is it true that we are made entirely of Stardust? p. 43 --
How do we know what's at the centre of the Earth? p. 44 --
How do we know that greenhouse gases warm the Earth? p. 45 --
What would happen to the planet if someone blew up the Moon? p. 46 --
How big is a cloud? And how can you measure it? p. 48 --
Why doesn't the snow melt on mountaintops, where it's closest to the Sun? p. 50 --
Can you clean a pair of jeans by freezing them? p. 51 --
How long would it take for a snowman to melt in the Sahara Desert? p. 52 --
Why don't women's clothes have pockets? p. 54 --
If you cloned yourself, would your clone have the same fingerprints as you? p. 56 --
How do they put the stripes into striped toothpaste? p. 58 --
What's the strangest thing that anyone has ever stockpiled? p. 59 --
Was spam email named after the tinned meat? p. 60 --
Why does my stomach rumble? p. 61 --
Can you eat while hanging upside down? p. 62 --
Would a cheese sandwich rot in space? p. 64 --
Why, if we clean most things with hot water, do we brush our teeth with cold water? p. 66 --
How do you wash a raspberry? p. 67 --
Why do we say 'sweating like a pig' if pigs don't sweat? p. 68 --
Why are cats' tongues so much rougher than dogs' tongues? p. 69 --
Don't zebras' stripes make them stand out like a sore thumb? p. 70 --
What's the difference between antlers and horns? p. 72 --
Can goldfish hear? p. 74 --
Can dogs tell the time? p. 75 --
Why is it so hard to win a prize at a funfair? p. 76 --
Has there ever been a strike in a bowling alley? p. 78 --
What's the oldest sporting competition in the world? p. 80 --
What's the longest anyone's left a light on? p. 81 --
Does electricity consumption peak at certain times of day? p. 82 --
Will we ever be able to catch a bolt of lightning and capture all that free energy? p. 84 --
How do you pronounce 'Shrewsbury'? p. 85 --
Who decided what letters went where on a keyboard, and why aren't they in alphabetical order? p. 86 --
Why is a computer mouse called a 'mouse'? p. 88 --
How is Bubble Wrap made? p. 89 --
How do manufacturers produce hundreds of ripped jeans that all look so similar? p. 90 --
Which was the first-ever boy band? p. 91 --
How do the umlauts change the pronunciation of Mötley Crüe? p. 92 --
Why are sideburns called 'sideburns'? p. 94 --
Why is laughter so infectious? p. 95 --
Can anything live without oxygen? p. 96 --
How have dinosaur footprints survived for so long? p. 97 --
Can elephants sneeze? p. 98 --
How do cats know where they live? p. 100 --
How does a chameleon change colour? p. 102 --
How do bees become queen bees? p. 104 --
If the monarch has firstborn twins, how is it decided who is next in line for the throne? p. 106 --
Why was Queen Elizabeth crowned Elizabeth II when there was more than one Queen Elizabeth before her? p. 108 --
Why do you wait for a bus, then three come at once? p. 110 --
Who invented speed cameras? p. 111 --
Do we drive on the left because right-handed knights on horseback wanted to tackle oncoming rivals with their strong hand? p. 112 --
What's the difference between a ship and a boat? p. 113 --
What did the person who named New South Wales have against North Wales? p. 116 --
Why are New York's taxis yellow? p. 118 --
Why is New York called 'the Big Apple'? p. 120 --
Where is Shangri-La? p. 121 --
Rock, paper or scissors? p. 122 --
Why do ice-hockey players fight so much? p. 124 --
Why do we call it a 'derby'? p. 126 --
Why do we say someone is 'toadying'? p. 127 --
How can some people walk slowly across hot coals, but it really hurts if I accidentally touch a shelf in the oven for a split second? p. 128 --
Why do some people get bitten by mosquitoes, while others get away scot-free? p. 130 --
Why is yawning contagious? p. 132 --
Why does my voice sound so different when I hear it on a recording? p. 133 --
Why do artists make self-portraits? p. 134 --
What makes modern art, art? p. 135 --
Why are galleries covered in 'Please do not touch' signs? p. 136 --
Why do we have finger and toenails? p. 138 --
Who first thought it would be a good idea to put a lens on your eye rather than in your glasses? p. 139 --
Why don't my eyes steam up like my glasses do? p. 140 --
Why do we rub our eyes when we're tired? p. 141 --
Where do all the birds go at night? p. 142 --
What did a dinosaur's bottom look like? p. 143 --
In chess, why is the rook shaped like a castle and not like a bird? p. 144 --
Is it just me, or are parking spots too small? p. 145 --
If I lose weight, does Earth get lighter? p. 146 --
Why do my clothes turn inside out in the washing machine? p. 148 --
What's the point of dust jackets? p. 150 --
Who is the most successful novelist of all time? p. 151 --
Did any sleuths actually work in Baker Street? p. 152 --
Can you really crack a safe by listening to it with a stethoscope? p. 154 --
Why do songs get stuck hi my head? p. 156 --
Why does my arm get pins and needles? p. 157 --
What are hiccups for, and why can't I get rid of them? p. 158 --
How does a painkiller know where the pain is? p. 160 --
Why do snakes shed their skin? p. 161 --
Can I hatch an egg that I bought from the supermarket? p. 163 --
We get hen's eggs, duck eggs and goose eggs, so why do we never see turkey eggs in the supermarket? p. 165 --
How do baby birds breathe inside their eggs? p. 166 --
If our normal body temperature is 37°C, then why do we feel too hot when the temperature outside is only in the 20s? p. 168 --
Thermal leggings are called 'long Johns'. So who was John? p. 169 --
Why does 'inflammable' mean 'flammable'? p. 170 --
How do stinging nettles sting? p. 171 --
Is it true that inside every fig there is a dead wasp? p. 172 --
How deep do you have to bury a body? p. 174 --
What's the sweetest way to go? p. 175 --
Why do we crave sugar? p. 176 --
Is it true that the average person swallows eight spiders a year while they're asleep? p. 177 --
Why are people so terrified of spiders? p. 178 --
Spiders build webs to catch prey, but why don't they get caught in their own webs? p. 180 --
Can an aeroplane fly through a rainbow? p. 181 --
Are we the only ones who like making sandcastles? p. 182 --
Why are we not allowed to smile in passport photos? p. 184 --
Why do film-makers use green screens? p. 185 --
Why do we produce tears when we are upset? p. 188 --
Why do teeth need nerves? p. 189 --
What is the hardest tongue-twister in the world? p. 190 --
Where is last Wednesday? p. 192 --
'Have you been involved in an accident that wasn't your fault?' p. 194 --
Why are Turner's paintings so hazy? p. 196 --
How can I get my own blue plaque on my house? p. 198 --
Where did surnames come from? p. 200 --
Why do church organs have multiple keyboards, and how does the organist know which one to use? p. 201 --
Why are earwigs called 'earwigs', when they don't look like wigs or ears? p. 202 --
Do fish get seasick? p. 203 --
Why don't crocodiles have hair? p. 204 --
Why don't we say 'sheeps'? p. 205 --
What do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo? p. 207 --
Who came up with the phrase 'Once upon a time ...'? p. 208 --
Why are booby traps called 'booby traps'? p. 210 --
If Rome wasn't built in a day, how long did it take? p. 211 --
How wide are the borders between countries? p. 213 --
Which commercial airliner first broke the sound barrier? p. 216 --
What causes that beautiful smell after rain? p. 218 --
Why do some plants close their flowers at night? p. 220 --
What is the most dangerous plant? p. 221 --
Which lottery numbers should I pick? p. 222 --
How do you keep Prosecco fizzy? p. 224 --
How much sugar can you fit in a cup of tea? p. 225 --
How do I remove permanent marker from a whiteboard? p. 226 --
Why do you hardly ever see £50 notes? p. 227 --
When a competition offers a prize of a lifetime supply of something, what constitutes a lifetime supply? p. 228 --
What is the most expensive thing on Earth? p. 230 --
How many items are there in the world? p. 234 --
Why are things interesting? p. 236.
