Back in 2002 a small hardback book published with little fanfare and containing lists of kings and queens became an overnight best-seller.

It was a rare household which didn't have a copy of Schott's Original Miscellany under their Christmas tree that year and, six years later, it has spawned a whole new genre of festive books, ultimately destined for downstairs toilets.

Among them is the series of collected Last Word columns from the New Scientist, devised by Huddersfield-born Mick O'Hare originally as a kind of notes and queries for the natural world.

"I met Ben Schott recently and I did tell him that without him we probably wouldn't have sold a single copy," says O'Hare, who is
also the magazine's production editor.

"When we first decided to launch the Last Word column we really didn't
know how much interest there would be, but quite quickly it became clear that people have no end of questions which have been troubling them.

"Obviously the readership of New Scientist has a particular interest in these things, so when we decided to do the book we only printed 10,000 copies.

"It ended up selling 250,000."

O'Hare's latest book Do Polar Bears Gets Lonely? follows familiar territory, revealing why you really shouldn't swim within an hour of eating and what causes pins and needles.

"People think you can get the answers to these things on the internet, so why bother reading the book," he says.

"To some extent that's true, but there's so much information on the internet that you are never quite sure what you're reading is factually accurate. The book acts as a filter; also, it means you can dip in and out discovering things you never knew you even wanted to know.

"I have lots of favourites, but one particular one, admittedly down to complete self-interest, was 'Why does hair go grey?' It's to do with pigment and the death of hair follicles and while there's nothing you can do to stop it, sometimes it's nice to have an explanation to the ageing process."

While New Scientist has an impressive contacts book of experts, the Last Word condundrums also rely on an army of contributors willing to help.

"We have one guy in South Africa who we turn to if we are ever struggling," admits O'Hare, who originally had ambitions to be a sports journalist before studying for a geology degree at Hull University.

"Sometimes we get a flood of emails all saying the same thing, so we pretty much know we have a definitive answer, but often there
will be two or three suggestions that all seem equally plausible.

"There are people who think having options is a bit of a cop out, but sometimes it's not as easy as saying two plus two equals four.

"What's been truly amazing is the kind of questions people ask and it does make you wonder how their minds work.

"Obviously, some of the same topics come up time and time and again – I've lost count of how many people have asked, 'Why is the sky blue?'

"But it's so many we are thinking of having an automatic reply on the site."

In the last five years, O'Hare and the team have answered hundreds of seemingly impossible condundrums, but despite their best efforts there is at least one thing which seems destined to remain a mystery.

"We've tried a few times to find out why hot water freezes faster than cold water, but always drawn a blank," he says.

"It seems to defy rational explanation and apart from the question as to whether God exists, it's the one thing we have never been able to get to the bottom of."

n Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? And 101 other intriguing science questions, edited by Mick O'Hare, is available now, priced £7.99.

BURNING QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Can insects get fat?

If by getting fat you mean obese, the answer is no. All insects pass through larval stages before becoming an adult. The final stage is relatively short-lived and often adult insects do not feed at all. Mayflies and many silk moths have neither the time nor the inclination to get fat. Those that can feed are constrained by their inflexible exoskeleton and they have no means to expand it to take on excess fat.

Do pigeons sweat?

Only some mammals have sweat glands – so, no, pigeons do not sweat. Nor do mammals such as cats, whales and rodents. In these animals, the kidney deals with the sweat function and they cool themselves down through flushing or panting. When birds need to lose heat, they can raise their down feathers to cool the skin by ventilation. Finally, on hot days, many kinds of birds, including pigeons, enjoy a bath.