Cavan Images/Alamy
Last Word is Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com
Why do dogs bring back a stick if you throw it? If I were a dog, I would say to my owner: you threw it, you fetch it.
Jim Ainsworth
Leominster, Herefordshire, UK
Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock
If you could approach closely enough (which, of course, you couldn’t), what would the surface of a neutron star look like?
Bob Humphrey
Bristol, UK
To answer this question – or ask a new one – email lastword@newscientist.com.
Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.
Â鶹´«Ã½ retains total editorial control over the published content and reserves all rights to reuse question and answer material that has been submitted by readers in any medium or in any format.
