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Last word

New ÒÁÈ˾þÃ's popular Last Word series gives readers the opportunity to answer each other's questions about everyday science phenomena, from the shape of scones to the evolutionary history of toenails. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com

INDIA. Bangalore. 2016. Laughing Yoga workshop participant Rie Sakamoto

Last Word

Why do we throw our heads back when experiencing emotions? part 2

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Photograph of street sign spelling error 'Stop hhre' in Hollywood-Silverlake area. 'No (e)ras(e)r? -- Som(e) on(e) forgot som(e)thing wh(e)n th(e) Traffic (E)ngin(ee)ring D(e)partm(e)nt's sign-paint(e)rs post(e)d this warning at T(e)mple Str(ee)t and Virgil. Whit(e) l(e)tt(e)rs four f(ee)t high 'adv(e)rtis(e)' sp(e)lling (e)rror!' -- Examiner clipping attached to verso, dated 27 December 1949.;Streetscape. Camera direction: 214 degrees from due north. Horizontal photography.Temple Street & Virgil Avenue; Silver Lake; Hollywood; Los Angeles, CaliforniaTraffic Engineering Department;Los Angeles -- City -- Streets -- Signs & Repair. (Photo by Los Angeles Examiner/USC Libraries/Corbis via Getty Images)

Last Word

Why don’t people own up to their mistakes?

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2HR09CM Killer whale, Orcinus orca, spy hop, Vestfjord, Ofotfjord, and Tysfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway, Atlantic Ocean

Last Word

Why don’t orcas attack humans?

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EH7TAT Clock faces, illustration

Last Word

This week’s new questions

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Issue no. 3584 published 28 February 2026

New ÒÁÈ˾þà issue 3584 cover
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