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Last word

New Scientist'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

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

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

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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 Scientist issue 3584 cover
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