And the answer is …

How does asparagus make urine smell? Why do the stars twinkle? Is time travel possible? What You Always Wanted to Know: The Ultimate Answer Book by Jim Hensman (Michael Joseph Ltd, £5.99, ISBN 0 45 118598 6) offers facts and solutions to questions running the gamut from sex to science. Perfect for being a know-all at dinner parties, and it looks good. But Hensman should have left the controversial subjects alone – try this: one hundred words on whether capital punishment deters murders …