As I opened up this week’s edition of the Science Times I saw several articles covering interesting and relevant topics, such as the swine flu and the Mars rover, even Komodo dragons. But as I glanced to the side of page two, I noticed something I had largely ignored previously, the Q&A section. This week’s question, “Do refrigerators use more energy when filled with food?” was something that had crossed my mind before. Turns out that once the food becomes cold, it doesn’t. But did you know it is better to fill you freezer to capacity, as this minimizes the amount of hot air that creeps in when you open the door? Seems like common sense to me, but I never really thought about it before. I guess I have a supermarket trip to make…

When I went to the Q&A site to track down past questions, I found a whole array of interesting tidbits that I always wondered but was too shy to ask:

Why don’t you sneeze when you are asleep?

Does extra mental effort burn more calories?

Is there a name and an explanation for the nails on a chalkboard reaction?

Why do the smells of some foods, like garlic, and the heat of others, like chili pepper, linger on the skin even after washing?

The author, C. Claiborne Ray, answers questions from the readers of the New York Times Science section every week. In fact, many of the questions are answered by New Yorkers that specialize in the field of interest. If you have a question, you can email her at question@nytimes.com.

I should mention that some of the questions could be answered with a general knowledge of science, which Nature Network readers are likely to have, but they are still worth a read. So, what would you ask?