What is the most intoxicating sensation one can possess?
To be drunk with power. It corrupts absolutely.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• Exceeded high expectations.
Charlie Bamforth, Davis, California, US
• Being head over heels in love is the most intoxicating sensation. One does not possess it but is possessed by it.
Margaret Wilkes, Perth, Western Australia
• I used to think that it was being head over heels in love, but I know now that nothing can eclipse the flood of relief and surge of joy at passing a piano exam in my eighth decade.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• The warm fuzzy feeling of watching another day dawn.
John Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand
• The one that we can never possess.
Jennifer Horat, Lengwil, Switzerland
Let’s hope we move forward
What will the next stage of human evolution look like?
People will have no ears or mouths but will have large thumbs and necks bent forward, perfect for communicating electronically in the Silent Age.
Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada
• Extinct. And it breaks my heart to think of such knowledge, so many achievements wiped out, but they carry with them the seeds of their own demise.
Amy Gibson, London, UK
• Humans will grow longer legs to counter the rise in sea level.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• I’m guessing a U-turn.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
• Taking Stephen Hawking’s advice, we will become, after putting our minds to it, interplanetary colonists who will, I suspect, still be arguing over whether to remain in the Intergalactic Union.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
At least the weeding can wait
What does “bad weather” mean, exactly?
• It depends on who you are asking. I consider all weather to be good, as it means I am around to experience it on the day.
The perfect day for me is: 5C, low grey clouds, a bit of mist would be nice, and a breeze. Bad weather would be 35C, blazing sun and humid.
Doreen Forney, Pownal, Vermont, US
“It’s a little cloudy.”
Louis Robertson, Melbourne, Australia
• It’s the ill wind that blows nobody any good.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• Your barbecue’s a washout, mud at Glastonbury, chaos on the roads and no suntan.
Malcolm Shuttleworth, Odenthal, Germany
• It means you don’t have to weed the garden.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Cuteness competition
Why are rats hideous, but squirrels oh-so cute?
The reptilian tail of rats may hurt their image but another explanation may be our collective memory: rats have carried epidemic diseases whereas squirrels settled for nuts.
Brian Lentle, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• As a child, the questioner clearly never had a pet rat. Rats are not hideous; rather, they are beautifully sleek and handsome animals. That said, rats cannot compete in the arena of cuteness since they lack the anthropomorphic traits that allows some individuals to attribute human characteristics to squirrels.
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Any answers?
What is the most superannuated device that you still use?
RM Fransson, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, US
What is so complicated about old age?
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
Send answers and more questions to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com
