What matters?
Everything above and below the sky.
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
• Lots of things matter, but caring about and for others is what matters most.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• Knowing what the matter is.
Adrian Cooper, Queens Park, NSW, Australia
• Stuff. The more the better, it seems.
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• Most of us think we do.
Edward P Wolfers, Austinmer, NSW, Australia
• In order to avoid taking oneself too seriously, it is good to remember Salman Rushdie’s observation that most of what matters in life takes place in your absence.
Margaret Wilkes, Perth, Western Australia
• Matter.
Art Campbell, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Truth.
Christopher Griffin, Perth, Western Australia
• Where the next meal comes from.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness … and bequeathing to our children a healthy environment.
David Turner, Bellevue Heights, South Australia
• Enjoying life while getting old.
Gillian Shenfield, Sydney, Australia
• Today.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
No cutting nails on Fridays
Is there a family superstition that still has a hold after many years?
Not cutting fingernails or toenails on a Friday. Silly, but it’s still hard for me to break this injunction.
Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada
• The notion that eggs make you sneeze. My late father always showered a soft-boiled egg liberally with pepper and followed this by copious sneezing, meanwhile muttering “Bloody eggs!”
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• My mother said that eating burnt toast would make my hair curl. She was right – I never ate burnt toast and my hair is still straight.
Joe Harvey, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• As Richard Dawkins once said: we are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.
Luc Lebon, Lausanne, Switzerland
Beware of nasty chemicals
When is “all natural” not always all natural?
Must be because of those nasty things called chemicals.
Paul Broady, Christchurch, New Zealand
• When it’s in quotation marks (as in your question).
David Bishop, Stirling, South Australia
• When plastic became a noun the “all” became “almost”.
David Czifra, Earlwood, NSW, Australia
• Because dissembling seems to come naturally to advertisers.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Solo walk on a sandy beach
What clutters up the mind, and how do you remove it?
Scrap the smartphone and get a simple flip phone without extra features.
Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
• The constant stream of consciousness on all the social media platforms fills the mind with tedious, speculative and inconsequential clutter. Detox with a solo walk on a sandy beach with no phone, tablet, or shoes and socks.
Gary Laidlaw, Norwich, UK
Any answers?
Who benefits from fighting the idea that government is for the people?
Luc Lebon, Lausanne, Switzerland
Is there anything better than the sleep of the just?
John Geffroy, Las Vegas, New Mexico, US
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com
