The price is right

Can one buy an honest politician?

Yes, at the pub.
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya

• Yes, but very few shops seem to stock them these days.
Jennifer Horat, Lengwil, Switzerland

• When I find one, I’ll give it a go and let you know.
Jannette Thompson, Warkworth, New Zealand

• It depends on the price.
Edward P Wolfers, Austinmer, NSW, Australia

• Yes, but there’s no warranty, cooling-off period or sell-by date, and you can’t set it against income tax. Caveat emptor!
Roger Morrell, Perth, Western Australia

• Not for love or money. Well, maybe love.
Norbert Hirschhorn, London, UK

• Only if you can find one for sale.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

• No more than they would try to buy you.
Charlie Bamforth, Davis, California, US

• Only the dead honest.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany

Yorkshire pudding riddle

What are we likely to find in the Museum of Natural Mystery?

Why it is that, with the same ingredients and in the same oven, my Yorkshire puddings rise beautifully when I make them for my family but fail to rise when we have other guests?
Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada

• An entire wing that sums up what little we know so far about how the human brain works.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada

• The sixth wave of extinctions.
Stephen Saunders, Canberra, Australia

• If we knew, it wouldn’t be a mystery.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia

• Ourselves.
Lillian Henning, Nantucket, Massachusetts, US

Abiding love for the highway

Were you in love with your first car?

Certainly not! A year after purchasing a used station wagon, I could see the road between my feet; it was apparent that a replacement rear end had been welded on after an accident and one could hear the pistons rattling in their cylinders. The mileage display was probably on its second rotation. I traded it in for a brand new Japanese station wagon: now that car I did love!
Ken Howells, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• You bet! It represented freedom to roam at 19 and I’ve never looked back. I had an orange, with black-striped hood, Opel Kadett with four-on-the-floor and petrol was about 30 cents a gallon. I even gave the little beastie a name, Herbie.
Doreen Forney, Pownal, Vermont, US

• O, Love of my Life, CLR715, grey 1936 Austin Seven convertible, bought for 35 quid in 1960, why did I ever let you go? Are you out there somewhere, even now? Do you ever think of me?
Robert Fothergill, Toronto, Canada

Look into cryptic places

Why are there so few new songs with great melodies and lyrics?

Because you’re only listening to TV and the radio. Look into cryptic places like, oh I don’t know ... music stores, concert venues and blogs. You’ll find there’s plenty of great new stuff.
Emmanuelle Botté, Sydney, Australia

• Blame power amplifiers. When consumer’s ears are deadened by the decibels, they can’t detect melodies or non-repetitive lyrics.
Joe Harvey, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Any answers?

Does crow really taste all that bad?
Joe Harvey, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Which culture treats its oldsters best?
RM Fransson, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, US

Send answers and more questions to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com