Why gin and tonic tastes so good, and other pressing questions

Quartz has launched a new science series called “Funny you should ask.”

Readers can now send in their questions to the financial news site’s science writers, and Quartz will pick the most interesting ones to answer.

The most recent columns take a look at why gin and tonic tastes so good, exploring the underlying chemistry and compatible molecular structures in a gin and tonic and why other seemingly odd food pairings make sense, and why rain makes you sleepy, tying in olfactory and auditory senses to a feeling of “comfort.”

Akshat Rathi and Katherine Foley will be the main reporters for the series and tackle other timeless questions such as how smell is linked to memory or does fizzy water help with hydration. The series will publish at least weekly.

“‘Funny you should ask’ uses research that has been around for awhile to answer age-old questions that readers have always had, but never found answers for,” says Rathi, one of the science and health reporters for the series. “We hope to share answers in the same way we report on other topics, using data and analysis, served with wit and humor.”