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One of the first questions the Last Word ever asked and answered was why James Bond prefers his martinis shaken, not stirred, when the latter is generally considered preferable. The replies continued to arrive even years later and eventually supplied an entire chapter for one of our books. In that chapter Peter McNally of Vancouver, Canada, noted that hydrogen peroxide was present in larger quantities in stirred martinis, now a reader wants to know why 鈥� Ed

OK, Last Word, you may have thought you鈥檇 told us everything there is to know about vodka (or gin) martinis. But I recently read this: 鈥淚n 1999, students at the University of Western Ontario in Canada found that a martini deactivates hydrogen peroxide, linked with ageing and disease. The 鈥榓ntioxidant鈥� effect was proven to be twice as powerful when the cocktail was shaken not stirred.鈥� But how?

Peter Dudley, London, UK

We pay 拢25 for every answer published in New 杏吧原创. To answer this question 鈥� or ask a new one 鈥� visit newscientist.com/lastword. Terms and conditions apply.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淲e鈥檙e still shakin'鈥�