It’s been a long, long time since I did a reader Q&A on this site and, after being inspired by a post on Wait but Why?, I decided it was time to do another reader mailbag! So, I sent out a call on my newsletter for questions, and got a few hundred! Some of them were personal questions I answered over email, some require long posts that I’ll write, I saved some for a part 2, and some are here now!

I thought this would be fun and questions range from travel to politics to science to the zany! So let’s get to it: (Note: some people asked the same questions, so I lumped their names together!!)

• 1.“What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?”

  I don’t eat ice cream anymore (I know. I’m crazy.) but, when I did, I used to love mint chocolate chip and eat it like it was my job! That stuff is DELICIOUS! Also, Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup. MMMM. I hear they don’t make that anymore, which is sad.

• 2. “What do you think about monarchy? I like my King but would be nice to hear from an American what they think.”

  I think it is an antiquated system that has no place in the modern world. While I don’t think we should go stripping royal families of the world of their money, I often wonder why taxpayers in many nations still give royal family stipends. They often serve as great state ambassadors but why give them taxpayer money? While I love the idea of the “benevolent ruler”, in practice, it has rarely ever happened. As Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest!”

• 3. “I have American passport. Why is a visa to India so expensive?”

  That’s because we make it so difficult for Indians to get a visa and come to America. We make it expensive and put onerous restrictions on them so they do the same for us. It is just a tit-for-tat thing.

• 4. “Do you miss having a sense of home? And, on average, how much do you spending annually on travel?”

  That’s because we make it so difficult for Indians to get a visa and come to America. We make it expensive and put onerous restrictions on them so they do the same for us. It is just a tit-for-tat thing.