Tried, Tested and (sadly) Untrue

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The real answer is that... it doesn't.

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Yes,� we accept that Nelli did test it and found that� "opening a bottle on Saturday night ... it was still just as fizzy over 24 hours later".

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And yes, we are happy to accept�that�the champagne would still be fizzy� (although not 'just as fizzy' as when originally opened) but then so would it have been if she hadn't stuck a spoon in the�bottle.

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Cast your mind back to chemistry lessons at school and you will recall that all truly sound�experiments need a 'control' environment.

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The�wealthy folk of the New Scientist ran a blind test on fizz opened and stored either with a spoon and another bottle stored without a spoon. In fact they even measured the rate of fizziness hour by hour, and found both bottles declined in sparkle at exactly the same rate.

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The truth is that champagne just keeps fizzy for far longer than most people expect.

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It is remarkable how many people believe in this old wives' tale, and many claim that this was a discovery invented in their country.

The only way believers will become infidels is by testing the method themselves.

And this happens to be the perfect time to do it. The major supermarkets have made price cuts recently (largely because the stuff they are selling at massively reduced prices is in fact very low grade indeed) but at least you can experiment fairly cheaply.

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Have a bash, and feel righteous that you are engaging in a proper scientific�study.