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Books : Entertainment : Humor : Science & Scientists
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- How fat do you have to be to become bulletproof?
- Why do people have eyebrows?
- Why do pineapples have spines?
- How much does a head weigh?
- What affects the color of earwax?
- How quickly could I turn into a fossil?
Have you ever thought up a question so completely off-the-wall, so seemingly ridiculous, that you couldn't even find the courage to ask it? Maybe at the sports bar you were transported by the beauty of your beer to wonder, "How long could I live on beer alone?" Or, cycling through the park, you mused, "Did nature invent any wheels?" Or looking up at the night sky, you had a moment of angst, "What would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared -- if it were vaporized or stolen by aliens?"
Full of fun factlets, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is a runaway bestseller around the world. It celebrates the weird and wacky questions -- some trivial, some baffling, all unique -- and their multiple answers culled from "The Last Word," a long-running column in the internationally popular science magazine, New Scientist. Tackling the imponderables of everyday life, sparkling with humor, and bursting with delightful erudition, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is irresistibly entertaining and utterly engrossing.
So, go on. Put away your lab coat and your pencil -- science is fun again.
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A refreshingly humorous but thorough ancillary guide to general chemistry from the author of the bestselling The Cartoon Guide to Physics and The Cartoon Guide to Genetics.
The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry, a collaboration between pre–eminent scientist Professor Craig Criddle of Stanford University and cartoonist Larry Gonick, is a complete and up–to–date course in college level chemistry. In an engaging and humorous graphic style, the book covers both the history and the basics, including early ideas and techniques, electrochemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, physics as chemistry; and much more.
o Ideal for advanced high school students, university students and independent learners.
o o Larry Gonick's bestselling Cartoon Guide series, comprised of eleven books, have sold more than a half a million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages.
o Teachers, researchers, and students around the world have embraced Larry Gonick's unique ability to make difficult subjects fun, interesting and easy–to–understand while still relaying the essential information in a clear, organized and accurate format. In 2003 Larry Gonick won the Harvey Award for the year's best graphic album of original material for The Cartoon History of the Universe III. The prestigious award, named for Mad pioneer Harvey Kurtzman is considered to be the Oscar of the comic–book world.
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Make science magic every day of the year! "With an average of 3 or 4 accessible experiments per spread, the volume demonstrates how to utilize simple items such as straws, string, paper and eggs to make a galvanometer or a balance scale. Two-color drawings show step-by-step instructions, and a cast of animal characters inject some humor."--Publishers Weekly.
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Defend yourself—and your planet—against the onslaught of evil at your door. It goes without saying that robots kill. They hunt, swarm, and fire lasers from their eyes. They even beat humans at chess. So who better to stand with us when the real villains arrive? Movies instruct us that, whether we like it or not, we will one day be under siege by pirates, ninjas, zombies, aliens, and Godzilla. Also great white sharks. And—let’s face it—we’re not prepared. But with the advice contained in this brilliantly illustrated, ingenious book, you can build your own robot army to fend off hordes of bloodthirsty foes. From common-sense injunctions (“never approach an unfamiliar robot in a militarized zone”) to tactical pointers (“low-power radar beats cameras for detecting mummies in a fog-shrouded crypt”) to engineering advice (“passive-dynamic exoskeleton suits will increase sprint speeds but not leg strength”), this book contains all the wisdom you’ll need to fend off the coming apocalypse. Witty, informative, and utterly original, How to Build a Robot Army is the ideal book for readers of any age.
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• What time is it at the North Pole?
• What's the chemical formula for a human being?
• Why do boomerangs come back?
• Why do flying fish fly?
• Do the living really outnumber the dead?
• Why does lightning fork?
• Why does the end of a whip crack?
Everyone has at one time or another thought up odd questions like these,questions that are strange, intriguing, maybe even impossible to answer.Making your morning omelet, perhaps you've wondered why most eggs are egg shaped. Or maybe, the last time you walked on the beach, you felt compelled to ask why the sea is salty. Watching Polly sit on her perch, have you ever marveled at how she stays there -- even when she's asleep? Well, the readers of New Scientist's wildly popular, long-running column "The Last Word" thought of these questions, too, and weren't afraid to ask them.
Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? is a brilliant collection of questions and answers for everyone who enjoyed the international, runaway bestseller Does Anything Eat Wasps? Guaranteed to amaze, inform, and delight with topics such as the human body, plants and animals, weird weather, and our wacky world, it'll stump you, enlighten you, entertain and amuse you.
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What makes ice cubes cloudy? How do shark attacks make airplanes safer? Can a person traveling in a car at the speed of sound still hear the radio? Moreover, would they want to...?
Do you often find yourself pondering life's little conundrums? Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? Or why birds don't get electrocuted when perching on high-voltage power lines? Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed author of What Einstein Didn't Know, understands the need to...well, understand. Now he provides more amusing explanations of such everyday phenomena as gravity (If you're in a falling elevator, will jumping at the last instant save your life?) and acoustics (Why does a whip make such a loud cracking noise?), along with amazing facts, belly-up-to-the-bar bets, and mind-blowing reality bites all with his trademark wit and wisdom.
If you shoot a bullet into the air, can it kill somebody when it comes down?
You can find out about all this and more in an astonishing compendium of the proverbial mind-boggling mysteries of the physical world we inhabit.
Arranged in a question-and-answer format and grouped by subject for browsing ease, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER is for anyone who ever pondered such things as why colors fade in sunlight, what happens to the rubber from worn-out tires, what makes red-hot objects glow red, and other scientific curiosities. Perfect for fans of Newton's Apple, Jeopardy!, and The Discovery Channel, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER also includes a glossary of important scientific buzz words and a comprehensive index. -->
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An off-beat introduction to the workings of electricity for people who wish Richard Brautigan and Kurt Vonnegut had teamed up to explain inductance and capacitance to them. Despite its title, it's not wild ranting pseudo-science to be dismissed by those with brains. Rather, Amdahl maintains that one need not understand quantum physics to grasp how electricity works in practical applications. To understand your toaster or your fax machine, it doesn't really matter whether there are electrons or not, and it's a lot easier and more fun to start with the toaster than with quarks and calculus. The book is mildly weird, often funny, always clear and easy to understand. It assumes the reader doesn't know a volt from a hole in the ground and gently leads him or her through integrated circuits, radio, oscillators and the basics of the digital revolution using examples that include green buffalo, microscopic beer parties, break-dancing chickens and naked Norwegian girls in rowboats. OK, it's more than mildly weird.The book has been reprinted numerous times since 1991 and has achieved minor cult status. Reviewed and praised in dozens of electronics and educational magazines, it is used as a text by major corporations, colleges, high schools, military schools and trade schools. It has been studied by education programs at colleges across the United States. This book was making wise cracks in the corner before anyone thought of designing books for dummies and idiots; some say it helped to inspire that industry.
It may be the only "introduction to electronics books" with back cover comments by Dave Barry, Ray Bradbury, Clive Cussler, and George Garrett, as well as recomendations from Robert Hazen, Bob Mostafapour, Dr. Roger Young, Dr. Wayne Green, Scott Rundle, Brian Battles, Michelle Guido, Herb Reichert and Emil Venere. As Monitoring Times said, "Perhaps the best electronics book ever. If you'd like to learn about basic electronics but haven't been able to pull it off, get There Are No Electrons. Just trust us. Get the book."
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Dear possible reader of this book,I want to be a writer, just like my uncle Harold, who wrote a bunch of books about our friend Bunnicula. So I wrote this story. And boy! Did I ever get into trouble! My friend Delilah stopped speaking to me because I put her in my book. Uncle Harold stopped speaking to me because I didn't put him in my book. A writer's life isn't easy!
But back to my story: It's about how a talented and lovable (not to mention smart) wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie saves the world from a disgusting, evil menace named...oops, that would give away the story. But trust me, this menace is disgusting and evil, all right!!!
Uncle Harold, who is speaking to me again, says it's an exciting book, even though it has too many adjectives.
I have no idea what he's talking about. I just hope you like the story.
Your friend,
Howie
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Find out just how entertaining the universe we live in can be! Uncle John Plunges Into the Universe fights back against every textbook that has ever made science seem boring. For Life Sciences we explore the weirdest solutions that different organisms have invented for the problems of survival. From the denizens of the Amazonian jungle to the microbes inside of your nose, from the giant squid to the prion, there are a vast number of weird biological topics to fascinate our community of bathroom readers. For Earth Sciences we delve into plate tectonics, quicksand, undersea caves, boiling hot geysers, glaciers -- this planet does funky stuff. How and why? Peel back the asphalt and concrete and see what is going on down there. In the Space Sciences people are learning about space from bad sci-fi shows! Learn what's really up with gas giants, black holes, asteroid belts, cosmic radiation, and all that.
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Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No—an irreverent, entertaining, readable, and completely understandable explanation of lofty mathematical ideas.By starting in the familiar world and using a few simple steps of imagination, Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird sneak up on weighty mathematical ideas. The spirals on a pineapple quickly lead to the famous Fibonacci numbers and the alluring Golden Ratio and from there to aesthetic forms in nature, art, and music. The edge of a twisted strip of paper leads to an image of the shape of the universe. Playing with the notion of probability demonstrates that surprising coincidences such as the amazing parallels between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations are sure to happen. These and other foreign and familiar mysteries share two features—they appear inexplicable and they are all explained with great humor and clarity in this book. Perhaps the greatest surprise is that these travels require no math background. If you never thought you would read about mathematics, this book is for you. 160 illustrations.
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These clever riddle-rhymes cover everything from dinosaurs to gravity. The illustrations incorporate clues about the riddles, and the answers themselves are subtly included for anyone who needs a little extra help.
Endnotes expand on Albert Einstein, the solar system, and other fascinating scientific topics.
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A witty collection of 1950s Space Age poetry for the scientific minded individual, accompanied by unusual black white line drawings.
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Two-Fisted Science is the first in a series of books in comics form telling true stories about scientists. This 128 page trade paperback features tales of famous physicists including Hans Bethe, Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Galileo, Werner Heisenberg, Gottfried Leibniz, Isaac Newton, and Robert Oppenheimer, and Wolfgang Pauli. The stories offer a human context often missing when students learn the equations that bear the scientists' names. Readers, drawn to the book by the compelling anecdotes, will discover intriguing characters that lived real lives beyond ink on paper. End notes and references will lead them to further information on the scientists they've read about.All stories are written by Jim Ottaviani, a former researcher and nuclear engineer -- now a reference librarian at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The illustrators include award-winning comics artists such as Paul Chadwick, Donna Barr, Bernie Mireault, and Colleen Doran.
The trade paperback is self-published with the generous assistance of a grant from the Xeric foundation. Established by Peter Laird (one of the creators of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") each year the foundation awards a select group of comics creators money to bring their work to press. I am grateful to the foundation for their support and confident that you will consider this portion of the "Turtle" fortune well-spent!
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An examination of Infinity — in history and science — with excursions into literature, philosophy and religion, written by one of the most successful writers of popular science.
Infinity is surely the strangest idea that humans have ever thought. Where did it come from and what is it telling us about our Universe? Can there actually be infinities? Or is infinity just a label for something that is never reached, no matter how long you go on counting? Can you do an infinite number of things in a finite amount of time? Is the universe infinite?
But infinity is also the place where things happen that don’t. All manner of strange paradoxes and fantasies characterize an infinite universe. So what is it like to live in a Universe where nothing is original, where you can live forever, where anything that can be done, is done, over and over again?
These are some of the deep questions that the idea of the Infinite pushes us to ask. Throughout history, the Infinite has been a dangerous idea. Many have lost their lives, their careers, or their freedom for talking about it. The Infinite Book will take you on a tour of these dangerous questions and the strange answers that scientists, mathematicians, philosophers, and theologians have come up with to deal with its threats to our sanity.
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The authors of The Science of Superheroes now reveal the real genius of the most evil geniuses
Ever wonder why comic book villains, such as Spiderman's bionic archenemy Dr. Octopus or the X-Men's eternal rival Magneto, are so scary and so much fun? It's not just their diabolical talent for confounding our heroes, it's their unrivalled techno-proficiency at creating global mayhem that keeps comic book fans captivated. But is any of the science actually true? In The Science of Supervillains, authors Lois Gresh and Bob Weinberg present a highly entertaining and informative look at the mind-boggling wizardry behind the comic book world's legendary baddies. Whether it's artificial intelligence, weapons systems, anti-matter, robotics, or magnetic flux theory, this fun, fact-filled book is a fascinating excursion into the real-world science animating the genius in the comic book world's pantheon of evil geniuses.
Lois Gresh (Scottsville, NY) and Bob Weinberg (Oak Forest, IL) are the authors of the popular Science of Superheroes (cloth: 0-471-0246-0; paper: 0-471-46882-7)
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The hilarious second installment of the popular humor series honoring the world’s most improbable actual researchThe first volume of The Ig Nobel Prizes was celebrated as a “brainy bacchanalian” (USA Today) and “so funny you couldn’t make it up” (The Washington Post). Now, the “guru of scientific satire” (Publishers Weekly), Marc Abrahams, returns with The Ig Nobel Prizes 2, a fresh compendium of all- new unbelievable-but-true accomplishments in the sciences, arts, and humanities.
Born from the annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard University, The Ig Nobel Prizes 2 demonstrates the incredible lengths to which people will go in the pursuit of knowledge. Winners of this prestigious award include:
-The scientists who discovered that chickens prefer beautiful humans
-The Norwegian research team that documented the impact of wearing wet underwear in the cold
-The entire nation of Liechtenstein, which rents itself out for weddings, bar mitzvahs, or other gatherings.Featuring anecdotes from the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony and a zany collection of all new achievements, The Ig Nobel Prizes 2 is perfect for anyone who first wants to laugh and then wants to think.
Praise for The Ig Nobel Prizes:
“[The Ig Nobel Prizes] honor achievements that are truly extraordinary, whether they be awful, wonderful, or a hopeless mixture of both.... Where others might see evil, perversion, or stupidity, Abrahams finds only admirable persistence.”
—The Boston Globe
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A sidesplitting compendium that pays tribute to those individuals whose scientific achievements cannot or should not be reproduced.
Everyone knows about the Nobel Prizes, those prestigious awards that recognize the world's most talented and innovative minds. Unfortunately, not all of the hopeful thinkers and academics around the globe can become Nobel Laureates, but some are lucky enough to win the esteemed Ig Nobel Prize instead. Their unbelievable accomplishments are now documented in glorious detail in The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research.
Drawn from the world's wackiest actual scientific research, The Ig Nobel Prizes demonstrates the extreme measures people will take in the quest for knowledge. Recent Ig Nobel honorees include:
* The professor who won the Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for a study proving that toast falls buttered side down more often.
* The Southern Baptist Church of Alabama, which won the Ig Nobel Prize in Mathematics for devising a formula to determine how many Alabamans will go to Hell.
* The Australian man who successfully patented the wheel, and the Australian Patent Office that granted it. For this act, they were jointly awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Technology.
This hilarious book features these endeavors and many more, along with photographs from the annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremonies at Harvard University. An entertaining exhibition of brains and determination, The Ig Nobel Prizes is the ideal gift for anyone who first wants to laugh and then wants to think.