They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what about relativity? Physics professor Chad Orzel and his inquisitive canine companion, Emmy, tackle the concepts of general relativity in this irresistible introduction to Einstein’s physics. Through armchair—and sometimes passenger-seat—conversations with Emmy about the relative speeds of dog and cat motion or the logistics of squirrel-chasing, Orzel …
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 …
When physics professor Chad Orzel went to the pound to adopt a dog, he never imagined Emmy. She wasn’t just a friendly mutt who needed a home. Soon she was trying to use the strange ideas of quantum mechanics for the really important things in her life: chasing critters, getting treats, and going for walks. She peppered Chad …
Megan Amram, one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment,” Rolling Stone’s “25 Funniest People on Twitter,” and a writer for NBC’s hit show Parks and Recreation, delivers a politically, scientifically, and anatomically incorrect “textbook” that will have women screaming with laughter, and men dying to know what the noise is about.In the vein of faux …
Does This Mean You’ll See Me Naked?: Field Notes from a Funeral Director
Why would someone want to hang out with dead bodies? With curious anecdotes and unbelievable truth, funeral director Robert Webster reveals that answer and more, offering readers entertaining and quirky stories gleaned from a life lived around death. Webster tackles those embarrassing questions we all have about what really goes on bhind the scenes when you’ve left this …
That’s Gross!: Icky Facts That Will Test Your Gross-Out Factor (National Geographic Kids)
Tired of having to contain your hidden urge to fart and finger-pick? Can’t get enough of foul food and flies? Get ready to gross out all of your friends with these hysterically nauseating facts about all things gross and gruesome. Bringing together the slimiest, smelliest, and stickiest topics imaginable, That’s Gross, is chock-full of foul facts that are …
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 …
An engaging, accessible, and fascinating look at science’s “best bits” by a comedian and particle physicist Black holes, DNA, the Large Hadron Collider ever had that sneaking feeling that you are missing out on some truly spectacular science? You do? Well fear not, for help is at hand. Ben Miller was working on his physics PhD when he …
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, …
It all started when a group of mad-scientist-type plumbers asked Uncle John a question, “Why should computers have the only worldwide network?” His answer: “They shouldn’t!” So Uncle John put together a top-secret plumbing team to link together all the world’s sewer lines and create…Presto flusho!…the Interpipe! Then he found a world-famous puzzle master to create 96 pages …