A fun and engaging little book | Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions

Buy it Just to Watch the Penguin Catch and Eat the Fish as You Flip the Pages! | Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions | New Scientist

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	• Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions New Scientist Free Press, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

why indeed

the book is one of those that answers some of lifes little questions that sometimes gets overlooked. My boy loved it, with me reading some of the factoids for him before bed. Like Karl Kruzelniski's books, they're fun as well as informative. a good read for young and old

A fun and engaging little book

Anyone who has ever claimed that science is boring has never spent any time talking with a scientist. However, some people have done so, and in the process, they ask lots of interesting questions such as; Why don't birds fall off their perches when they are asleep? How do you make transparent ice cubes like those in Scotch advertisements? What time is it at the North Pole? Why are traffic signals arranged red over amber over green whereas railroad signals are arranged green over amber over red? If you have wondered about things like this, then you will enjoy Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? And 114 Other Questions, a collection of questions posed by readers of NewScientist Magazine that are answered by fellow readers in their "Last Word" column (NYC: Free Press; 2007). Incidentally, those of you who roam the blogosphere will discover that some of the answers were provided by people whose names are familiar to you.

NewScientist's popular "Last Word" column is similar to an online discussion forum where readers ask and answer each other's questions, and the best of those columns were gathered together and published in this book. I found it interesting to read the different writing styles when multiple answers to a particular question were published. Also interesting were those answers where readers disagreed each other, especially those who are experts in the field, because this gives the reader (you) a rare glimpse into some of the reasons that science is a dynamic and often rapidly changing discipline. I was amused by the witty responses provided by some clever but nonetheless clueless readers who still wanted to add their own two-cents' worth to the discussion. [But see Bob O'Hara's response below].

Unfortunately, it was sometimes difficult to identify which response is correct when more than one plausible explanation was provided, thereby implying that we still don't really know all the answers to even some everyday phenomena. One especially interesting example of this were the responses from two professors from the same university who contradicted each other as to whether hot or cold water take longer to freeze, and why.

In addition to being educational and interesting, this book also has one illustration: a cute little drawing of an emperor penguin in the top right-hand corner of each page. This penguin is holding a fishing pole that has hooked a fish, which is at the bottom right-hand corner of the page. Each subsequent drawing has been changed just a little so that if you flip through the pages rapidly, you can watch this penguin reel in the fish, toss it into the air while tilting his head back, open his mouth to catch the fish in mid air and swallow it -- just like watching a cartoon.

This book is trade paperback sized and consists of 212 pages that are divided into nine chapters with titles like Plants and Animals, Domestic Science, Weird Weather, and Troublesome Transport. It also has a user-friendly index of topics in the back. Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? will appeal to almost anyone, and it certainly makes for a fun and entertaining read while commuting by public transit or while stuck in traffic jams. And who knows, perhaps you will enjoy learning why fish don't fart while you read this book in the bathroom, or why snot is often green while waiting for your doctor's appointment?

So, to answer the question posed by the book's title, Why don't penguins' feet freeze? The answer is counter-current exchange. If you want to know the full details, you'll just have to buy the book!

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Buy it Just to Watch the Penguin Catch and Eat the Fish as You Flip the Pages!

This sequel stands out from its predecessor Does Anything Eat Wasps for one reason. There is a very realistic little drawing of an emperor penguin in the top right corner of the page. The penguin is has just hooked a fish and has it on the end of a fishing line that reaches the bottom of the page on page one. One each subsequent page the drawing is slightly altered so as you flip through the penguin firstly reels in the fish, the throws it up in the air, tilts its head back, opens its mouth and eats it. This is very clever, very well done and worth the price of the book alone.

Anyway the main emphasis of this book, like Does Anything Eat Wasps is a collection of 115 questions pondered by readers of New Scientist magazine, published in their popular Last Word column. This column sort of works like a hard copy version of an online discussion board where other readers write in with the answer to the question. Obviously a lot of readers of Newscientist are experts in a particular field or another but not all of them are and the so called experts also disagree with each other. There are also some funny answers by people who obviously have no idea but want to add something anyway. Such as one of the answers to Why Do Sheep Run Away in a Straight Line In Front of a Vehicle Down the Road Rather Than to the Side of the Road being because sheep know human psychology they know with bloodlust its harder to run down an animal than just hit it. Likewise someone answers why birds void themselves on you from a great height is because lower isn't much of a challenge!

The only disappointing thing about this book is that it doesn't indicate which is the correct answer, the book needs little symbols or something with correct, wrong or we haven't verified this answer yet. For example you have two experts from the same university in Tasmania contradicting each other answering the question is the myth that hot water freezes faster than cold true? Likewise a question about bananas turning brown in the fridge, I mean ice and bananas you can do an experiment yourself and come up with the answer but for some other questions there is no way you can come up with the answer yourself so having the editors indicate which is true would be very helpful.

Some of the other questions pondered inside are -
Why on a clear day is the sky blue?
If polar bears were transported to Antarctica could they survive?
How can aircraft fly upside down?
Why do parachutes have a hole at the top?
Why do lightbulbs usually blow when first turned on and not after being on for a while?

The best book in the educational and entertaining read genre are How Slow Can you Waterski? by Simon Rogers, (also released under the title Can You Drill a Hole Through Your Head and Survive?) Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's Great Mythconceptions: The Science Behind the Myths, Q & A with Dr. K, Pigeon Poo, the Universe & Car Paint: And Other Awesome Science Moments and the rest of his books. Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?: The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales, Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini, Shocking Science, So Gross (Over 100 Gross-Worthy Facts) and Everything You Need to Know About the World by Simon Eliot.

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Think and have fun!

Bought this after seeing it paired with PETER CAVE'S CAN A ROBOT BE HUMAN?
2 really good books geared to getting you thinking in an enjoyable way. Just don't accept things -we need the reason why! I do recommend buying them together as they use your brain in a different sort of way and Cave's book made me laugh as well!

Great for Grand Kids

Fantastic book. Great for Grand Kids. Kids always have questions and now they have answers! Who says Grandparents can't stay in their kids lives?

reviews: page 1, 2

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