Do Polar Bears Get Lonely?: And Answers to 100 Other Weird and Wacky Questions About How the World Works
Adult/High School—This compilation of questions and answers taken from the "Last Word" column ofNew Scientistmagazine includes many that may seem lightweight, ridiculous, or downright gross, but the answers are always dealt with in well-reasoned scientific terms, sometimes with a twist of humor. Answers often come from subscribers, the majority of whom are associated with respected institutions such as the American Institute of Physics, University of Glasgow, University of Sussex, University of Sydney, and Trinity College (Cambridge). A United Kingdom perspective is evident, particularly in the abundance of pub-related questions. Some of the questions seem to spring from a childlike curiosity: Do elephants sneeze? What causes "pins and needles" in arms and legs? Other questions are just gross and disgusting: What is the volume of snot produced during an average cold? Why is poop from breast-fed babies less odorous than that of bottle-fed infants? And then there are the downright silly questions that come from people with too much time on their hands: How long would it take an average cow to fill the Grand Canyon with milk? The random nature of the questions makes the book more of an amusing entertainment than a source for research assignments. However, it will have great appeal to adolescent boys, science geeks, trivia buffs, and reluctant readers. And finally, we have an answer as to whether it is more fuel efficient to drive with the windows down or with the air-conditioning on.—Paula Dacker, Charter Oak High School, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.