Product Description

How long can I live on beer alone? Why do people have eyebrows? Has nature invented any wheels? Plus 99 other questions are answered in this book. Every year, readers send in thousands of questions to "New Scientist", the world's best-selling science weekly, in the hope that the answers to them will be given in the 'Last Word' column - regularly voted the most popular section of the magazine. "Does Anything Eat Wasps?" is a collection of the best that have appeared, including: why can't we eat green potatoes? Why do airliners suddenly plummet? Does a compass work in space? Why do all the local dogs howl at emergency sirens? How can a tree grow out of a chimney stack? Why do bruises go through a range of colours? And why is the sea blue inside caves? Many seemingly simple questions are actually very complex to answer. And some that seem difficult have a very simple explanation. "New Scientist's" 'Last Word' celebrates all questions - the trivial, the idiosyncratic, the baffling and the strange. This selection of the best is popular science at its most entertaining and enlightening.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #774 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

The Independent, November 2, 2005
'a world stranger than fiction...'

Daily Mirror, November 3, 2005
'it's amazing how fascinating things you never knew you wanted to know really are...'

Scotland on Sunday, November 13, 2005
'endlessly fascinating and an absolute treat. Ideal for dipping and browsing [and] crammed with so much odd information...'

Customer Reviews

If you are really into science you will enjoy
I bought this after buying Schotts Original Miscellany, a great little book of random, possibly in the large part useless but interesting facts.

I have to say that I was disappointed. There are some good facts for sure, but maybe its just me, i'm not really "that" interested in the answers. And when you do get the answers they are often very scientific, which made me switch off.

So, if you like science I think the book will appeal to you, but to an ordinary Joe, the answers go far deeper than you might want. I want interesting facts I have half a chance of remembering and then telling others.

Okay in a laze on the beach kind of way.
This type of book is the perfect book to take on holiday and read on the beach. Rather like the sea itself, you can dip in and out of it as you wish without worrying about losing your place (unless you are in Spain!!)

Most of the book is mildly interesting, some of it is tedious and to be honest not only do you not know the answer to certain questions, you don't actually care either. On the other hand, one or two of the questions and accompanying answers are absolute gems.

There are better examples of these answer odd question type of books or general reviews of life itself. That said, it's worth the price for a decent read (ideally on holiday) but I doubt I'll bother reading my copy again and again.

Very Hungry Birds (and More !)
The 'New Scientist' is a weekly magazine, first published in 1956, that covers the recent happenings in the scientific world. In 1994, the magazine launched a new column called "The Last Word" in which its driven by its readers - not all of whom are geeks in white coats. Here, they could not only pose a science-related question, but also provide the answers. "Does Anything Eat Wasps" is a selection of the questions asked and answered over the column's first eleven years, and proved to be one of the UK's surprise hit of the year.

The book is divided into chapters, depending on the focus of the questions selected - our bodies, our planet and 'wierd' weather for example. While the book is informative, it is equally as likely to raise a smile - the overall tone is not that of a difficult, highbrow scientific paper. Some of the questions that are dealt with include : how long can a human being live if their sole source of food or drink is beer ? (One respondant includes in his answer it would be unethical to conduct such an experiment - though I suspect he would have plenty of volunteers). What causes the changes, in terms of colour and consistency, in earwax ? Can it be scientifically proven that your arse looks smaller in black trousers ? And just how far above the Earth's surface would you have to be before a compass stops pointing north ?

An enjoyable and informative book - though it's one I tend to dip into once in a while, rather than reading it from cover to cover.