A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine
What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco’s famed Exploratorium Museum, and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios, offering insights into physics, astronomy, anatomy, and more along the way.
Is slipping on a banana peel as hazardous to your health as the cartoons imply? Answer: Yes. Banana peels ooze a gel that turns out to be extremely slippery. Your foot and body weight provide the pressure. The gel provides the humor (and resulting head trauma).
Can you die by shaking someone’s hand? Answer: Yes. That’s because, due to atomic repulsion, you’ve never actually touched another person’s hand. If you could, the results would be as disastrous as a medium-sized hydrogen bomb.
If you were Cookie Monster, just how many cookies could you actually eat in one sitting? Answer: Most stomachs can hold up to sixty cookies, or around four liters. If you eat or drink more than that, you’re approaching the point at which the cookies would break through the lesser curvature of your stomach, and then you’d better call an ambulance to Sesame Street.
(Why really happens if you get swallowed by a whale, are shot from a cannon or go barreling over Niagara...)
Silly science at its most entertaining. If you've read What if?, this is very much like an expanded version. All the insane questions a 12 year old might come up with? - a good portion of them are probably here. While very entertaining for adults, this would, in fact, make an excellent book for kids, turning them on to how science isn't all boring.
I'd have rated it even higher, except there's a high proportion of questions regarding space and those who know me, know that space bores me and these entries slowed me down and had me contemplating folding laundry. Luckily none of the entries are longer than 2-3 pages and there's a nice mix of terrestrial questions that were both informative and interesting (to me). Though, for the record, I probably didn't need to know the details of how dangerous a paper cut can be, and I really, REALLY didn't need to know about Botulism H.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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12 January, 2018:
Finished reading
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12 January, 2018:
Reviewed