THE BOOKWORM
Hey, what do you know?
It’s a good question, and the answer is that you probably know a lot. You know enough to do your job, not run with scissors, find food, and keep out of trouble. You, in fact, know more than you think you know.
But then again, there are a few holes in your knowledge that you might like to fill. And in the new book “ASAP Science” by Mitchell Moffit & Greg Brown, you’ll use science to do it.
You hear rumors. On social media, at the club, from your friends, wrong information is passed around, taken as truth, and passed back. And if it still doesn’t sound right, it genuinely makes you wonder…
Which, for instance, really did come first: the chicken or the egg? It might seem like a no-brainer because everything comes from an egg, doesn’t it? The total answer has to do with semantics, genetics, and mutations, and it might surprise you.
Your grandma always told you not to go outside without a coat or you’ll catch a cold. No matter how many times you told her that a cold was a virus, she insisted. So would you believe that Granny might’ve been a little bit right?
Or, take shaving: once you start, you have to keep doing it because the hair grows back thicker and darker, right? Wrong! This book will tell you why, and it will also explain why men seem to be hairier than women.
Drop your food and call “Five Second Rule” – or not? High-tech studies (done with bologna and plain old flooring) show that it all depends on what you drop and where. Overall, what scientists say may change your mind in one second.
In this book, you’ll learn who feels pain more, men or women. You’ll see why you close your eyes when you sneeze (and it’s not to keep your eyeballs from falling out). You’ll learn whether you’re in danger of spontaneously combusting, why snot is good, whether a zombie apocalypse could really happen, how to heal heartbreak, and why the simple act of reading can help you lose weight.
And a cure for hiccups? It’s here, too, but you probably won’t like it…
Chicken or egg? Dance or sit it out? Beer before liquor or…? It’s those hard questions that make you lose sleep, so just stop tossing and turning. Instead, turn to “ASAP Science.”
By using colorful drawings and the mind-bending subjects they’re known for on their YouTube channel, authors Mitchell Moffit & Greg Brown solve the kind of niggling conundrums that plague every bar bet, idle thought, and embarrassing kids’ question known to humankind. They’re playful in doing that – but they’re not silly. No, Moffit and Brown prove (and disprove) rumors and “unexplained phenomena” through real scientific methods and authentic research. And that makes serious fun.
If you’ve ever wondered about the Big Questions but didn’t know where to ask, stop now and find this book. For grown-up kids, “ASAP Science” solves mysteries and you’ll like that, you know?
ASAP Science” by Mitchell Moffit & Greg Brown c.2015, Scribner $22.99 / $27.50 Canada 256 pages