Synopses & Reviews
This is no ordinary fun-fact book: These 132 offbeat questions represent the best reader submissions to New Scientist’s beloved “Last Word” column—a rare forum for “un-Google-able” queries, now in its 21st year! The unpredictable answers—sourced from the combined brainpower of New Scientist’s sophisticated and far-reaching readership—reflect readers’ wide-ranging areas of interest and expertise—from physics, chemistry, and biology to astronomy, zoology, and beyond.
One reader wonders if our two-legged stance invites back pain, and hears back from a veterinary surgeon who has treated countless back problems in dogs, cats, and rabbits. Another learns how large raindrops can get and how fast they can fall, from a science teacher who did his own experiment at the top of a lofty stairwell. And a professor of human anatomy weighs in on whether the heart can cramp like a calf muscle.
Know It All is your ticket to a grand meeting of curious minds—and a celebration of all questions—strange, trivial, or baffling!
Review
A Guardian Top 10 Science and Technology book
“An entertaining and intellectually stimulating read.”—Shelf Awareness
“The experts at New Scientist magazine have published a book that answers some of the oddest but most entertaining questions they’ve been asked.”—Daily Mail
“Explain[s] some of life’s great mysteries.”—Reveal
“Answers the questions you’ve probably wondered all your life.”—Wales Online
“Great answers to common dinner party questions.”—Good Housekeeping
“More intriguing questions and answers from the New Scientist Magazine archives. Stumped for ideas for Christmas presents? Then this might be the ideal choice for anyone—teen to old-age. All you need is an interest in the curiosities of life!”—LoveReading
“There are so many phenomena out there which we accept from day to day but if we ever stop to think about them, we don’t have any explanations. Never fear—[. . . ] New Scientist [. . .] has the answers to these questions and more.”—Mirror
“New Scientist magazine has compiled a book answering the most obscure and intriguing questions they’ve ever been asked.”—Newsbreaker
“Poses questions asked by the curious the world over and offers sometimes varying— and often highly theoretical—answers offered by experts, academics, engineers, teachers, philosophers and assorted know-alls . . . . There are head-scratchers here aplenty.”—The Clothesline
Synopsis
A joy for science lovers, Know It All is your ticket to a grand meeting of curious minds
New Scientist magazine s beloved Last Word column is a rare forum for un-Google-able queries: Readers write in, and readers respond Know It All collects 132 of the column s very best Q&As. The often-wacky questions cover physics, chemistry, zoology and beyond: When will Mount Everest cease to be the tallest mountain on the planet?If a thermometer was in space, what would it read?Why do some oranges have seeds, and some not?Many people suffer some kind of back pain. Is it because humans haven t yet perfected the art of walking upright? And the unpredictable answers showcase the brainpower of New Scientist s readers, like the anatomist who chimes in about back pain ( Evolution is not in the business of perfecting anything. ) and the vet who responds, Quadrupeds can get backache too "
Synopsis
New Scientist magazine's beloved "Last Word" column is a rare forum for "un-Google-able" queries: Readers write in, and readers respond Know It All collects 132 of the column's very best Q&As. The often-wacky questions cover physics, chemistry, zoology and beyond: When will Mount Everest cease to be the tallest mountain on the planet?If a thermometer was in space, what would it read?Why do some oranges have seeds, and some not?Many people suffer some kind of back pain. Is it because humans haven't yet perfected the art of walking upright? And the unpredictable answers showcase the brainpower of New Scientist's readers, like the anatomist who chimes in about back pain ("Evolution is not in the business of perfecting anything.") and the vet who responds, "Quadrupeds can get backache too "
Synopsis
Offbeat and Unpredictable Answers from Amateur Experts Everywhere
A Book from NewScientist, the magazine behind the #1 international bestseller Does Anything Eat Wasps?
Synopsis
“The experts at New Scientist magazine have published a book that answers some of the oddest but most entertaining questions they’ve been asked.”—Daily Mail
“Explain[s] some of life’s great mysteries.”—Reveal
“Great answers to common dinner party questions.”—Good Housekeeping
Synopsis
A joy for science lovers, Know It All is your ticket to a grand meeting of curious minds!
New Scientist magazine’s beloved “Last Word” column is a rare forum for “un-Google-able” queries: Readers write in, and readers respond! Know It All collects 132 of the column’s very best Q&As. The often-wacky questions cover physics, chemistry, zoology and beyond: When will Mount Everest cease to be the tallest mountain on the planet?If a thermometer was in space, what would it read?Why do some oranges have seeds, and some not?Many people suffer some kind of back pain. Is it because humans haven’t yet perfected the art of walking upright? And the unpredictable answers showcase the brainpower of New Scientist’s readers, like the anatomist who chimes in about back pain (“Evolution is not in the business of perfecting anything.”) and the vet who responds, “Quadrupeds can get backache too!”
About the Author
Established in 1956, New Scientist is the fastest-growing and bestselling science magazine in the world, reaching over 3 million readers through its print and digital channels. Its series of accessible popular science books, which debuted in 2005, has sold well over 2 million copies worldwide. Jeremy Webb, who has worked at New Scientist for over twenty-three years, is editor-in-chief.