Why Things Are II

Why Things Are

by Joel Achenbach

... Because Joel Achenbach, the intrepid syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, did not rest after answering the great questions of the day in Why Things Are. Here comes Volume II -- a book that provides not only astonishing facts about the worlds of science, politics, history, art, love and sex, but also the Big Picture as well. You'll be stunned, amazed, and hey, even smarter when you read the answers to these timeless questions:
-- Why does time speed up as we get older?
-- Why is Citizen Kane considered the best film of all time?
-- Why do horrible songs like "The Candy Man" and "Kung Fu Fighting" get stuck in your head, until finally you want to throw yourself off a bridge (over troubled water)?
-- Why is it better to slice a sandwich diagonally, rather than straight across?
-- Why is love so difficult?
-- Why are politicians always getting into sex scandals?
-- Why doesn't a black hole somewhere get so big and powerful that it eventually goes sklurrp! and sucks the entire galaxy, including planet earth, into its dreadful maw?

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

Reviews

[Zedsdead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up primarily for the section on serial killers. Achenbach pushes back against the pop culture-derived prevalent perception that serial killers are malevolent geniuses, using interviews with FBI investigators to make the case that they're generally failures at relationships and at life. He also takes forceful issue with the idea that sex crimes are about domination rather than sex.

There's plenty of non-disturbing material to leaf through. I learned why helium balloons move backwards when you slam on the brakes while regular balloons move forward. Why silent consonants exist. Why statistics show that lefties die nine years younger. Why dimes are smaller than nickels.

I lot of knowledge you didn't know that you needed to know.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting trivia, but I like the Imponderables books better.