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Why Things Are
Why Things Are and Why Things Aren't
WHAT IS REALITY, ANYWAY?
FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK.
Washington Post columnist Joel Achenbach refuses to take "I don't know" for an answer. In Why Things Are, he gave you a world of answers in a nutshell. Well, once again it's time to get cracking. Just ask Achenbach, who's out to crack every mystery in the book. After all, why stop asking why when there's no end of questions left to be asked?
* Why is the Oval Office oval?
* Why is it so darn hard to lose weight?
* Why did Napoleon keep his hand tucked in his vest?
* Why is Muzak everywhere even though people claim they dislike "elevator music"?
* Since we're mostly made of water, why don't we slosh around more?
* Why are people so obsessed with talking, thinking, and hearing about sex?
* Why is the interior of the Earth still hot after 4.6 billion years of letting off steam (and lava)? Why doesn't this thing ever cool off?
Truly outrageous and outrageously true. That's the name of Joel Achenbach's game in this wildly original collection of questions and answers. If you have a taste for the unusual, here's a book that's just as fun as a box of assorted chocolates--but far less fattening.
FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK.
Washington Post columnist Joel Achenbach refuses to take "I don't know" for an answer. In Why Things Are, he gave you a world of answers in a nutshell. Well, once again it's time to get cracking. Just ask Achenbach, who's out to crack every mystery in the book. After all, why stop asking why when there's no end of questions left to be asked?
* Why is the Oval Office oval?
* Why is it so darn hard to lose weight?
* Why did Napoleon keep his hand tucked in his vest?
* Why is Muzak everywhere even though people claim they dislike "elevator music"?
* Since we're mostly made of water, why don't we slosh around more?
* Why are people so obsessed with talking, thinking, and hearing about sex?
* Why is the interior of the Earth still hot after 4.6 billion years of letting off steam (and lava)? Why doesn't this thing ever cool off?
Truly outrageous and outrageously true. That's the name of Joel Achenbach's game in this wildly original collection of questions and answers. If you have a taste for the unusual, here's a book that's just as fun as a box of assorted chocolates--but far less fattening.
- GenresReferenceNonfiction
284 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 1996
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 9, 2011
A newspaper column that provides "The Answers to Life's Greatest Mysteries (Well, Most of Them, Anyway)." Two of my favorites were:
Why doesn't your heart get tired like other muscles do? (Short answer: The heart muscle is stronger than other muscles and contracts differently.)
Why don't identical twins have identical fingerprints? (Short answer: "Environmental noise," meaning thousands of external factors that affect how the genetic instructions get carried out. For instance, twin embryos don't have identical blood supplies, so one twin is larger at birth.)
Why doesn't your heart get tired like other muscles do? (Short answer: The heart muscle is stronger than other muscles and contracts differently.)
Why don't identical twins have identical fingerprints? (Short answer: "Environmental noise," meaning thousands of external factors that affect how the genetic instructions get carried out. For instance, twin embryos don't have identical blood supplies, so one twin is larger at birth.)
August 11, 2011
you can hear Joel and Gene. It's uncanny. It's also a great bathroom read. Sorry guys - or you're welcome. I don't know. I think Dave Barry would agree and approve of that assessment.
July 10, 2020
Witty and informative, overall a worthwhile read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews