Why Are Orangutans Orange?

by Mick O'Hare (Editor)

More popular science questions and answers from the distinguished Mick O'Hare―now illustrated in full color! Illustrated for the first time, with eighty full-color photographs showing the beauty, complexity and mystery of the world around us, here is the next eagerly awaited volume of science questions and answers from Mick O'Hare and his team at NewScientist . From ripples in glass to 'holograms' in ice, the natural world's wonders are unraveled by the magazine's knowledgeable readers. Six years since its debut, this magnificent series still rides high in the international bestseller lists, with well over two million copies sold. Popular science has never been more absorbing or more enjoyable. For the first time in full color, this latest collection of resourceful, wry and well-informed answers to a remarkable range of baffling science questions is guaranteed to impress and delight. 80 Color Illustrations

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Animals, Reference, Popular Science, Natural History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Mick O’Hare (* 1964 in Mirfield, England) is a British editor and writer who travels between the US and the UK.

Currently, he is an editor for New Scientist, the leading British weekly for science, writing among other things the "The Last Word" column of questions and answers. He edited Profile’s bestselling book "Does Anything Eat Wasps?" and its successors "Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?" and "Do Polar Bears Get Lonely?".

Mick joined New Scientist in 1992 after being the production editor for Autosport. He still occasionally works as a rugby league writer and also edits sports books. He has a geology degree.

Reviews

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Scientist has done very nicely, thank you, selling 2 million copies of its collections of answers to intriguing science questions derived from the back page of the magazine over the years. Those books were starting to feel just a little jaded, but they have been entirely revived in the latest addition to the series by including photographs. So these are photos readers have sent in of strange phenomena that they want explaining. We get the photo (in shiny colour), the reader's question, other readers' responses and a few witty comments from the editor. All in all it works very well.

Apart from the title question, there are strange creatures to be identified, unusual clouds and ice formations to investigate, eggs inside eggs, strange frozen crumpets and more. Very entertaining. It's not a heavy read - I got through the whole thing on a train journey. I do find I tend to see what the answer is but skip through some of the more nerdy aspects of some replies. I would also say that I got a bit bored with cloud formations. But the exotic wildlife and domestic oddities more than made up for it.

One thing that was interesting - I usually take a quick look at the Last Word section in New Scientist where these Q&As feature. I've never remembered anything in the previous books like Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze, but I did remember quite a few of these. It just shows the power of images to fix items more firmly in the memory. Great either to fill in a train journey or as a gift book.

Originally published on www.popularscience.co.uk - reproduced with permission

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A standard offering from New Scientist, but this time, with full colour photographs. Some of them are very startling and lovely. Some of them are very startling and gross -- there is a completely horrible fungus, for example, Arsoe rubra. Gaaah.

Also, if insects make you feel anxious, as they do me, then avoid. I also didn't need to know that populations of bedbugs are up in the UK. I have been paranoid about them ever since my week of work experience with a pest control company. (I made their database, back in 2006 or so. Now I know entirely too much about insects.)

[John Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading "Does anything eat wasps?" in this series. It isn't in my Goodreads reviews so it was probably a few years ago that I did. This book has some answers that were contained in that book.

The additional photographs do add to help a reader understand the questions asked. The answers given were mostly informative. I think most readers would learn something from this book. I would describe it as adequate rather than anything that must be read or that would give the most information possible about about that is contained within. Not all of the questions are answered which is interesting and a true reflection of science.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these kind of books that give you answers to questions that tend to make your brain burn. As long as the answers are in simple language and don't read like a 50 page essay!
Thankfully this book (one of a series produced by magazine New Scientist and based on their question/answer based "Last Word" column) is easy to read and gives you the answer along with a few quirky replies from readers. lots of lovely photos make it all the more enjoyable.
Other titles in the series include:
Why Don't Penguins Feet Freeze? (and 114 other questions)
Why Can't Elephants Jump? (and 113 other question)
Does Anything Eat Wasps? (and 101 other questions)
Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? (and 101 other questions)
Will We Ever Speak dolphin? (and 130 other questions)

I got bold (or bored?) and reserved all of the above titles through my library and I expect to be drowning in trivia science any moment now :)

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 13 yo daughter. It's a question and answer book where the curious minded have sent puzzling pictures into New Scientist, which has then obtained answers (somehow) from experts or other curious types. The situations are relatively familiar, although quirky at times, and the answers are refreshingly honest in that there is sometimes 'disagreement' between opinions - it is good to know that there are still unsolved puzzles out there! Between laughter at my clumsy attempts to pronounce the Latin names for things, and reflective consideration of the ideas before us I think we enjoyed the book and learnt some new things along the way. I look forward to seeing what my daughter writes I her review!

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es una edición con fotos a color de la serie de New Scientist sobre preguntas (y respuestas) de los lectores (hay varios más, he comentado uno o dos). Y no sé si a pesar de o precisamente por tener fotos, me ha parecido algo más soso que los anteriores. Muchas veces la pregunta del lector era "¿Qué es esto que hay en mi jardín?".
Hay una parte importante de nubes, otra de huellas en la arena, otra de "identifícame a este bicho", y hay alguna preguntas sueltas muy interesantes, como siempre en estos libros. La lectura es muy entretenida gracias al trabajo del editor, que deja solo las mejores respuestas (¡y supongo que las mejores preguntas!). Muy recomendable para pasar un buen rato y aprender cosas.

[Shahira8826 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Why Are Orangutans Orange" was a charming read, factually accurate and yet easily digestible even by people who have no background in science.
I confess I found some sections (like the one about animals) way more interesting than others (such as the one about ice), but the beauty of the book is that it has something for everybody.
Some of the answers, even while factually accurate, were hilariously phrased, which made the reading experience all the more enjoyable.
I'm definitely going to check out the other books in the series!

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think they really needed multiple answers to each of the questions. This was obvious when some of the answers pretty much said the same thing. Other answers seemed really pointless and seemed a bit random. Still worth a read if you enjoy question and answer books.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was well written; however, as someone who does not enjoy reading books about natural phenomenons I did not enjoy it. I found a few of the questions quite interesting but other than those ones I was very uninterested.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was informative and mildly entertaining.

[Brady Rudh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun concept for a science book. It felt like reading interesting reddit threads with all of the extraneous info filtered out.

[Donna Brown]

Why are Orangutans Orange? is yet another instalment in the popular Last Word series from the New Scientist. I say yet another as this is a series that could go on endlessly, given science never runs out of questions. Thankfully these questions and answers are entertaining and therefore that is no bad thing.

This follows the previous format where a question is provided by a reader and answered by readers, some of whom are experts, some of whom have a layman’s knowledge but some personal experience. A slight difference in the format is this title in the series includes photographs – a nice addition to the book.

They do say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it and this applies here. They have the winning format, with a variety of questions on various topics and a good array of answers.

Indeed about the only issue I have with the book is that sometimes the array of answers can create confusion about what the correct answer is, therefore don’t read this book expecting to come away with definitive knowledge. You may be left wondering about the exact answer, given that some of the reader responses go in very different directions. However, that in itself is something that has always been a bonus in the Last Word column.

Science is all about questions and all about questioning answers and nowhere more aptly demonstrates this than in the Last Word. Embracing the culture of constantly seeking to challenge, constantly looking to know more, constantly questioning and welcoming participation, this is a great example of science at its best. Interesting, fun, collaborative and entertaining – another excellent instalment.

Originally published on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave. I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Rebecca Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why are Orangutans Orange? edited by Mick O’Hare (Pegasus Books, 2012) is subtitled “Science questions in pictures.” I am not a science person, but I was intrigued by the premise that this would be a simple and quick collection of answers to common science questions.

In the end, I was a bit disappointed. Although it did provide simple and clear answers for the most part, it was not organized well and felt a bit smacked together. I was surprised to find that it was a collection of questions based on pictures sent in by readers of a column. Many had poor quality photographs attached to their questions too. The answers came from scientists who read the column. Thus, each “answer” was written by someone different. The questions likewise were random and disorganized.

While it was a quick read and somewhat interesting, the random organization and miscellaneous feel to the questions and answers did not make it something I highly enjoyed. I’m glad I read it, because it did not require much for me, but I am not overly interested in seeking out more volumes in the series of science questions and answers.

Cross-posted on my blog(REVIEW COPY)

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically a collection of apparent science mysteries and their explanations. Readers see science abnormalities/questions and send in photos to the authors, and these writers explain what is occurring. It was interesting and gave me things to consider, like I learned why bats fly in circles, etc. It became a bit technical in the "weather" area, and I totally skipped the "insect" chapter because those little buggers are creepy. This book can give you good science questions for discussions your kids.

Big take-away: If you're outside on an overcast day and your hair starts standing on end, get inside fast; you're about to be struck by lightning! -e

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment of the New scientist series but this one is different in the respect that most questions are also accompanied by a full colour photo.
Still just as interesting as the rest of the series and the pictures are fascinating as the questioners have submitted the photos alongside their question so it lends the reader a visual. The format is still the same though with topics broken down into sections.
As the rest of the books, they are worth a read and I find myself quoting large chunks of it now so have obviously learned a lot!

[drworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book with interesting questions that burn your brain. I love the questions which I can relate to: biology, animals, nature but when it comes to physics and chemistry, the answers fried my brain since I am not familiar with the topics.
Maybe because my vocabulary level is similar to that of teenagers/children, it took me a while to finish off this book.
Another thing that quite 'interesting' is that there were many possible explanations/suggestions for certain questions and phenomenon so OW, my head hurts!

[Am Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is in Q&A format: people submit questions about stuff, and they are answered. My biggest problem was that I didn't know who the people answering the questions were. Were they experts? Or just anonymous members of the public? Some of them had their credentials printed beneath their names, but for many others there was nothing, so I'm not sure how accurate or believable some of the answers were. The questions themselves were interesting though - many were certainly thought-provoking.

[Sheffielder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide-ranging selection of puzzling observations, and attempts by readers of New Scientist to explain them. I was initially annoyed that some of the answers contradict each other, but came to see this as simply one more reminder that natural science remains an endeavour in which debate and hypothesis are firmly rooted. Either way, a enjoyable read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but I found it a bit odd that, where 2 or more letters were used in an answer, the later ones weren't edited to avoid repetition of the information in the first letter. This meant that, by the end, I was skipping bits!

[Richard Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting addition to the New Scientist collection following "What Eats Wasps?" Color photographs highlighting each question make for pleasurable reading.

Others in the series:

"Do Sparrows Listen to Bach?" "Why Can't Elephants Jump?" "Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?"

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pfotos posing scientific questions. Unfortunately the answers are sometimes a bit unreadable, because of the terminoly being used.

[Lduckett Awesome · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really good I learnt a lot of fascinating facts

[Sonya Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informational.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having never read the column its based on, I found some of the topics interesting while others not so much.