Do Penguins Have Knees?

by David Feldman

The fifth book in the Imponderables series that answers questions about everyday life for which encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs just don't have the answers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Trivia, Science, Reference, Childrens, Essays

Paperback

First published September 26, 1991

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

He holds a bachelor's degree in literature from Grinnell College, and a master's degree in popular culture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He consults and lectures on the media. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a question book, so it answers questions you thought you would never know the answer of.

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Pre internet

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a while ago, but I was reminded that I read it when I was looking at the book "What if?"

I read this in like 3rd grade and it was super interesting but I got almost none of it except some of the crazy stuff behind a twirling ice skater.

Would reccomend

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tras haber descubierto el primero de los imponderables (curiosamente, a bordo de una fragata española en Puerto Rico cuando hacía la mili, pero eso es otra historia), me dediqué a recopilar todos los demás de este autor. Básicamente, estos libros responden a preguntas que a lo mejor nunca nos habíamos hecho pero que, en el momento de leerlas, pensamos ES VERDAD. ¿POR QUÉ?
¿Por qué en mis cremalleras pone siempre YKK?
¿Por qué tenemos arrugas en los nudillos pero no en las rodillas?
¿Por qué el opuesto de un vino dulce es un vino seco?
¿Por qué se eligió precisamente la letra "pi" (Π) para denotar el cociente entre la cirunferencia y el diámetro?

Y así varias decenas. Otras no nos interesan tanto, como ¿Por qué se eligió la distancia actual entre el montículo del pitcher y el bateador? y cosas muy centradas en los EE.UU. Pero en conjunto queda una lectura apasionante.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had another in this series of books when I was a young kid. I was excited to find a few of these at a recent library sale. I am really excited to share this with my nieces as they get older. They definitely have the same "why" gene I did and I can already seem them driving people a little batty with their thirst for knowledge. Some of the articles are a bit dated, but most of them are still relevant and good information.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is one of those bits and pieces books (often read in the bathroom), it is full of quick and easy-to-read bits that lend itself well to an afternoon with my daughter where we are both sitting out on the patio just spending time together. Some of it brings back memories, some of it is entertaining and some of it is easy to skip. I even learned a bit.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I actually read every essay in this book? Errrr, no. But I read most of them, and a whole lot were pretty interesting and informative, and occasionally funny. A great book to kep on the side to while away some time when you have sudden breaks, or you just don't have anything else to pick up at the moment. I think youngsters will enjoy this as well, if not all of the explanations.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this was a fun little read! It's just a book full of "imponderables" or questions that many of us have probably thought about but never been able to solve, like "how and why did 7UP get its name?". It's written in plain, easy-to-understand English so that the common man can understand and have his imponderables answered.

I'll admit that there were some questions I skimmed through as I didn't particularly care for such as "Why do the back wheels of bicycles click when you are coasting or back pedaling" and "Why Was April 15 chosen as the due date for taxes?"

Some questions I thought were pretty obvious like "Why are baseball dugouts built so that they are half below ground?" I always just assumed this was so that the dugouts didn't block the prime behind the dugout seating. Turns out, I was right. And I don't even care about or know about baseball!

This was published in 1991, so some of the questions were outdated, so I skimmed: "Why must we push bothe the 'record' and 'play' switches to record on an audio tape recorder, and only the 'record' on the VCR?"

I was surprised by the amount of questions relating to the postal service, stamps, envelopes, and mailing. Apparently these are subjects people ponder a lot to no avail. Although I've never asked myself what the USPS does with mail it can't deliver or return because of a lack of return addresses, I was interested to read the answer to that question.

At the end of the list of imponderables, Feldman lists the top 10 "frustables," questions that he and his team haven't been able to answer, like "why do doctors have bad penmanship?". His hope is that readers will see those and use their knowledge to submit the answer for the next Imponderables Book.

Like I said, this was a fun little read. It was quick, easy, and I could put it down and come back to it at any time. I can't say that I'll visit his other books, but if one comes across my lap, I might flip it open! And in case you were wondering and don't mind the spoiler, yes. Penguins do have knees.

[Dan Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

By now, you are hopefully familiar with the Imponderables series of books, those tremendous tomes of teasing trivia, where author David Feldman has the nerve to ask those all-important questions of the nature of existence, such as "Why are there tiny holes in the ceiling of my car?" (As for me, such a question is merely proof that said driver does not have their eyes on the road, a frequent phenomenon on today's highways!) Anyhoo, Penguins is one of the better books in the series, if for no other reason than the fact that it attempts to answer the immortal question (drum roll, please): Does anyone really like fruitcake?? (Sorry, but I can't reveal the answer here: Feldman is a professional in such matters, and I dare not paraphrase his response one iota!) As with When Do Fish Sleep, the bulk of this book is given to Feldman considering such questions, submitting the questions to acknowledged experts in the field (Is there a fruitcake expert?) and printing their responses, or the competing theories if there is more than one answer. (In the example above, the Fruitcake Question was posed in the Frustables section, which Feldman uses to ponder matters that seem to defy easy explanation, then prints the best responses in the next book in the series. This is how he hooks you into buying more than one book! Pretty clever, huh?) As always, Kassie Schwan's delightful illustrations add to the humor. (Yes, this is a humor book!) In any case, this sixth volume in the seemingly endless series of books is one of the best, and as I have stated in another review, makes a perfect read in the bathroom! So, get Do Penguins Have Knees, and other books in the Imponderables series today. As Jim Morrison, the immortal lead singer for the Doors once said, "I see the bathroom is clear...."

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few books in this series already. What I like about them, including Do Penguins Have Knees? (spoiler alert: yes) is that they are loaded with a variety of questions that have been sent in on different topics and they find experts on whatever each topic is and ask for their analysis and opinions for the book. Each question can result in an answer of from a couple of paragraphs to several pages. This makes it a great book to start and stop and not have to recall what had happened when you paused your reading. AND you usually learn a lot, although some things you learn may fall into the (useless?) trivia category or something for you to astound your friends over dinner or drinks. I find it to be entertaining and often humorous and, as I stated above, I have already completed several in this series. It's a nice break from any heavy reading material you've been tackling as well.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a trivia whore, I appreciated this. Though it was kinda hilarious how dated it is, given the multiple mentions of things like VHS tapes and Radio Shack (rip).

Fact I found most interesting: That the flavor of 'bubblegum' is apparently a mix of wintergreen, vanilla, and cassia?????????? Is that even legit? That blows my mind for some reason. Although now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda see the wintergreen? I had to look up what cassia is and I guess it's often compared to cinnamon, which I get less. Man, now I want some Bubble Yum to test this. Wild.

[Amy Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the fun read I imagined. While it is easy to read mini chunks, answers to odd questions, somehow, while the questions may pique your interest, the answers are long winded and dry. Halfway through I began skipping and I quit once the fan letter section began. There were some fun things I learned,but wouldn't recommend it.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us who love little trivia stuff, this is the perfect bathroom reader. Short answers to questions that you've been wondering forever but never taken the time to research yourself. Very interesting, the only problem was I kept thinking, "just one more...". Also, the author has a great sense of humor to inject just a little sarcasm with the explanations. A fun read.

[Paul Shaloka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for placing in a bathroom or in a doctor's office. Although most of the non-animal kingdom related answers are all about manufacturing processes that become repetitive, so only read in small doses.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very silly but funny book I picked up from a little free library. This book is kind of a pre internet relic, because it's premise of answering weird questions is rendered totally obsolete by the internet, and for that reason I found it quite quaint.

[Kathy Mathey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some entries were outdated (copyright 2004), but most were entertaining and oddly interesting to read.

[Kylene Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite bored with this book a lot of the time. I won't read anymore of these. I was very happy to get to the end.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated, but an enjoyable and informative read.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative, fun read. I can't speak for other editions but mine was a little outdated - still very good though!

[Agnes Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comical and a quick read.

[Sylvain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few interesting tidbits... Stories are now somewhat dated as technology has greatly involved since the book was first written.

[Belle Meade School]

031.02

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun facts to learn, even though some information included is now outdated due to it being published in the 1990s.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, it was very informational and the questions and answers were fascinating. I will be reading the rest of the imponderables books.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of questions and answers was informative and the illustrations were quite funny. If you would want to read this, I would recommend it to non-fiction lovers, similar to Hermione Granger.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated material. Some information was interesting, but most from situations/circumstances relevant in the 60s or 70s, but not today.

[Jessi Mennetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting. Some very unknown facts in here, some others that I needed up skipping through because they are outdated or I already knew the answer. Nice read if you like random facts.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fast read with lots of interesting information presented in an enjoyable fashion.

[Fox]

found this on the psych ward bookshelf and read it bc i really wanted to know if penguins have knees

[Jerry Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the pre-Google era this would be a fun book of frequently asked questions and answers. And yes penguins have knees. Maybe we will see some in NZ.