The Science Magpie: Fascinating facts, stories, poems, diagrams and jokes plucked from science

The ___ Magpie

by Simon Flynn

"Simon Flynn's cornucopia of curious facts, anecdotes, and quotations . . . is sure to entertain and surprise."—New Scientist

From the Large Hadron Collider rap to the sins of Isaac Newton, The Science Magpie is a compelling collection of scientific curiosities. Expand your knowledge as you view the history of the Earth on the face of a clock, tremble at the power of the Richter scale, and learn how to measure the speed of light.

Simon Flynn was the publisher at icon Books for many years and is now a qualified science teacher. He has degrees in chemistry and philosophy.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Popular Science, Reference, Poetry, Collections, Humor

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2012

About the author

Simon Flynn was a publisher and is now training as science teacher. He has degrees in Chemistry and Philosophy.

Reviews

[Osama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I unintentional loved this book. Let me explain, I came to the book expecting a science book (which this book isn’t) and was expectedly disappointed. The more I read the more I realised this book is essential a science trivia book. This is the best description of it. It doesn’t talk about specific field or specific scientists. It has stories, poems, really lame jokes, equations, book recommendations, first this and first that, drawings, historical events, etc. The only theme sewing all this together is science. It is a great book for these minutiae. You’ll sure care about some stuff and don’t give a hoot about others, and this is normal for a book of trivia.

Another reason I like the book is that it introduced me to many interesting new science-related things. Basically, the tabs in my phone browser increased by a tenfold. I will share all interesting topics, lame jokes, poems, quotes, book recommendations that I happen to like. I assume they’ll be a lot so feel free to skip some or all of them. I am just keeping them here for safekeeping (assuming I’ll outlive the internet).

Cool Stuff
The Nicaraguan postal stamps featuring ten of the most important formula in history.
The picture, and the explanation.

Complexity isn't an indicator to the number of genes an organism has. For comparison, Humans have around 20,000-25,000 genes, while laboratory mice have 30,000 genes. Even more surprising is common rice (Oryza sativa) having around 51,000 genes; twice as much as humans!

LHC Rap: The nerdiest song ever.

Torino Scale: Chance and severity of object hitting our blue bloomful blissful planet.

Chirality: Basically asymmetry when that really have an effect. -Thalidomide-

Mpemba Effect: Bright schoolboy observation of hot water freezing faster than cold.

Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness: Scale (1-10) about metal hardness, what could/couldn’t scratch the other.

Olbers' paradox: The sky is starful, so why isn’t it blindfully bright?

Mendel’s law of Segregation: Dominant/recessive traits and inheritance.

The Monkey Trial: legal case against high school teacher unlawful teaching human evolution in state-funded school.

Monty Hall Problem: Very interesting statistical phenomenon. Very.

I have always wonder what We are elementally made of? If you wondered too, have fun:
Oxygen 61%, Carbon 23%, Hydrogen 10%, Calcium 2.6%, Phosphorus 1.1%, Sulfur 0.2%, Potassium 0.2%, Sodium 0.14%, Chlorine 0.12%, Magnesium 0.027% Silicon 0.026%, Iron 0.006%, Fluorine 0.0037%, Zinc 0.0033%, Rubidium 0.00046%, Strontium 0.00046%, Bromine 0.00029%, Lead 0.00017%, Copper 0.0001%, Aluminium 0.00009%, Cadmium 0.00007%, Boron 0.00007%, Barium 0.000003%, Tin 0.000002%, Manganese 0.000002%, Iodine 0.000002%, Nickel 0.000001%, Gold 0.000001%, Molybdenum 0.000001%, Chromium 0.0000003%, Caesium 0.0000002%, Cobalt 0.0000002%, Uranium 0.0000001%.

Lame Jokes
Where do you bury dead mathematicians? Asymmetry.

Chemistry is full of bad jokes because all the best Argon.

There are only 10 types of people in the world:
those who understand binary, and those who don’t.

Police arrested two kids yesterday –one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks.
They charged one and let the other one off.

This is a scientific spoof about Banning Dihydrogen Monoxide

Poems
This poem is dedicated to Euler's Identity, which:
named by Richard Feynman as 'the most remarkable formula in mathematics'.
voted the most beautiful theorem in mathematics by reader of the journal Mathematical Intelligencer.
chosen in a poll to be 'greatest equation ever', along with Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism in Physics World.
Euler's Identity is basically a celebrity equation.

e raised to the pi times i,
And plus 1 leaves you nought but a sign.
This fact amazed Euler
That genius toiler,
And still gives us pause, bye the bye.

The poem that became my new version of twinkle twinkle lullaby:

Twinkle twinkle little star,
I don’t wonder what you are,
For by spectroscopic ken
I know that you are hydrogen.

Quotes

As such, the same species of cabbage can be planted in different locations and, depending on the pH of different soils, the resulting cabbage crops can differ in colour.

The scientist is not a person who gives the right answer, he is one who asks the right questions.
(Claude Levi-Strauss)

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in the case of poetry, it’s the exact opposite!
(Paul Dirac).

A first-rate theory predicts; a second-rate theory forbids and a third-rate theory explains after the event.
(Aleksander Isaakovich Kitaigorodskii)

Blind commitment to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual crime.
(Imre Lakatos)

It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover. To know how to criticise is good, to know how to create is better.
(Henri Poincaré)

The scientist must set in order. Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science that a heap of stones is a house.
(Henri Poincaré)

First get your facts; and then distort them at your leisure.
(Mark Twain)

The great tragedy of science –the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.
(T. H. Huxley)

In total, 99% of species that have ever lived on Earth no longer exist.

The Victorian writer Samuel Butler said the mind-bending:
a hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg.
which was beautifully paraphrased by father of sociobiology Edward O. Wilson into:
People are DNA’s way of making more DNA.

Lovely quote about the intersection between scientists and littérateurs, and their view of importance:

At one point in the book, Snow [C. P. Snow] describes occasions when he has been in the company of ‘highly educated’ people scathing scientists who have ‘never read a major work of English literature’. Occasionally, Snow felt the need to respond by asking how many of them could describe the second law of thermodynamics? According to Snow, their subsequent incredulity showed that they failed to see his point that this was the equal of their disparagement – it was, he felt, ‘the scientific equivalent of: have you read a work of Shakespeare’s?’.
Snow was not merely sniping back at the detractors of science; his overall point was, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, that these two cultures, and society at large, would benefit most by being ‘two distinct, division none’.

Equally beautiful and truthful is the response by Richard Feynman about the view that science destroy or rip apart beauty:

Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars – mere globs of gas atoms. Nothing is ‘mere’. I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination – stuck on this carousel my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light … It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little about it. For far more marvellous is the truth than any artists of the past imagined! Richard Feynman to the claim science ruin things.

Books
There are more than 30 books recommended, but I have these two in my notes:
The Newtonian System of Philosophy, adapted to the capacities of young gentlemen and ladies by Tom Telescope

Patterns of Discovery by Norwood Russell Hanson

[Rizowana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short passages on everything about mathematics - from the origins of Algebra to a rap about the Hadron Collider. For someone who happens to be mortally petrified of anything to do with math, it is a huge feat to get me to enjoy a subject I positively dread. I would recommend it to both amateurs in this field (like me) and experts who wouldn't mind a few laughs.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this eclectic little mix of all sorts of snippets of science, scientific principles with the odd joke and poem thrown in for good measure. It was such a mix up and collection of all sorts of fields and disciplines, it definitely kept me engaged and the turnover of information was so quick, it didn’t give me a chance to get bored!

This book included all sorts of the little things that normally get skipped out of popular science books, and I not only learnt a fair bit but also fleshed out some of the things I already knew with add ons of extra information.

It’s easy to read and entertaining too, and I’m not embarrassed to say I totally repeated some of the jokes too although as to whether they laughed is debatable (I did!). I also loved the addition of the fusion of science and poems, which is something I hadn’t really read before and actually really enjoyed reading.

[Beth (bibliobeth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my attention when I was at my local library and I couldn't resist checking it out as in my other life away from blogging, I am actually a (geeky) scientist. On the whole, it was filled with some interesting facts and trivia and I did manage to find out things that I didn't previously know, which was my aim of reading it, as my speciality is usually biochemistry. Some parts however, I did find a bit hard to get through, and anything involving physics went right over my head I'm afraid! So, just an idea what scientific treats are in this book - we have the Periodic Table, binary, the Richter scale, biological classification, genetics, evolution, threatened and endangered species and a short history of the atom to name a few. But don't worry, if this all sounds a bit scary, the author makes things a bit lighter with poems and diagrams and even several scientific jokes:

"The moment a bar of gold walked into a pub, the landlord shouted A U, get out!"

Or how about some real molecules with some very funny names? Like ARSOLE - a ring molecule containing arsenic and DIUREA which it should be no surprise to learn that it is used in the fertiliser industry. If that didn't really float your boat how about an experiment or two that you can do at home? For example, making your own pH indicator scale that tells you how acid or alkaline a solution is simply by using some red cabbage, a kettle, a pan and some glass jars or bottles. There is also a second experiment that allows you to measure the speed of light using just chocolate, a microwave and a ruler. Sounds fun, right? Or how would you like to compare your intelligence to a fifteen year old taking exams in 1858 with a few example questions. On second thoughts, maybe you don't want to do this, I was hideously embarrassed.

Lastly, there is a great little Appendix in the back of this book (although I wish it had been larger and included reminders of the physics education I am sorely lacking) and it gives a great little summary on the structure of atoms, the biology of the cell, some basic genetics and explanations of Newton's laws. In general, I did enjoy this book and am glad I read it and definitely appreciated the lighter side that the author brought to the text, proving that yes, science can be interesting and fun!

Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a list of popular science book ideas that I occasionally revisit – things I quite fancy writing in the future. Now I have to cross one of them off the list, because Simon Flynn has written it for me. My list describes it as a popular science version of Schott’s Miscellany, but Flynn has called it by the (to me, rather clumsy) title The Science Magpie.

At least, that’s what I assume it is, because I have to confess, I’ve never read Schott’s Miscellany, so I don’t know what it contains – I merely assume it’s this kind of kaleidoscopic mix of all manner of facts, from the quite interesting to the downright weird. It’s the sort of book you can imagine Stephen Fry curling up with of an evening before hosting QI.

Inevitably in such an inspired hotch-potch there will always be some entries that inspire more than most. I loved, for instance, real molecules with silly names, the 1858 Cambridge University exam questions and the curly snail periodic table. Other parts are more ‘Hmm’ moments, like a whole page of digits of pi, while still others simply get a little dull. Often this is a transcription of a historical document – I have fallen for this one myself. They fascinate if you are researching the particular topic, but to the general reader they can fall a little flat.

The nice thing though is that, even if there’s a topic that doesn’t really grab you, you know that in the next page or two there will be something completely different. There is no order to all this, it is just stuff accumulated at random, like one of those wonderful old fashioned museums where you get a Victorian vacuum cleaner alongside an Egyptian mummy. Delicious.

If anyone ought to know what grabs the science reading public’s attention it’s Flynn, who used to be MD of Icon Books and is now training as a science teacher. I know this is going to be a book that will find its way into many science loving people’s present piles.

First published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I would describe as a toilet book. You really only want to dip into this from time to time. It brings together a mixture of everything from physics to biology with some engineering thrown in for good measure. It's not entirely pure science though. There's a touch of poetry in there as well.
Nothing is too complicated, the author has obviously taken the decision to make this as accessible as he can. If you can follow QI you should be able to follow this. All in highly recommended

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did enjoy the nature magpie more than this one, it was still a terrific read jam packed with lots of stories, random tidbits and loads of facts and figures. There are still lots of 'ooo-I-didn't-know-that moments and while there may have a little to much math for me it was still fascinating and I'm sure to be coming back to it again and again.

[Edee Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. So insightful without the feeling of reading a science textbook. I will definitely read and reference this book again and again.

[Sula · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those trivia/gift books, but unlike a lot of those styles of books the content on the whole is generally interesting and well-written! Perhaps one or two more of those lists of books/scientists etc. than I would have liked, but of its type it stands out. The science should be approachable by most, and as these are short snippets it doesn't go deep into theory and formulas. It is not just science facts but also amusing writing on science, poems, jokes, and interesting facts about the scientists themselves as people (e.g. Darwin's list of the pros and cons of marrying, Newton's list of sins he remembers committing). Some remind me of things that use to go round on the internet 10+ years ago (e.g. A Party of Famous Physicists, How They Do It?) - and unsurprisingly it turns out that the book was published 10 years ago! A small amount of the pure science is GCSE/A Level type stuff and will likely be familiar.

I also enjoyed the breadth of information. In particular I found interesting the sections on Caroline Herschel and Erasto Mpemba. Caroline Herschel's brother was an astronomer, known for discovering Uranus. He trained her to become an assistant astronomer. She discovered 8 comets, and was awarded a pension from the King, making her Britain's first professional female scientist (1787). She was awarded a gold medal of the Astronomical Society of London. Erasto Mpemba, from Tanzania, noticed as a teenager that his ice-cream mixture, which had been boiling, had frozen quicker than is his friend's more tepid mixture, although they had been placed in the freezer at the same time. He asked a couple of teachers as he grew up, who told him he must have been confused. He experimented further, continuing to get the same results. When a visiting physics academic visited the school, he asked the same question. This academic took him seriously, and looked into this further, but could not produce an answer. The result was a paper co-authored between the two of them (1969), requesting readers for further information, and eponymous observation remains unsolved to this day.

Finally, I particularly enjoyed A glossary for research reports by C. D. Graham, which reminds me of the tumblr thread which begins with 'if you read in a frog paper “specimen was released in the field immediately after capture” chances are very good that what it actually means is “i dropped the damn frog and despite the fact that we fell all over each other no one could recapture it”...'

[Dan Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid I really didn't rate this book. It's a miscellany of odds and ends that have something to do with science. Some are interesting, some would have been interesting had I not already known them, but quite a lot were really rather boring. I was particularly turned off by some of the poems and song lyrics, which seemed to me to be devoid of insight or artistic merit. Some of the items are tables or diagrams of something scientific and, again, some were interesting but many left me thinking there were surely better examples that could have been given.

I'd perhaps have been more generous if it weren't for the fact that there must be thousands of things the author could have put in the book instead of some of the lower quality items. Any of Feynman's popular science or autobiographical books, for example, would have yielded many better snippets than some of those selected for this book. But maybe it's just a matter of personal taste.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

At its core, this book is a random collection of science facts and trivia that, individually, would take anyone maybe 5 seconds to Google.

However, the stories collected here are generally both funny and obscure - bringing to light names, places, and discoveries that still have an "A-ha!" effect. The illustrations accompanying scientific concepts were helpful (especially the maths ones), too. Some stories and concepts flew over my head (e.g., chemistry-related ones, as this subject was never my strong suit) but overall, this was a fun read and the end quotes after each fact/trivia were often hilarious or insightful.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An assortment of short tidbits of science, featuring lists, tables, diagrams, stories, and (sigh) poems. In fairness, the front cover does warn the reader of the poetry within.

While the poetry isn't really my cup of tea, what's really evident from reading this is that author Simon Flynn is very passionate about science - I bet he's a wonderful teacher (his day job, apparently). In the book we learn about various aspects of science, including astronomy, genetics, chemistry, quantum mechanics and everything in between.

It's well written, and very easy to read. But ultimately it's quite forgettable. 3.5*, if I'm feeling generous.

[Abhishek · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good read. A collection of a lot of sciency things both in realm of science and non-science. It's good to see different forms of arts and incidents and facts and stories related to science which aren't necessarily scientific. They are arranged in a proper way, as in one can see variety in the book. It's also suitable for those who don't have a background in science. And for those who have a background in science, it can help them to know a little more or a few unknown stories related to the topics they already know from scientific view.

[Iman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lax and laymen friendly approach to topics that I personally found too daunting.
There were chapters that I skimmed or didn't properly appreciate or resonate with, but the author absolutely planted a newfound interest in certain scientific subcultures that I had previously neglected for a while. Highly recommend, I don't read as much books as I'd like to be reading, but the author made it worth my while.
The usage of diagrams, illlustrations, also helped me ease my way back into reading again :3

[Shayna June · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best bathroom reader I have ever borrowed from the library. Interesting and easy reading, even when the subject matter is rather dense. The quotes peppered in between stories may be my favourite part.

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full of facts, poems anecdotes and jokes on science. I didn't like the lack of continuity though and parts lacked accuracy. I didn't quite understand who the target market was either, as the science was fairly basic, but some of the jokes were clearly aimed at adults

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good toilet reading. Would be disappointing if you expected more than that -- it's very shallow, and the humorous bits are weak. But it's readable and conveniently divided into bite-sized segments.

[Vinska Andrias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely flew me back to the college years where all the rocks, physics, reactions, and mathematical philosophy made my mind buzzled.

It made me happy and wanted to re-learn everything.
Science is so beautiful.

[Jessica Cartner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book packed with fascinating information and humour!

[Dariusz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sporo ciekawostek naukowych. Ale raczej oczywistych i znanych. Większość bez puenty. Zebrane po to tylko, żeby były.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A varied collection of science facts, jokes, conundrums, and assorted miscellany. Perfect to have lying around when you want to read something without a plot.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

The perfect bathroom reader and no not because the book is crap. On the contrary the short easily digestible chapters make learning about science fun again

[Jhuan]

Simply.... very informative, interesting, funny. Definitely meme-able contents.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots if interesting facts and snippets - some much more so than others. I found myself wanting a bit of order to it - the information seemed to be randomly arranged (but maybe that was part of the point?).

[Saumya Kapoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book with unusual scientific facts put together with poetry and humour. Great read for those who no longer pursue science and want a quick and light refresher.

[Enoki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep on reading this book from time to time. Never got bored.

[Krysta Halye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Although the "science" magpie flies mostly in the direction of physics, I'm the anecdotes are amusing.

[Marzena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is spot on! There are so many different tidbits, everyone will find a piece for themselves.

[Rawan Arafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not interesting enough stories

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Miscellanies like this can be very trying if poorly done, with uninspiring or patronising rehashes of familiar stories, a lot of gee-whizzery and jokes that aren't nearly as funny as they think they are. Simon Flynn has avoided all that and produced a delightful pot-pourri of science-related snippets which, for me, gets the tone exactly right. It is enthusiastic and witty without being gushing or flippant and the sheer variety of stuff here is a delight.

Each "article" is brief - the longest are five or six pages, covering things like Galileo's dispute with the Holy See, Darwin's impact or Einstein's ideas about Relativity. If you want a detailed examination of any of these things, this isn't the place to look, but for a really well-written, engaging summary of the important points with the odd interesting aside it's brilliant. For example, Flynn makes sure to mention Milton's visit to Galileo while he was under house arrest as well as giving a excellent summary of Galileo's dispute, complete with a translation of his famous Recantation - and all in four short pages. I have studied all this at university and have actually read quite a lot of Galileo's writing and I still found the section fresh and fascinating. Other bits are so varied it's impossible to give an overall flavour, but they include things like radioactive decay, a spoof of Shelley's Ozymandias, the meaning of the Richter Scale, and so on. There are even some good jokes scattered throughout the book.

Some reviewers have criticised the book for having too much literature and not enough hard science, and for jumping from one topic to another in a jumbled way. I think this is the whole point of the book: you never know what is coming next - a spoof analysis of the thermodynamics of Hell, a historical summary, a quirky fact, an explanation of the binary system - and this is a great part of the book's charm for me. The science is always spot on. The explanation of Schrodinger's Cat, for example, which is one of the most misunderstood notions in popular science, is accurate, readable and placed in its proper historical context. The only error I noticed in the whole book was Flynn's assertion that a solar eclipse was important in Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, when, as my adolescent memory reminded me, it is in fact a lunar eclipse. I think I can forgive him this single slip, and the only other fault I can find is that the book cries out for an index which is sadly lacking, if only so you can find that little bit you wanted to look at again.

I recommend this book very warmly - it's a huge pleasure to dip into and, because of it's haphazard structure, has kept me looking at "just one more section" well after I should have gone to sleep. It's neither a reference book nor a serious popular science book. It is a delightful compendium of fairly random bits and pieces by someone with an obvious love of science, and anyone with a curious mind who takes pleasure in scientific oddments as well as important ideas will almost certainly get great pleasure from it.