Life's Imponderables: The Answers to Civilization's Most Perplexing Questions : Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? When Do Fish Sleep? Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?

by David Feldman

Three entertaining volumes from the popular Imponderables series--Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?, When Do Fish Sleep?, and Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?--answer questions about some of the bizarre mysteries of the world around us.

Genres: Nonfiction, Trivia, Reference, Humor, Science

793 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

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

[StarMan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Why do ranchers put old boots on fence posts?"
"Where do houseflies go in the winter?"
"What flavors are in Juicy Fruit gum?"

Remember when the family used an almanac, dictionary, thesaurus, and set of encylopedias to answer most questions? Maybe you even had one of those big black Book of Facts volumes, or a "bathroom reader" or two full of useless or silly trivia.

Well, this book covers some questions those books wouldn't even think to ask. It's sort of a pre-Internet attempt to answer odd questions. The authors also detail how they found answers, or experts they contacted, which is good. Some of the questions concern items younger folks may have never seen: pay phones, carbon copies, telegraph messages, etc.

This 700+ page doorstopper collects the first 3 Imponderables books in one volume (although there are later editions as well with new questions), and includes a few notes and corrections at the end.

VERDICT: Probaby 4.5 stars back in the day; more like 3 stars now, but still entertaining. Maybe a fun book for a trivia lover or grandparent... or interesting to peruse when your WiFi goes down during the next hurricane/apocalypse.

[Tom G]

I remember I once saw a copy of the original Imponderables in one of the closets in my grandfather's house when I was a kid. I was too scared or shy to ask to borrow it, but the concept of the book, if not the name, stuck with me. I probably picked up my first copy of this omnibus from a library book sale, and this one I got from a local flea market. I saw the cover and instantly knew I had to have it, to maybe recapture a bit of the magic that the minute knowledge of the world inspired in me as a kid. I can't say that this reading quite did that, but it was a nice stroll down memory lane. A lot of the info here is dated, in the sense that better answers have come to light, but it's mostly dated because "Imponderables", the book and the newspaper column that inspired it, is a relic of the 20th century, of the analog past, when answers were rarely at our fingertips—unless those fingertips happened to be leafing through the pages of some reference book, an object whose very purpose would mystify today's youth on multiple levels.
It was the relentless consumption of shit like this and The Book of Lists and Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts that defined my childhood. I remember many times telling my parents that my goal in life was to know something about everything. I didn't realize at the time how quixotic a quest that was—or that my parents were really asking how I planned on making a living when I grew up—but poring through the pages of a Guinness Book of World Records, absorbing all the mosts and leasts, tallests and shortests, made me feel closer to grasping this thing called "the world".
All I really have to show for my years spent soaking in the vast seas of trivia is a hefty collection of gift cards for the local bars where I play trivia with a group of people who I love, but wish would stop asking me how I know things. If you'd spent all your formative years among the likes of Robert Ripley and his neverending freak show, you'd know a few odd things too.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i was a kid i thought these books were the greatest thing since sliced bread (wait, when did we learn how to slice bread?). i couldn't give them 5 stars though. because in retrospect, i don't think i actually remember any of the answers to the imponderables.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review title: Google is for this
Other than the fact that I review every book I read, I might have skipped writing a review of this omnibus collection of "Imponderables.". But I do review everything, and I also realized this review would provide a good opportunity to remind my review readers what makes a classic.

Feldman had established a pretty profitable niche in the reference section of your local bookstore and library with a series of books answering odd and inconsequential questions that seem either because of obscurity or tradition to be unanswerable. When I saw this collection of three of the books under one cover at a book sale for $2 I picked it up.

And was instantly reminded of how much the world of information and technology has changed in less than a generation. What were questions that made you go "Hmmmm" then are now things you google without thinking.twice. Are the answers from Google or Wikipedia searches better than the ones here? Maybe, due to the much broader reach of possible expertise (crowdsourcing being the popular technical term for that phenomenon), but one thing for sure the questions can be asked and answered far faster on a vastly larger range of questions than on any ink and paper format. There are perhaps 500 questions answered in the 800 pages of the volume I just read, and Feldman acknowledges contributions and input from probably several thousand people. Google records that many searches every nanosecond, and Wikipedia is build on the input of millions of contributors (and even the validation and verification of their contributions are crowdsourced).

A quick search of my local library system's catalog (in seconds from my tablet sitting on my front porch where I am writing this review) found that the most recent publication in Feldman's series was 2004. Which would have been right about the time when my kids along with a whole generation would start to quickly answer any random question my wife or I would ask about trivia, history, or other "imponderables", not because they were suddenly smart, but because they instantly and seemingly instinctively understood the power of immediate information through an internet search. Overnight the market for books like Feldman's was gone so that within less than 20 years the book sitting on the stand beside me is literally a waste of paper, which is my lowest book review rating reserved for the worst of the worst.

But I can't be so harsh on Imponderables. I gave it a "waste of time" rating because while I really will throw it away (shelf space being too valuable here at home unlike at my local library system which still retains several of the series at some local branches) it did serve to remind me that I have read, kept, and cherished many books written decades and even centuries ago that are more timely than yesterday's newspaper. Technology may quickly outdate the sources of our information or how it is delivered, but technology can not create or outdate the information and ideas that make us human. Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Cervantes, De foe, Shakespeare, Cooper, Melville, Dumas, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dickens, Hardy, Dos Passos, Twain, writing from the perspectives of millienia and centuries and decades ago tell me more about who I am and why things are as they are than anything written yesterday or last week or last year. These truly are classics and deserve every five star rating readers like myself post to lunch.com.

And they deserve your time and attention. Find that copy of Moby Dick you never finished in English 101 and read it the whole way through this time. You might find it is deep, and interesting, and even funny at times. I wouldn't be surprised if you go to a book sale or used book store or the clearance table at your local Barnes and Noble you will find a copy of Moby Dick alongside of Life's Imponderables. Buy them both. Spend a few minutes with Imponderables. The true classic will stay with you for life.

[Sarah-Anne]

Why don't people get goose bumps on their faces? What's the difference between "flotsam" and "jetsam"? What would actually happen if you ripped the warning label off your mattress? If questions like these leave you sleepless, then satisfy your thirst for knowledge with this witty compendium from the Imponderables"TM" series. Feldman has tirelessly searched for the answers to those mysteries that frequently give people pause. Organized in a question and answer format, this three-in-one collection by the author who knows why birds don't tip over while asleep on a telephone wire is a must-have for anyone who's searching for solutions to life's mysteries.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you can just keep reading and then put down for a while and then pick up when you don't have anything to do. It also has a very helpful index by topic, like "Dog noses" and "Fish Sleeping." It is a lot of fun.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ultimate reference book of answers to questions you'll probably never have to ask or answer. Still lots of fun, though.

NC

[Onespacecowboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

life is full of many interesting ?'s and this book answeres them the best way any 1 sould amazing

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some interesting stuff but a lot of it is dated. It's a good bathroom reader.

[Maggard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember these being a bit funnier when I was a kid, but maybe I'm just becoming more humorless. Anyway, well-researched and interesting answers to life's questions. A fun read.