Can Cows Walk Down Stairs?: The Best Brains Answer Questions from Science Line

by Paul Heiney

What is ear wax for? Do bacteria have sex? How do they put stripes in toothpaste? Does your nose run in space? What are stars made of? This book answers those tantalising or perplexing questions for which you thought you'd never find an answer. A book for the naturally curious, as well as those seekers after scientific truths, it unravels both those things we take for granted, such as, when you boil an egg, why does the yolk stay in the middle, or why is the sky blue, as well as questions which probe deeply, such as, what does an atom look like, or what was there before the beginning of time? If you were to write in the dust on the moon, how big would the letters have to be so you could see them from earth without a telescope? Drawing on the expertise of a team of enthusiastic scientists around the world, authoritative, entertaining, and often a touch humorous, it will appeal to anyone who's ever been curious about life on earth.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book as a Christmas present, and I finally got around to reading it.

The idea apparently arose from a website which had been set up and funded by the British Government which provided answers to science questions submitted by the public. The website eventually closed down due to lack of funding, but the book was taken from the various questions that had been submitted and answered.

I'm a little disappointed when comparing the book to similar ones (see 'Do Penguins Feet Freeze' and 'Does Anything Eat Wasps'). It seems to be poorly edited, with inconsistencies in information between answers and even inconsistencies within a single answer! The language is sometimes muddled, especially when talking about some concepts from cosmology.

Anyhow, I'm still reading, so I may change the review later...

Okay, so the review is now complete, and it hasn't really changed much. I ended up emailing the company that published this book to ask if they were going to be issuing an errata. Its that full of inaccuracies!

My favourite was where they talked about bananas and how they ripen. Correctly they identify one name of this gas as 'ethylene'. However they then incorrectly pronounce the alternative name as 'ethane'.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!!!!

Ethylene is also known as ethene (not ethane). Ethene (formula C2H4) has a double bond which can be broken using catalysis which then causes the ethene to polymerise to create polythene (or polyethylene). Ethane (C2H6) doesn't contain the double bond and won't polymerise.

Sorry, I *know* that this review is dull, but as someone who actually did chemistry at University, this sort of thing matters to me. This book isn't accurate, and everything that it tells you needs to be treated appropriately.

[Wojciech · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka popularnonaukowa, która odpowiada na dziesiątki dziwnych, zabawnych i czasem zaskakujących pytań. Pomysł na tę publikację jest bez wątpienia atrakcyjny, a lekka forma i przystępny język mogą przyciągnąć zarówno młodszych, jak i starszych czytelników. Niestety gorzej jest z wykonaniem. Część odpowiedzi wciąga, zmusza do refleksji, a niektóre fragmenty potrafią naprawdę zainteresować. Z drugiej strony nie brakuje rozdziałów, które nużą, brzmią jak szkolny podręcznik lub powielają wcześniej podjęte tematy w nieco innym kontekście, co odbiera element zaskoczenia. Dodatkowym utrudnieniem dla polskiego czytelnika mogą być liczne odniesienia do brytyjskiej kultury i produktów, z którymi trudno się utożsamić, mimo prób ich objaśniania w przypisach. Książka budzi mieszane uczucia: czasem bawi i uczy, a czasem nuży i rozczarowuje. Choć nie brakuje ciekawostek i błyskotliwych momentów, trudno uznać ją za w pełni satysfakcjonującą lekturę.

[Henrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

moro

[Jules Sub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of date. Probably best to read a more up to date version. The facts have mostly been proved wrong. Try 'Over 100 Facts to make you LOL'. A much better book.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

a really fun book! i enjoyed reading all of the questions, though it did get just a tiny bit repetitive. hopefully i'll remember some of the answers!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a scientist, I loved this. It was very funny.

[Ante Jurić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cum grano salis. Neki brojevi su čudni, imam osjećaj da su neke stvari i krive, ali ne znam je li do prijevoda, lekture ili originala.

[Vainilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lecture légère et rigolote.

[John Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally hate these 'compilation' stocking filler books. You know the type. They appear in droves every Christmas. Collections of 'silly' facts; anecdotes; celebrity quotes; 'zany' mistakes etc. The list is endless. They are a doddle to put together - especially in this age of Google & Wikipedia, and probably make the 'author' a quick few quid.
I usually get at least one such book for Christmas and ungratefully have to stifle a groan. Out of some kind of duty I'll force myself to attempt to read the thing but usually end up speed reading it in fifteen minutes before the thing ends up in my local Age Concern charity shop.
But, after all of that preamble, I have to admit, I quite enjoyed this one. It's full of questions and answers that you never knew existed and couldn't have cared anyway. But once you've seen them you have to read on.
i.e;
'What do cats see when they look in the mirror ?'
'Why don't woodpeckers get a headache ?'
'Do fish sleep ?'
'Why do dogs wag their tails when they are happy?'
And the inevitable 'chicken & egg' question.

See what I mean ? Or is it just me ?
This is a great book to dip in and out of when you have a spare few minutes.
It makes a perfect stocking filler !

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a lot better than this. This is another of those books full of scientific snippets, written in a style that is for the layperson. Unfortunately, I spotted a typo and two glaring errors and by errors, I do not mean things I don't quite agree with (there were a few of those, especially in the biology sections), but the use of a word when another should have been used. eg flammable vs inflammable. May seem picky, but when discussing something scientific, there's a big difference between the two. I also didn't like the way one of the writers thought it was appropriate in a science themed book, to describe flies as being 'miserable' and 'disgusting'.

[Calum Burns · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing - not only is this "science" book full of scientific inaccuracies, but a lot of the answers don't actually answer the questions they're supposed to, and some of them go as far as insulting the intelligence of whoever submitted the question in the first place. Avoid.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious... makes you wonder how these people have come up with these questions... way too much time on their hands... :o)

[Emma Heywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy to read and interesting.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic read!

This series is a collection of sciencey questions and answers that were collected in the 1990's

[Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, accessible and fun read which improves your general knowledge of a range of subjects, especially science

[Jonasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie wiem czemu, ale książka zawiera błędy, więc nie można jej w wierzyć, bez sprawdzenia informacji na własną rękę, co dyskwalifikuje ją.

[Hayden Vanier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreliable informations and some answers are clearly wrong.

[Kerszi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka niestety już ma swoje lata, i cześć wiedzy się zdeaktualizowalo, mimo to czyta się świetnie, niektóre rzeczy będą aktualne długo, np temperatura palenia się diamentów.

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting trivia.

[Shiraz Esat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting facts, but certainly not worth buying. Good for a dentist's waiting room