Do Sparrows Like Bach?: The Strange and Wonderful Things that Are Discovered When Scientists Break Free

by New Scientist (Editor)

From the same editors that brought you Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? and Does Anything Eat Wasps? , an exploration of the weird and wonderful margins of science―the latest volume in the brilliant New Scientist series. Science tells us grand things about the how fast light travels, and why stones fall to earth. But scientific endeavor goes far beyond these obvious foundations. There are some fields we don`t often hear about because they are so specialized, or turn out to be dead ends. Yet researchers have given hallucinogenic drugs to blind people (seriously), tried to weigh the soul as it departs the body, and planned to blast a new Panama Canal with an atomic weapon.

Real scientific breakthroughs sometimes come out of the most surprising and unpromising work. Do Sparrows Like Bach? is about the margins of science―investigating everything from what it`s like to die to exploding pants and recycled urine. Who on earth would burn off their beard with a laser? Produce a fireproof umbrella that doubles as a parachute? Replace sniffer dogs with gerbils? Could a chemical component of flatulence be the next Viagra? Do sparrows (and even fish for that matter) prefer Bach to Led Zeppelin? The editors at New Scientist magazine have the answers to all these questions and more in this celebration of outrageous, outlandish, and brilliant discoveries on the fringes of scientific research.

This extraordinary collection is an astonishing reminder that even at its most misguided, science is intensely creative, often hilarious, and can spark the imagination like nothing else.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2010

Reviews

[Emily Mellow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love usually love books that combine humor and science, but this book is funny without being very informative. Too many of the ideas were treated glibly, when they deserved more attention & explanation. The format was like a long list of briefly described inventions and ideas, with mocking comments by the author(s).

[Mark Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more in-depth book of science. Instead, I got one paragraph to several pages of explanation on a subject, then was whisked on to another. Snippets of articles from the New Scientist magazine. Enjoyable if you only had five minutes or less to read about a subject, but worthless for any depth.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book covers some of the bizarre experiments scientists have done -- similar in style to the science that's celebrated in the IgNoble awards. It's to be taken in small doses -- perhaps as a bathroom reading book.

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't care for this book. The authors interjected too many jokey comments between each of the articles. Not recommended.

[Murali Manohar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and funny.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mildly interesting science stories edited together with commentary that would make an America's Funniest Home Videos host cringe. Glosses over anything that would allow you to learn.