Curious and Curiouser

by Karl Kruszelnicki

Are cooked mussels safe ONLY if they are open?

Why does alcohol make the opposite sex more attractive?

Why does washing your hands ease your conscience, make it easier to live with hard decisions, and make you more tolerant?

Why does lightning strike the same place twice (and more)?

Do babies get more illnesses when they are "teething"?

What is the science behind people spontaneously bursting into flame?

And what's more hygienic - an air blower or a paper towel?

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

245 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Known popularly as Dr Karl.

Karl has degrees in Physics and Maths, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine and Surgery and has worked as a physicist, tutor, film-maker, car mechanic, labourer, and as a medical doctor at the Kids' Hospital in Sydney.

In 1995 he took up the position of the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, spreading the good word about science and its benefits.

His enthusiasm for science is totally infectious and no one is better able to convey the excitement and wonder of it all than Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is.

Dr Karl's Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) site:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/

http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/conten...

Reviews

[Jacinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Karl's books always are great for telling you a bunch of science factoids that you never knew you wanted to know.

[Boris Grozev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a collection of facts, with not much insight.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little romp through various areas of scientific curiosity. I've learnt a few things that should be rather entertaining at dinner parties. Given that this book is pitched at a fairly wide demographic I understand the choice to make the exploration of the issues a little shallow, but I would have enjoyed it a little more if the science behind some of these weird and wonderful things was explained in greater detail.

[Stephen Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice light read for pop-sci fans. No real depth, but great pub trivia fodder.

What is useful is that it's fully referenced. You can get into the real depth of Doctor Karl's work by going to his sources, which in many cases are peer-reviewed papers by the original researchers.

Enjoy it for what it is.

[Chupa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of fun and genuinely interesting little nuggets of information.

[Fred Bear]

very interesting

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really a trivia book but hard not to get something out of it. Whether or not that something will ever be of use is something else.

[Lex Redding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting facts but I didn't enjoy the way the book was written in stories; would have preferred a more scientific style.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting in the factual parts, but at times, Dr Karl just rambled a little bit.