Why Can't Elephants Jump? by Mick O'Hare

Why Can't Elephants Jump? by Mick O'Hare
Buy Why Can't Elephants Jump? by Mick O'Hare at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Popular Science
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: The usual excellent Christmas bestseller from the New Scientist's Last Word column. Everything is as great as it has been in previous years, with no sign of getting stale or unoriginal. Highly recommended. Mick O'Hare was kind enough to be interviewed by Bookbag.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 240	Date: October 2010
Publisher: Profile Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1846683985
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Well? Why can't elephants jump? And while you're pondering that, think about why James Bond wanted his martini shaken, not stirred. Why is frozen milk yellow? Does eating bogeys do you any harm? What's the hole for in a ballpoint pen? How long a line could you draw with a single pencil? For answers to all these questions, and so many more, then do yourself a favour and pick up the latest collection from the New Scientist's Last Word column.

We've been here before in previous years, with Does Anything Eat Wasps? and Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?, with a detour into the experiments of How To Fossilise Your Hamster and How To Make A Tornado. Once again, it's the perfect Christmas present for anyone with a slightly geeky bent. It's detailed, fascinating, intriguing, and full of facts and insights that you'll be desperate to share with everyone as you read through them.

With a similar book each year, you'd forgive Mick O'Hare for resting on his laurels, and just putting out an ok sequel. Why Can't Elephants Jump? is anything but just ok. It maintains the exceptional standard of previous years, with new lines of enquiry, the latest developments and continued freshness. Whether you devour the offering from the New Scientist every year, or whether this is your first time discovering these delightful books, you'll find it the perfect choice for top quality trivia.

Those who have a scientific mind will get the most from Why Can't Elephants Jump? It's not dumbed down, but it never feels out of reach of the average man in the street. An interest in how the world works will be more than enough to see any reader fully understanding what's going on. In fact, some questions have been submitted by people as young as four. (Oh, and there's a flickbook of an elephant on a trampoline, which I enjoyed a few more times than I care to admit!) Why Can't Elephants Jump? is set to be yet another richly deserved bestseller. Highly recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

For other interesting trivia books, check out Number Freak: A Mathematical Compendium from 1 to 200 by Derrick Niederman and Don't Swallow Your Gum by Dr Aaron Carroll and Dr Rachel Vreeman. You'll also find plenty of great choices for further reading in our Top Ten Books For Slightly Geeky People.

Mick O'Hare was kind enough to be interviewed by Bookbag.

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