Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries
- By Sherry Seethaler
- Published Feb 14, 2010 by FT Press. Part of the FT Press Science series.
- Copyright 2010
- Dimensions: 6 X 9
- Pages: 224
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-705738-5
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-705738-2
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Product Author Bios
Sherry Seethaler, a science writer and educator at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), works with scientists to communicate their discoveries to the public. Seethaler also writes a weekly column for the San Diego Union-Tribune, answering readers’ questions spanning nearly every imaginable science topic.
She holds a Ph.D. in science and mathematics education from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation examined how students reason about scientific controversy. She designed and taught the innovative course, Teaching Contemporary Scientific Controversies, and helped design UCSD’s California Teach program, which prepares science and math students to teach.
Seethaler is author of Lies, Damned Lies, and Science (FT Press Science, 2009).
“Dr. Seethaler has written an excellent book for any interested student of science. She answers great questions about the world around us in this fascinating book. As a high school science teacher, I encounter many of these from my own students. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has pondered questions starting with ‘how,’ ‘what,’ or ‘why.’”
–Ernest James Lo, Science Teacher, Woodside High School, Woodside, CA
Prepare to Be Fascinated!
Why does the flu change every year?
• What makes glue sticky?
• What causes out-of-body experiences?
• Are all brands of gas the same?
• Will adult stem cells work as well as embryonic stem cells?
• Is one “horsepower” really equal to the power of one horse?
• Why can’t you sneeze with your eyes open?
• How much does a cremated body weigh?
These are just a few of the fascinating science and health questions real people have asked top science writer and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Sherry Seethaler. Curious Folks Ask brings together 162 of her best answers–all crystal-clear, accurate, quick, and a pleasure to read. Seethaler is one of this generation’s best science explainers, and it shows: Every answer is accurate, fun to read, and distilled to a single page or less! Want to know how canned air works…or nuclear bombs? What causes goose bumps, earwax, dandruff, headaches? Whether it’s healthy to crack your knuckles, drink decaf, eat chocolate? What it costs to run all those LED lights around your house? It’s all here–and a whole lot more!
- Your body’s oddities: knees to knuckles, itches to sneezes
Surprising facts about how your body grows and works - Our ingenious inventions
The past, present, and future of our relentless human inventiveness - Pesky pathogens: viruses, bacteria, and prions
How they keep outsmarting us, and why it’s so hard to stay healthy - Common chemical concoctions
The science behind the everyday products that have transformed our lives - Uniquely human: how we got here, how we’re unique
New lessons from genetics, archaeology, and evolutionary biology
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
What a fun book ! Great for high school and middle school science teachers to make their classes more interesting !, By
This review is from: Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries (FT Press Science) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Open the book to any page and you're bound to find a captivating question with a well-written and interesting answer. It's perfect for teachers wanting to add some spice to their lectures...and makes for an excellent gift for the budding genius of the family.Here's a sampling of the questions: Is a lightsaber (yes, the Star Wars sword) possible? Why does my radio crackle with static or some other interference? Since contact lenses move with your eyes as they move, how are bifocal contact lenses possible? Why is it so difficult to make a hearing aid that works? Why do certain electrical cords (those used by fans, in particular) curl over time? Certain others do not. Why is the adhesiveness of white glues, such as Elmer's, stronger than that of glue sticks? How come I can use cold water in my washing machine but I have to use hot water in my dishwasher? Fun stuff! Seethaler is... Read more
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Curiosity Rewarded, By
This review is from: Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries (FT Press Science) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Can you define geophagy? What about zoopharmacognosy? I couldn't either until reading "Curious Folks Ask." Now I know why my dog sometimes eats dirt and that animals occasionally eat things for pharmacological reasons that are not normally part of their diets."Curious Folks Ask" is the book to read by the incurably curious, the hopelessly nescient, and even the pseudo-omniscient in need of humility and reality. The entire book is a collection of questions and answers organized into 8 categories: ingenious inventions, chemical concoctions, body parts, bodily functions, pesky pathogens, assorted ailments, uniquely human, and health nuts. This reader likes Seethaler's book quite a bit. It's a book that one can read in a few sittings or read sporadically during the day to turn empty minutes into mini science lessons. If one has no interest in a question topic or finds it too difficult, one can skip and move on to the next one. I surprised myself by skipping very few... Read more
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
A bit long winded for me,
This review is from: Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries (FT Press Science) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
In the movie Dragnet, Officer Friday's partner asked him a question, and after a very long-winded answer he quipped, "Well, I know one thing for sure." "What's that?" "I'll never ask that question again." That's how I felt sometimes with this book. Quality of the questions aside, I wish they took the advice given to Jimmy Carter after his first debate: Answer the question first, then explain. The answers too often start out with a complete history of the subject before they ever get to an answer. This type of book, I believe, needs to be quicker to the point.
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Online Sample Chapter
Real Answers on Ingenious Inventions
Table of Contents
Preface . . . xv
Chapter 1 Ingenious inventions . . . 1
Iceless icebox . . . 1
Full of cold air . . . 1
May the Force be with you . . . 2
Sci-fi science . . . 3
Catching a wave . . . 4
Out, damned spot! . . . 5
Glass stretch marks . . . 6
Seeing double . . . 7
Say what? . . . 8
On the road again . . . 9
Kooky clocks . . . 10
Lost with digital . . . 11
Era arrangement . . . 12
Let there be light . . . 12
Temperature tales . . . 14
Spying on Martians . . . 15
Otherworldly . . . 15
Earthling outpost . . . 16
Man or machine . . . 18
Play ball . . . 19
Pharaoh’s secrets . . . 20
Dense edifice . . . 22
Tiny toys . . . 23
Twinkle, twinkle . . . 24
Curly cords . . . 25
Mr. Weasley’s collection . . . 25
Electric synchrony . . . 27
In chains . . . 28
Equine engine . . . 29
Man’s best friend v. 2.0 . . . 30
Taking to the sky . . . 31
Off-kilter . . . 33
Architecture by numbers . . . 33
Chapter 2 Chemical concoctions . . . 35
Sticky situations . . . 35
Strong bond . . . 37
Black gold . . . 37
What’s in a name? . . . 38
Auto alternatives . . . 40
Sugar high . . . 41
Water fire . . . 42
Periodic-table personalities . . . 44
Jolt-free beans . . . 45
Decaf danger? . . . 46
Gently down the stream . . . 47
Water, water everywhere . . . 48
Reticent rubber . . . 49
On top of Old Smoky . . . 50
Odor eater . . . 51
Exquisite earth . . . 51
Drug disintegration . . . 53
Lone nutrients . . . 54
Rub-a-dub-dub . . . 55
Chore tech . . . 56
Chapter 3 Body parts . . . 59
Toe the line . . . 59
Surgeons’ favorite organ . . . 61
Longer and longer . . . 62
Tough tips . . . 62
Ashes to ashes . . . 63
Holey lids . . . 64
Producing peepers . . . 64
Guardian lashes . . . 65
Stopping short . . . 66
Grating habit . . . 66
Local harvest . . . 68
Cell selection . . . 68
Whiter shade of pale . . . 70
Healing potion . . . 71
Replacement parts . . . 72
Not so wise . . . 73
Chapter 4 Bodily functions . . . 75
Music of maturity . . . 75
Prune people . . . 76
Blinky . . . 78
Twitchy . . . 79
Summertime blues . . . 79
Staying cool . . . 80
Low thermostat . . . 81
Sweaty gourmet . . . 82
Impulsive impulses . . . 83
American Lilliputians . . . 84
Hair-raising . . . 85
Puny puckers . . . 86
Earplugs . . . 86
Itchy and scratchy . . . 87
Heart-stopping . . . 88
Sneeze grimace . . . 88
Photon allergy . . . 89
Sleeping beauty . . . 90
Yawning maw . . . 92
Smells good . . . 94
Tip of the tongue . . . 96
Chapter 5 Pesky pathogens . . . 99
Bundle up . . . 99
Invader individuality . . . 100
Moving target . . . 102
Bug buddies . . . 104
Laid low . . . 105
Fever favor . . . 106
Healthy as a dog . . . 107
Keep off the grass . . . 108
Vexing virus . . . 110
Cure claims . . . 112
Food zapper . . . 114
Laboratory life . . . 116
Building organisms . . . 117
Tick bites . . . 118
Oh, no–mono . . . 119
Kitchen germs . . . 120
Downers . . . 120
Mad cows . . . 122
Chapter 6 Assorted ailments . . . 125
Two-faced warrior . . . 125
Pimple food . . . 126
Much ado about nothing . . . 128
Hiccups attacking . . . 129
Attacking hiccups . . . 130
Gulp . . . 131
Knee forecast . . . 132
Brain whittling . . . 134
Head bop . . . 135
Cappuccino compulsion . . . 136
Many malignancies . . . 137
New skin . . . 138
On the mend . . . 139
Flakiness . . . 141
Charley horse . . . 142
Throbbin’ noggin . . . 143
Heart hurt . . . 144
Knowing thyself . . . 145
Halo of stars . . . 146
Hot, hot, hot . . . 147
Chapter 7 Uniquely human . . . 149
Odd eats . . . 149
Sink like a stone . . . 151
Dino breath . . . 152
Modern man . . . 153
World tour . . . 154
Tree house . . . 156
Loners . . . 157
Living link? . . . 158
Tears for fears . . . 160
Blind dreams . . . 161
Hullabaloo . . . 162
Sentiment sites . . . 163
Feeling groovy . . . 165
Mad genius . . . 166
Out of body . . . 168
Musical mind . . . 169
Chapter 8 Health nuts . . . 171
Counting calories . . . 171
Fat carbs, skinny carbs . . . 172
Combo meal . . . 174
Chugalug . . . 175
Cocoa craze . . . 176
Go the distance . . . 178
Exercise regimen . . . 179
Pounding the pavement . . . 180
Totally radical . . . 182
It’s elemental . . . 183
Color me young . . . 184
Vitamin virtues . . . 185
Fuel economy . . . 186
Fit to be sweaty . . . 188
Red and white . . . 188
Hold the sunny side . . . 190
Grain of salt . . . 191
Quicksilver . . . 193
Index . . . 195
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