Popular Science

Hundreds of weird, wacky, and unexpected science questions answered by experts from around the world.

Just how old is dirt, really?

Are men or women more likely to be hit by lightning?

What do whales sing about?

Why don’t we have our jetpacks or flying cars yet?

If I had to, could I survive on cat food alone?

...and 224 more curious questions answered by the world's smartest people!

Ever wondered if you could beat a T. Rex in an arm-wrestling match? Why men get hit by lightning more often than women? Or whether you could get rich selling your organs on the black market? This indispensable book from Popular Science magazine answers these questions, and hundreds more. The editors at PopSci asked leading physicists, biologists, and other scientists a whole raft of crazy questions, and received the surprisingly detailed and fascinating answers gathered into this one impossible-put-down volume.

“As someone who makes up facts for a living, I rely heavily on actual information—especially the provocative, gasp-inducing, brain-firing, hardly-credible sort contained herein—to keep the furnace of falsehood alight. This book, then, could not have come at a better time. I am throwing it into the fire as we speak!” – John Hodgman, Resident Expert on The Daily Show and author of The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require

“Pages kept grabbing my attention and forcing me to stop and learn more about something I didn’t even know I was interested in.” – Theodore Gray, author of The Elements and Mad Science

For over 100 years, Popular Science magazine has delivered “the future now” to its 7 million readers, offering ground-breaking articles on everything from robots to medical miracles to flying cars. The magazine’s editors come from a wide range of scientific backgrounds, and each brings their passion to this eclectic and oddly authoritative body of work. Lead editor Bjorn Carey (New York, NY), who has written about science for LiveScience.com and Space.com, curates the best of the best.