What If? 2
Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
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Wait time: About 4 weeks
The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.
Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult–design to answer his readers’ questions, clearly and concisely. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 13, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780525635710
- File size: 189983 KB
- Duration: 06:35:47
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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"Star Trek" alum and narrator Wil Wheaton perfectly matches his big and generous vocal style to the absurdly educational feel of this second installment by Randall Munroe. Once again, the cartoonist/author/roboticist/xkcd webmaster offers witty and amazingly well-researched ruminations on dozens of off-the-wall, out-of-this-universe topics. Infinitely huge numbers, complicated mathematical theories, and sizable chemical equations all sound accessible and downright entertaining when Wheaton delivers answers to questions posed by children and adults alike, such as: How tall would a billion-story building be? How many New Yorkers could a Tyrannosaurus rex eat? And what would happen if the solar system were filled with soup? Gleefully engaging and informative, this production has no hints of sarcasm, just delight for inquiring minds of all ages. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine -
December 1, 2022
A follow-up to xkcd cartoonist Munroe's best-seller What If?, this second volume continues answering science questions from readers around the world. Most of the questions are ridiculous but the answers are very serious. How many humans would a T. rex need to consume to get its needed calories? What would happen if Earth's rotation sped up to make a day last one second? If you rolled a snowball from the top of Mount Everest, how big would it be by the time it reached the bottom? Munroe breaks down these questions and does the research to actually answer them. Part of the fun is how he breaks down the components of the question to arrive at an answer. Wil Wheaton has the cred to narrate this as it should be read. He takes each question as seriously as Monroe, but adds sly, tongue-in-cheek highlights to make listening an absolute pleasure. The print version does include some cartoons, but the audio is a treasure of its own. VERDICT Libraries who serve any nerds should snap up this gem. Great on its own, and also a wonderful accompaniment to the print version of Munroe's delightful book.--Christa Van Herreweghe
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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