Why Can't Elephants Jump? and 113 more science questions answered

Why Can't Elephants Jump? and 113 more science questions answered is one of Mick O'Hare's compilations of questions and answers from the New Scientist 'Last Word' column. It falls naturally into sections of about two pages, each a question and its answers, so it is a convenient book to have available to read in odd free moments. Indeed, the best way to read it is a bit at a time, as too much at once would be rather overwhelming.

I found most of the questions interesting and the answers are mostly well founded. In many cases, people active in relevant research fields or otherwise well qualified contribute: for example, one response to the jumping elephant question is from R. McNeill Alexander, a leading expert in biomechanics.

This is another fun book from New Scientist's Last Word column and I enjoyed it. A good read, and I actually learnt some stuff (some of it possibly true) along the way.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/New_Scientist/Why_Cant_Elephants_Jump.html

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1882711.html

Another great collection of New Scientist columns with readers asking questions and other readers answering them. Lots of interesting trivia; two different answers given for why we westerners tend to eat a sweet course at the end of the meal (not totally sure I believe either of them); the title question is answered somewhere in the middle; at the very end, a question about how Big Ben is kept on time is answered by someone who had actually had the job of keeping it on time. Entertaining stuff.