Fun. Wish there were more biology scenarios, but very funny ( )

Fascinating science and hilarious. ( )

Classic Munroe. Nothing more needs saying. ( )

This book sounded as if it might be interesting, but the questions addressed were ridiculous and also became tedious as they nearly all involved mass destruction and extinction as the answer. An example is "what would happen if a hairdryer with continuous power were turned on and put in an airtight 1 x 1 x 1 metre box". He then makes the dial go up to stupendous temperatures, makes the box metal etc. That one doesn't involve the Earth's destruction but is an example of the general pointless nature of the questions. A lot of the answers involve impossibilities such as indestructible items or things that go impossibly fast or involve the entire energy output of the planet or whatever as otherwise the real answer would be nothing as that particular scenario isn't possible.

An intriguing illustration on the cover, showing a TRex being swung, and the main reason I bought the book, isn't even one of the included questions.

There are some cute cartoons accompanying the text and I found the one near the beginning of the book quite touching, showing the Moon comforting the Earth and helping it restart spinning after coming to an abrupt halt and losing all its atmosphere and life (from "What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?") But one cartoon on its own couldn't drag this book into the 'OK' band and I'm afraid it's a one star rating from me. ( )

Fun. A book to dip in and out of, not possible or interesting to read in long sessions. Munroe is the author of a webcomic xkcd, which became very popular, and this is not the serialisation of it, but instead the author using his science background to answer reader's questions in a similar vein - taking common possibilities to extreme limits to calculate what might happen.

Fun, silly and a good reminder that science doesn't have to be dull. ( )