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Randall Munroe is well known for is XKCD webcomic. He is also the author of a book I previously reviewed called How To. Those familiar with his webcomic may also be familiar with his What If? section where he answers user submitted questions no matter how silly. This book is an expansion of that looking at some favorites from his page and some new.
The premise of this book can be quickly summed up in the adage “There is no such thing as a stupid question”. In fact Randall makes a point of treating each question as serious while sprinkling in the fun way of explaining science he has become known for. Every question starts simple enough, like what happens if you can throw a baseball close to the speed of light. From there things take a turn as you evaluate the effects that would have, like causing a crater where the stadium was.
My favorite part of the answers, besides the comics, is that Randall shows his work. If you don’t believe the resulting outcome you can easily reproduce the steps for yourself. In a lot of ways this book can look like many word problems from a test, but I can tell you that these won’t bring dread.
If you are someone who enjoys science and absurd questions this is a book for you. This is also a great book for kids who ask why and other questions of the inquisitive sort. Filled with over 50 questions and answers this book is full of hours of hilarious reading.