What If? 2
Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
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What If? 2
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Narrated by:
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Wil Wheaton
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By:
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Randall Munroe
About this listen
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask
The millions of people around the world who 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 listeners’ 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.
©2022 Randall Munroe (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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A funny thing happened on the way to a great book
- By Joseph on 10-01-12
By: Robert L. Wolke
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18 Miles
- The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather
- By: Christopher Dewdney
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
We live at the bottom of an ocean of air - 5,200 million million tons, to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but Earth’s atmosphere is smeared onto its surface in an alarmingly thin layer - 99 percent contained within 18 miles. Yet, within this fragile margin lies a magnificent realm - at once gorgeous, terrifying, capricious, and elusive. With his keen eye for identifying and uniting seemingly unrelated events, Chris Dewdney reveals to us the invisible rivers in the sky that affect how our weather works and the structure of clouds and storms and seasons, the rollercoaster of climate.
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1 out of 5 stars
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10% science, 90% other stuff
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 10-09-20
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When the Earth Had Two Moons
- Cannibal Planets, Icy Giants, Dirty Comets, Dreadful Orbits, and the Origins of the Night Sky
- By: Erik Asphaug
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the Moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: The far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail. How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot. When the Earth Had Two Moons is an astonishing exploration of planet formation and the origins of life by one of the world’s most innovative planetary geologists.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Poorly written, poorly narrated
- By RickyF on 05-11-23
By: Erik Asphaug
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How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls
- Animal Movement and the Robots of the Future
- By: David Hu
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 44
Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes listeners on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun, entertaining, hilarious, and informative
- By Susan T on 11-04-19
By: David Hu
-
Five Billion Years of Solitude
- The Search for Life Among the Stars
- By: Lee Billings
- Narrated by: Lee Billings
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. Now, Earth's isolation is coming to an end. Over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets" orbiting other stars, including some that could be similar to our own world. Studying those distant planets for signs of life will be crucial to understanding life's intricate mysteries right here on Earth. In a firsthand account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with top researchers.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Bloated
- By Dr A on 01-09-14
By: Lee Billings
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27,936
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21,214
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21,110
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
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Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 763
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 697
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
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3 out of 5 stars
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The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
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How to Invent Everything
- A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 368
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 367
What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past...and then broke? How would you survive? With this book as your guide, you'll survive - and thrive - in any period in Earth's history. Best-selling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North tells you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted - from first principles. This manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Get the book
- By Tim McNerney on 11-26-18
By: Ryan North
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How to Speak Science
- Gravity, Relativity, and Other Ideas That Were Crazy Until Proven Brilliant
- By: Bruce Benamran, Stephanie Delozier Strobel
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 192
As smartphones, supercomputers, supercolliders, and AI propel us into an ever more unfamiliar future, How to Speak Science takes us on a rollicking historical tour of the greatest discoveries and ideas that make today's cutting-edge technologies possible. Wanting everyone to be able to "speak" science, YouTube science guru Bruce Benamran explains - as accessibly and wittily as in his acclaimed videos - the fundamental ideas of the physical world: matter, life, the solar system, light, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, and much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wowzers!
- By Ralph Temblador on 02-15-21
By: Bruce Benamran, and others
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The Universe in Your Hand
- A Journey Through Space, Time, and Beyond
- By: Christophe Galfard
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 150
Christophe Galfard's mission in life is to spread modern scientific ideas to the general public in entertaining ways. Using his considerable skills as a brilliant theoretical physicist and successful young-adult author, The Universe in Your Hand employs the immediacy of simple, direct language to show us, not explain to us, the theories that underpin everything we know about our universe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome
- By AJ on 02-28-17
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Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
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The Story of Earth
- The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,085
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 931
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 924
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
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The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,065
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,795
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,804
Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
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No Immediate Danger
- Carbon Ideologies, Volume One
- By: William T. Vollmann
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 40
In his nonfiction, William T. Vollmann has won acclaim as a singular voice tackling some of the most important issues of our age. Now, Vollmann turns to a topic that will define the generations to come - the factors and human actions that have led to global warming. Vollmann begins No Immediate Danger by examining and quantifying the many causes of climate change, from industrial manufacturing and agricultural practices to fossil fuel extraction, economic demand for electric power, and the justifiable yearning of people all over the world to live in comfort.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Look at the brightside always and die in a dream!
- By Darwin8u on 04-14-19
-
Catching Stardust
- Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System
- By: Natalie Starkey
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A home run in space!
- By Rick B on 07-23-22
By: Natalie Starkey
-
Soonish
- Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
- By: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Narrated by: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,303
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,169
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,162
In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next - from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research and interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Really Good-ish!
- By See Reverse on 04-16-18
By: Kelly Weinersmith, and others
-
A Most Improbable Journey
- A Big History of Our Planet and Ourselves
- By: Walter Alvarez
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Big History, the field that studies the entire known past of our universe to give context to human existence, has so far been the domain of historians. Geologist Walter Alvarez - best known for his Impact Theory explaining dinosaur extinction - makes a compelling case for a new, science-first approach to Big History.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Learned so much
- By Niki on 12-09-18
By: Walter Alvarez
-
The Enceladus Mission
- Ice Moon 1
- By: Brandon Q. Morris
- Narrated by: Doug Tisdale Jr.
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 218
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 196
In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon. The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Robotic performance, potentially interesting story
- By Opa on 02-21-19
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How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,926
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,655
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,644
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
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What If?
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- By: Randall Munroe
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,093
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,476
Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Hope You got an A in Math and Physics...
- By Rod on 09-13-14
By: Randall Munroe
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What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at ninety percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators.
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1 out of 5 stars
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nothing new
- By James on 12-11-24
By: Randall Munroe
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How to Survive History
- How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero—at least, not if you know where to go and what to do. In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, and more.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A fun, light romp
- By Ron on 03-11-24
By: Cody Cassidy
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And Then You're Dead
- What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara
- By: Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 456
A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine. What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco's famed Exploratorium Museum, and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios.
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5 out of 5 stars
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perfect for a precocious 9 year old boy
- By Kerith Strano Taylor on 05-15-17
By: Cody Cassidy, and others
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Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,168
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,849
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,841
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,926
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,655
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,644
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
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What If?
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
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- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,093
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,552
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,476
Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Hope You got an A in Math and Physics...
- By Rod on 09-13-14
By: Randall Munroe
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What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at ninety percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators.
-
1 out of 5 stars
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nothing new
- By James on 12-11-24
By: Randall Munroe
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How to Survive History
- How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero—at least, not if you know where to go and what to do. In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, and more.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A fun, light romp
- By Ron on 03-11-24
By: Cody Cassidy
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And Then You're Dead
- What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara
- By: Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 456
A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine. What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco's famed Exploratorium Museum, and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios.
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5 out of 5 stars
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perfect for a precocious 9 year old boy
- By Kerith Strano Taylor on 05-15-17
By: Cody Cassidy, and others
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Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,168
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,849
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,841
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
What if? Was wäre wenn? Wirklich wissenschaftliche Antworten auf absurde hypothetische Fragen
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Norman Matt
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
Wenn xkcd.com einen neuen Science Cartoon postet, vibriert das Internet. Sein Blog "what if", auf dem der Physiker Randall Munroe jede Woche bizarre Fragen mit exakter Wissenschaft und genialen Strichmännchen beantwortet, ist Kult. Wie lange würde es dauern, bis wir merken würden, dass sich der Erdumfang verändert? Hätten wir genug Energie, um die ganze Weltbevölkerung von der Erde wegzubefördern? Wann (wenn überhaupt) wird Facebook mehr Profile von Toten als von Lebenden enthalten? Wenn man eine zufällige Nummer wählt und "Gesundheit!" sagt, wie hoch ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass der Angerufene tatsächlich gerade geniest hat?
By: Randall Munroe
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Stuff You Should Know
- An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things
- By: Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant
- Narrated by: Chuck Bryant, Josh Clark
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 505
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 438
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 434
From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious - curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Fails as an audio book.
- By Sarah H on 12-10-20
By: Josh Clark, and others
-
Worst Ideas Ever
- A Celebration of Embarrassment
- By: Daniel Kline, Jason Tomaszewski
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars 1,074
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 967
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 965
From memorable disasters such as New Coke, the XFL, and Tiger Woods’ marriage to less-remembered failures such as Yugo, Cop Rock, and Microsoft’s BOB, Worst Ideas Ever revisits history’s biggest blunders. Whether it’s a pop culture failure or a political one, Worst Ideas Ever uncovers the ridiculous stories behind mistakes so huge, you’ll have to constantly remind yourself that they actually happened.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Wears out quickly
- By Sara on 04-28-14
By: Daniel Kline, and others
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What Einstein Didn't Know
- Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions
- By: Robert L. Wolke
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 210
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 187
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Story4 out of 5 stars 186
How does soap know what's dirt? How do magnets work? Why do ice cubes crackle in your glass? And how can you keep them quiet? These are questions that torment us all. Now Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, provides definitive - and amazingly simple - explanations for the mysteries of everyday life.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A funny thing happened on the way to a great book
- By Joseph on 10-01-12
By: Robert L. Wolke
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How to Invent Everything
- A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 433
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 368
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 367
What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past...and then broke? How would you survive? With this book as your guide, you'll survive - and thrive - in any period in Earth's history. Best-selling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North tells you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted - from first principles. This manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Get the book
- By Tim McNerney on 11-26-18
By: Ryan North
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What If?
- 10th Anniversary Edition: Short Stories to Spark Inclusion & Diversity Dialogue
- By: Steve L. Robbins PhD
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
This 10th anniversary edition of the beloved classic features 10 new stories written by Dr. Robbins that help listeners gain deeper insight into the role our brains play in shaping our thoughts and actions, and what we can do to be more curious and open-minded in our diverse world. Based on his study of the fields of behavioral science and cognitive neuroscience, Robbins explores unconscious bias in many of its forms, including availability bias, confirmation bias, anchoring bias, and others.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Learning more
- By Michael T Snowden on 05-01-20
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Love Triangle
- How Trigonometry Shapes the World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Trigonometry is perhaps the most essential concept humans have ever devised. The simple yet versatile triangle allows us to record music, map the world, launch rockets into space, and be slightly less bad at pool. Triangles underpin our day-to-day lives and civilization as we know it. In Love Triangle, Matt Parker argues we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with all the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Excellent narration can’t make up for lack of PDF
- By H James Lucas on 10-15-24
By: Matt Parker
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The Book of General Ignorance
- By: John Mitchinson, John Lloyd
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 429
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 323
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 323
Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British best seller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more, The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha” compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting.
- By A. Hawkbird on 12-07-08
By: John Mitchinson, and others
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3001 Unusual Facts, Funny True Stories & Odd Trivia:
- Amaze Friends & Family with this Random Collection of Fun, Weird and Curious Facts You'll Find Hard to Believe! A Fun Book of Strange Yet Fascinating Facts & Trivia for all Ages, Young or Old
- By: Jim Green
- Narrated by: Angus Scott, Helen Scott
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4 out of 5 stars 17
Who doesn’t love random facts and odd trivia? Have fun learning weird and curious facts in this audiobook of unusual knowledge and funny trivia. Discover fun and interesting facts about the world and our fascinating history. An amazing facts book for kids and teenagers of all ages, full of fascinating facts and trivia to educate and stimulate young minds. Discover fascinating new knowledge you will keep forever!
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting
- By Anonymous User on 01-14-24
By: Jim Green
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1,000 Random Facts Everyone Should Know
- A Collection of Random Facts Useful for the Bar Trivia Night, Get-Together or as Conversation Starter
- By: Tyler Backhause
- Narrated by: Philip Andrew Hodges
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4 out of 5 stars 42
Have you ever had that moment when you are in the middle of a conversation and suddenly the room becomes quiet and nobody knows how to move the discussion forward? Of course you do. Haven’t we all? It’s for this reason that I decided to write this book.What better way to break that silence than to throw out some of these facts: Wolves have a serious appetite! They can eat up to twenty pounds of meat in one sitting! The first high heeled shoes were worn by Egyptian butchers to help them walk above the bloodied bodies of animal carcasses.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fun! But had some flaws.
- By Frances R. on 08-26-18
By: Tyler Backhause
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Liquid Rules
- The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives
- By: Mark Miodownik
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,239
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,937
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,939
We all know that without water we couldn't survive, and that sometimes a cup of coffee or a glass of wine feels just as vital. But do we really understand how much we rely on liquids, or the destructive power they hold? Set over the course of a flight from London to San Francisco, Liquid Rules offers listeners a fascinating tour of these formless substances, told through the language of molecules, droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting book!
- By Wayne on 08-04-19
By: Mark Miodownik
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The Book of Common Fallacies
- Falsehoods, Misconceptions, Flawed Facts, and Half-Truths That Are Ruining Your Life
- By: Phillip Ward, Julia Edwards
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 21 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 117
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 119
Everything you thought you knew was wrong! Long before Snopes.com and Wikipedia, The Book of Common Fallacies set out to debunk popular beliefs and set the record straight. By tracking down the facts and citing experts in a multitude of fields, Philip Ward points out the senseless ideas that we have come to accept as fact. Newly updated with today’s common misconceptions, The Book of Common Fallacies exposes the truth behind hundreds of commonly held false beliefs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A few good entries, but most are obscure
- By Dana on 06-10-16
By: Phillip Ward, and others
What listeners say about What If? 2
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeremy
- 10-01-22
I love everything except the narrator
I love everything except the narrator. his voice is grating although perhaps younger listeners might enjoy it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael H.
- 09-14-22
We need Part 3!
Please Part 3! Brilliant! Really enjoyed the book. It is expanding your mind and fantasy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 09-22-22
good good
good good good good good good good good good good good good good good (but, some bad bad bad bad (sorry for balh house audio)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Ennis
- 09-23-22
What if 3 please
WHAT IF 3 AND HOW 2 TWO WE NEED IT ASAP IT WAS AMAZING GIMME
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Richard S. Swol
- 12-24-22
Randall Munroe makes science and math fun
That's a pretty big claim, but it's true. Randall is the science teacher you wish you had.
He takes the most bizarre, but usually innocent sounding, questions and applies the required math and science principles. The results are explained in hilarious fashion. The simplest questions sometimes have universe impacting results. He also keeps a handy list updated throughout the book of ideas that it might be best to avoid.
Nerdy science guys, like me, will find this book to be laugh out loud funny. Apparently, there are a lot of us, because this is the second best selling volume in the series. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Baxter
- 10-14-22
excellent book
Top quality comedic content, told through the lens of interesting engineering that is relatable and understandable to people with even the most basic education.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Merissa Jones
- 10-17-22
Must listen if you listened to book one!!!!
Very insightful. Loved the numerous ways some of the questions are presented. Very fun read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-03-23
entertaining
I found the book entertaining, though at times the narration was a bit grating. Wil Wheaton clearly enjoyed the book, sometimes to the detriment of his narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt F
- 09-29-22
fantastic
the humor and detail of answers really shine with Wil's performance. two thumbs up.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colin
- 09-19-22
Gave me side stitches from laughing
Too short but more fun than ever... All of these hypothetically questions made for a great preorder.
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