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The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog
And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science
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Check link for latest rating. ( 234 ratings, 58 reviews)
Brief Description
'York is a witty, whip-smart, lithely engaging science storyteller, truly one of our best' Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Fuzz A playful examination of how science's silliest research leads to crucial breakthroughs and enduring insights. Why would anyone research how elephants pee? Or study worms...
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The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog
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See moreA playful examination of how science's silliest research leads to crucial breakthroughs and enduring insights.
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Description
'York is a witty, whip-smart, lithely engaging science storyteller, truly one of our best'
Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Fuzz
A playful examination of how science's silliest research leads to crucial breakthroughs and enduring insights.
Why would anyone research how elephants pee? Or study worms who tie themselves into a communal knot? Or quantify the squishability of a cockroach?
Carly Anne York shows how unappreciated, overlooked and simply curiosity-driven science has led to breakthroughs big and small. Got wind power? You might have humpback whales to thank. Know anything about particle physics? Turns out there is a ferret close to the heart of it all.
And if you want to keep salmon around, be thankful for that cannon! The research itself can seem bizarre, but it drives our economy. York invites us to appreciate the often-unpredictable journey of scientific exploration, highlighting that the heart of science lies in the relentless pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.
Emphasizing the hard work of the people behind the discoveries, this is an accessible, story-driven book that shows how important and exciting it is to simply let curiosity run wild.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781399817004
Publisher: John Murray Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 19 June 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Basic Books
Illustration: 15 B&W illustrations
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 300g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Carly Anne York is currently an associate professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University. She received her PhD in ecological studies from Old Dominion University. She is also the author of two nonfiction science books for children, A Day in the Life: Horses and Queens of the Jungle. She lives in North Carolina.
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