Do Penguins Have Knees? audiobook

Good book. Pre internet

I read this book a while ago, but I was reminded that I read it when I was looking at the book "What if?"I read this in like 3rd grade and it was super interesting but I got almost none of it except some of the crazy stuff behind a twirling ice skater.Would reccomend

Tras haber descubierto el primero de los imponderables (curiosamente, a bordo de una fragata española en Puerto Rico cuando hacía la mili, pero eso es otra historia), me dediqué a recopilar todos los demás de este autor. Básicamente, estos libros responden a preguntas que a lo mejor nunca nos habíamos hecho pero que, en el momento de leerlas, pensamos ES VERDAD. ¿POR QUÉ?¿Por qué en mis cremalleras pone siempre YKK?¿Por qué tenemos arrugas en los nudillos pero no en las rodillas?¿Por qué el opuesto de un vino dulce es un vino seco?¿Por qué se eligió precisamente la letra "pi" (Π) para denotar el cociente entre la cirunferencia y el diámetro? Y así varias decenas. Otras no nos interesan tanto, como ¿Por qué se eligió la distancia actual entre el montículo del pitcher y el bateador? y cosas muy centradas en los EE.UU. Pero en conjunto queda una lectura apasionante.

I had another in this series of books when I was a young kid. I was excited to find a few of these at a recent library sale. I am really excited to share this with my nieces as they get older. They definitely have the same "why" gene I did and I can already seem them driving people a little batty with their thirst for knowledge. Some of the articles are a bit dated, but most of them are still relevant and good information.

Okay, this was a fun little read! It's just a book full of "imponderables" or questions that many of us have probably thought about but never been able to solve, like "how and why did 7UP get its name?". It's written in plain, easy-to-understand English so that the common man can understand and have his imponderables answered. I'll admit that there were some questions I skimmed through as I didn't particularly care for such as "Why do the back wheels of bicycles click when you are coasting or back pedaling" and "Why Was April 15 chosen as the due date for taxes?"Some questions I thought were pretty obvious like "Why are baseball dugouts built so that they are half below ground?" I always just assumed this was so that the dugouts didn't block the prime behind the dugout seating. Turns out, I was right. And I don't even care about or know about baseball!This was published in 1991, so some of the questions were outdated, so I skimmed: "Why must we push bothe the 'record' and 'play' switches to record on an audio tape recorder, and only the 'record' on the VCR?"I was surprised by the amount of questions relating to the postal service, stamps, envelopes, and mailing. Apparently these are subjects people ponder a lot to no avail. Although I've never asked myself what the USPS does with mail it can't deliver or return because of a lack of return addresses, I was interested to read the answer to that question. At the end of the list of imponderables, Feldman lists the top 10 "frustables," questions that he and his team haven't been able to answer, like "why do doctors have bad penmanship?". His hope is that readers will see those and use their knowledge to submit the answer for the next Imponderables Book. Like I said, this was a fun little read. It was quick, easy, and I could put it down and come back to it at any time. I can't say that I'll visit his other books, but if one comes across my lap, I might flip it open! And in case you were wondering and don't mind the spoiler, yes. Penguins do have knees.

By now, you are hopefully familiar with the Imponderables series of books, those tremendous tomes of teasing trivia, where author David Feldman has the nerve to ask those all-important questions of the nature of existence, such as "Why are there tiny holes in the ceiling of my car?" (As for me, such a question is merely proof that said driver does not have their eyes on the road, a frequent phenomenon on today's highways!) Anyhoo, Penguins is one of the better books in the series, if for no other reason than the fact that it attempts to answer the immortal question (drum roll, please): Does anyone really like fruitcake?? (Sorry, but I can't reveal the answer here: Feldman is a professional in such matters, and I dare not paraphrase his response one iota!) As with When Do Fish Sleep, the bulk of this book is given to Feldman considering such questions, submitting the questions to acknowledged experts in the field (Is there a fruitcake expert?) and printing their responses, or the competing theories if there is more than one answer. (In the example above, the Fruitcake Question was posed in the Frustables section, which Feldman uses to ponder matters that seem to defy easy explanation, then prints the best responses in the next book in the series. This is how he hooks you into buying more than one book! Pretty clever, huh?) As always, Kassie Schwan's delightful illustrations add to the humor. (Yes, this is a humor book!) In any case, this sixth volume in the seemingly endless series of books is one of the best, and as I have stated in another review, makes a perfect read in the bathroom! So, get Do Penguins Have Knees, and other books in the Imponderables series today. As Jim Morrison, the immortal lead singer for the Doors once said, "I see the bathroom is clear...."

As a trivia whore, I appreciated this. Though it was kinda hilarious how dated it is, given the multiple mentions of things like VHS tapes and Radio Shack (rip). Fact I found most interesting: That the flavor of 'bubblegum' is apparently a mix of wintergreen, vanilla, and cassia?????????? Is that even legit? That blows my mind for some reason. Although now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda see the wintergreen? I had to look up what cassia is and I guess it's often compared to cinnamon, which I get less. Man, now I want some Bubble Yum to test this. Wild.

This book of questions and answers was informative and the illustrations were quite funny. If you would want to read this, I would recommend it to non-fiction lovers, similar to Hermione Granger.

An informative, fun read. I can't speak for other editions but mine was a little outdated - still very good though!

Fun facts to learn, even though some information included is now outdated due to it being published in the 1990s.

A bit dated, but an enjoyable and informative read.

This was a good book, it was very informational and the questions and answers were fascinating. I will be reading the rest of the imponderables books.

This was a great read. The whole premise of this book is to answer questions that most wonder about but never get resolution on. It can be used as a reference book, a curl-up-on-the-couch on a rainy day book, or just a light, interesting read. Besides the wonderful life mysteries it cracks, it is hard not to enjoy Feldman's witty and enticing writing. All in all, I'd say read it.

A good book file with a lot of cool, funny and mostly unless facts. So if you’re like me and you like those then read it and learn why White Chocolate isn’t really chocolate and why the classification of hardwood and softwood have nothing to do with how hard or soft the wood is.

Loved this book. I am a sucker for trivia of all kinds. It is part of a series of books on trivia. It is well written and adequately researched. One just never knows when the subject of a penguin's knees will come up in a conversation about sex or violence.

I feel so informed about things that have no real impact in my life. However, every time i go to the bathroom, I no longer wonder who those YKK zipper people are. Now I know for sure! Yay!