AsapScience: Answers to the World’s Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors & Unexplained Phenomena
AsapScience is a YouTube channel that was created by Mitchell Moffit and Greg Brown. They use their channel to educate people about science by answering some of the everyday types of science questions. Mitch and Greg eventually decided to write a book, including some of the questions they answered in their videos, as well as new ones that are exclusive to the book. If you haven’t checked out their videos yet, head on over to their YouTube channel.
AsapScience: Answers to the World’s Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors & Unexplained Phenomena
The book is full of interesting facts and explanations to things we run into nearly every day. It is completely based on the AsapScience YouTube channel. The videos are full of hand drawn images to illustrate the topic at hand, and the book is no different. The book is separated into different categories, including “Body Talk”, “Hypotheticals” and “Sensory Perception”. I have to admit that I was never really all that interested in science until I started watching the AsapScience videos. It was watching those videos that lead to me buying this book. The book and videos both use some humour while also teaching the science behind things like aging and lying. I think one of my favourite sections is actually the first one, “Resolving Persistent Questions, Rumors and Weird Phenomena”.
What is covered in the book?
In the first section, they tackle questions such as “Is the 5-second rule legitimate?”. Spoiler alert: not really. They explain the science behind it and how germs and bacteria spread or attach itself to foods that fall on the ground. The next section deals with science in the body. Ever wonder how brain freeze works or why your breath stinks? This section is where you will find those answers.
Section three, “Hypotheticals”, has only two entries in the book, but there are more questions answered on their YouTube channel. In section four, they answer questions about sensory perception. Why does time feel faster as we age? Why do we itch? Section five covers the topic of sex and human sexuality. What is the science behind love and heartbreak? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
Section six covers some of our bad behaviours like swearing and lying. It also has the scientific hangover cure, which was their first video to go viral. Finally, the last section covers dreaming, waking, napping and sleeping. Should you use the snooze button on your alarm? It may not be a good idea, and this book will tell you why.
Conclusion
If you have even a remote interest in science, I recommend picking this book up. It gives a good explanation as to why some of the things we deal with nearly every day happen. I read very few nonfiction books, but I really enjoyed this one. Also, if you like the book, be sure to check out the AsapScience YouTube channel as well as their other channel, AsapThought.